"Felix… I've been vomiting blood these past few days," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. "Please… don’t force me."

For the briefest moment, hesitation flickered across his face. But before he could respond, his phone rang.

He turned away from me, answering without a second thought.

From the other end came a frail, tearful voice, Gianna Mitchell’s voice.

"Felix… my chest hurts so much… The doctor said I need a blood transfusion immediately. When will you be here?"

When he hung up, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes. Without hesitation, he swept me into his arms.

"Adeline, be good. If you're scared, I'll stay with you while they draw your blood."

His words carried the illusion of comfort, but no warmth was behind them.

I stopped struggling, letting despair sink its claws into me. My lashes fluttered shut as exhaustion dragged me under.

He shoved me into the car, speeding toward the hospital with ruthless urgency. The ride was brutal; every jolt rattled my frail body, making my vision blur. By the time we reached the blood collection room, my stomach twisted violently. A sharp pain seared through me and I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Felix gently wiped the corner of my lips, but his touch was mechanical, devoid of true concern. Then, without a word, he pressed me down onto the chair. A silent command passed from his eyes to the doctor.

The cold sting of the needle pierced my skin. Instinctively, my fingers curled around his sleeve, desperate for an anchor against the searing agony spreading through my chest.

I wanted to beg, to speak, but my voice was gone.

Just as the world began to slip away, I heard the doctor’s urgent voice, filled with concern.

"Mr. Young, your wife is already in a fragile state. If she donates too much blood, she won’t survive!"

Felix’s expression turned to ice, his gaze sharp and merciless as it landed on me.

"Enough. Give Gianna however much she needs!"

"If it's not enough, bring the child here too. No matter what it takes, I won't let anything happen to Gianna."

A chilling numbness spread through my body. The last of my warmth drained away, leaving nothing behind.

To him, my life and my children meant nothing compared to his precious Gianna.

A bitter smile ghosted my lips before darkness pulled me under.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying in a stark hospital ward. The sterile scent of antiseptic clung to the air, but it wasn’t nearly as suffocating as the man beside me.

Felix’s eyes were red-rimmed, brimming with worry. The moment I stirred, tears spilled down his face as if he had been waiting for this moment to break.

"Adeline, the doctor said you fainted from excessive blood loss." His voice trembled. "Thank God you’re okay. I was terrified you wouldn’t wake up!"

He pulled me into his arms, his sobs thick with emotion.

But I felt nothing. No warmth. No comfort. Only disgust.

He had nearly drained me dry, yet he still dared to act like he cared.

Without a word, I pushed him away and forced a fragile smile.

"I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m just worried about our son being home alone. You should go back and take care of him."

For a fleeting moment, something unreadable crossed his face: sorrow, perhaps even guilt. I almost believed it was for our child.

"Adeline, with the way things are now… the doctor says our child may never recover. He might not even live long enough to grow up."

His next words sliced through me like a blade.

"Should we start planning… and adopt a healthy child instead?"

I lifted my gaze, staring at him in disbelief.

Felix didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he pressed my hand to his lips, placing a feather-light kiss as if he were the most devoted husband in the world.

"Adeline, you’ve been heartbroken ever since Henry’s accident. It pains me to see you like this. Instead of drowning in sorrow, why don’t we adopt a healthy child?"

The words of accusation burned on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them back, forcing myself to stay composed.

After a long silence, I carefully tested the waters.

"Felix, I don’t want to raise someone else’s child. How about we have another baby instead?"

The shift in his expression was instant. His face darkened and without warning, he shoved me away.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

As if realizing his outburst, he quickly reined himself in, softening his tone, but his eyes flickered with unease.

"Adeline, your body isn’t fit for another pregnancy. I can’t bear to see you suffer again."

"Besides, with Henry’s condition, he’ll need extra care in the future. Coincidentally, the doctor mentioned today that the person who received your blood is looking for someone to adopt their child, so I thought..."

"Trust me, Henry will always be my only biological child. Everything I do is for his sake."

A sharp, twisting pain clenched my heart, suffocating, unbearable.

He had taken everything from my son, yet he refused to leave him, even the smallest fragment of love.

And he had the audacity to claim it was for the child’s well-being.

He had lied for so long that perhaps even he believed his own deception.

When I finally spoke, my voice was eerily calm.

"Alright, I understand. Do as you see fit."

Felix’s eyes lit up with joy, glistening with unshed tears. He bent down and pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead as if he were the most devoted husband in the world.

I forced a composed smile, swallowing back the metallic tang of blood rising in my throat.

But inside, my heart had already been reduced to ruins.

Unable to contain his excitement, he hastily found an excuse to leave, murmuring something about discussing my follow-up treatment with the doctor. Then, without a second glance, he walked away.

I pretended not to notice Gianna standing in the doorway, her eyes brimming with silent provocation.

My hands trembled as I reached for the phone Felix had carelessly left on my bedside table.

Eight years of marriage and I had never once checked his phone.

The password was still set to my birthday.

But the wallpaper was no longer our wedding photo.

Instead, it was a picture of him, Gianna and their child, like a perfect little family.

I swallowed the bitterness clawing at my chest and opened his messages.

Thousands of photos filled the chat.

Every single one was of Felix and that child.

A memory surfaced when our son was just born; I had eagerly asked for a family photo.

But he had brushed me off without a second thought.

"Henry is too young for that. We can take one when he’s older."

Naïve as I was, I had believed he simply disliked taking pictures.

Back then, the only photo I had was one I secretly took while he slept, carefully placing our baby beside him to capture a fleeting moment of father and son.

Now, I finally understood.

It wasn’t that he hated taking pictures.

He just didn’t want to take them with my child.

My fingers trembled as I scrolled through the images, each one driving another nail into my heart.

Then, I stumbled upon a video sent just the night before our son’s birthday party.

In it, my child was pinned beneath Gianna’s son, struggling as he was bullied.

Then came a voice, Gianna’s, coated in false innocence.

"Felix, Adeline’s son, is already fighting back at such a young age. Imagine what he’ll be like when he grows up!"

"What should we do? I’m really scared!"

A violent tremor overtook my body, my grip on the phone turning unsteady.

My son had done nothing wrong.

Yet, with just one sentence from Gianna, his entire future had been ruined.

I bit down hard on my lip, forcing down the surge of hatred rising inside me.

This man was filthy. Disgusting.

And I no longer wanted him.

A cold numbness spread through me, drowning out every last ember of pain. Without hesitation, I tossed the phone aside as if merely touching it would taint me.

I picked up another, dialing a number I hadn’t called in a long time.

It rang twice before a familiar voice answered: my senior brother, the only person I could still trust.

Calmly, I asked him to help me find a hospital overseas, one that could give my son the rehabilitation treatment he deserved.

When Felix returned to the hospital room, I had just finished booking plane tickets for myself and my child. We would leave in three days.

He didn’t notice the traces of dried tears on my face nor the lingering redness in my eyes. Instead, he seized my hand, his voice brimming with excitement.

“Adeline, I want to throw another birthday party for Henry tomorrow,” he said. “At the same time, I’ll announce our decision to adopt the child. What do you think?”

I stilled.

Then, a note I had seen in his phone’s calendar resurfaced in my mind.

Tomorrow was Gianna’s child’s birthday.

My lips curled into a faint, unreadable smile. “Alright.”

Since I was leaving soon, I might as well treat this as a final farewell.

The next day, it was nearly noon when Felix finally sent someone to pick me up from the hospital.

As I stepped into the hotel, the sight before me sliced through my heart like a knife.