When I was eight months pregnant, someone pushed me off the second floor. I crashed to the ground, pain searing through me as blood pooled around my body.

In a frenzy, my husband, Samuel, rushed me to the hospital and called in top-tier specialists for surgery. Fortunately, they managed to save the baby.

However, when I woke up, neither the baby nor Samuel was by my side.

I struggled to get up, limping and searching everywhere. It wasn’t until I reached the morgue that I overheard a conversation between Samuel and the doctor.

"Mr. Lopez, the baby was still alive. How could you smother him? He's your own flesh and blood!"

"Better for him to die early and be reborn. He never should have come into this world," Samuel coldly spat. "Xandra gave birth to our son yesterday. I promised her that our child would be the only heir of the Lopez family. I won't allow anyone to compete for the inheritance."

Upon hearing everything, I felt my blood run cold. It turned out, the happy family I dreamed of was only my delusion. The marriage I was so proud of was nothing but a cold hell.

Since that was the case, it was better to leave.

——

The doctor hesitated, his expression conflicted. "But Mr. Lopez, if you plan to deceive your wife with Xandra’s child, what if she finds out?"

"Newborns all look alike. She won’t notice. I’ll take the baby over later," Samuel answered flatly. "Dispose of the body properly. And give me the sterilization drug you have at your hospital. I’ll feed it to Lydia."

The doctor was stunned and exclaimed urgently, "Mr. Lopez, you’ve already killed your wife’s child to bring Xandra’s into the family. Why do you still want to sterilize her? Isn’t that too cruel?"

The chill from the morgue seemed to spill outside, yet Samuel’s words were even colder.

"I promised Xandra that I’d ensure our child never suffers in this life, and there will be no other siblings competing for his affection. Even though she’s someone else’s wife now, I want her to feel at ease."

The doctor appeared reluctant as he continued, "Mr. Lopez, I must warn you, this sterilization drug is still in the research stage and hasn’t undergone clinical trials. The side effects are severe. Can you really bear this?"

Samuel paused and sighed. "I have no choice. Lydia will wake up soon, and if we perform a hysterectomy now, it’ll raise her suspicions."

"She’ll have to endure it. I’ll compensate her later, but I cannot allow Lydia to get pregnant again."

Just then, Samuel’s phone rang. He hit the speaker button, and a man’s excited voice echoed through the morgue.

"Mr. Lopez, I’ve received the five million. Don’t worry; I’ll leave New York immediately. I won’t let your wife know you were the one who had her pushed down the stairs. Hehe."

At that moment, footsteps approached.

Ignoring the pain in my leg, I staggered back to the ward.

Thinking of my dead child, I clutched my chest, trying to hold in the anguish as tears fell on my bandaged leg.

So, it wasn’t an accident that I was pushed down the stairs. It was my dear husband clearing obstacles for the woman he loved and their child.

My child was saved, but he was smothered to death by his biological father!

To Samuel, we—mother and child—were nothing but stumbling blocks.

"Lydia, you’re awake?"

Samuel walked in holding a baby and sat beside me with a smile. "Look at our child. Doesn’t he look just like us?"

"Honey, thank you for giving birth to such a cute son. I’ll be a great dad." He grinned.

I looked at the baby peacefully sleeping in his arms, and my heart ached.

Samuel was wrong. No mother could mistake her own child. The baby’s eyebrows and eyes resembled his, but his nose and chin were nearly identical to Xandra’s.

That was their child.

But my son was now a cold and lifeless corpse!

"Lydia, does your leg still hurt? Here, take some painkillers." Samuel looked at me. His eyes were filled with the same tenderness as always, but I knew now—it was all just an illusion meant to deceive me.

I looked at the pills in his hand and recalled what I had just overheard.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Samuel, the medicine is too bitter. Can I take it later?"

'You've already killed my child. Can't you at least leave me the right to be a mother?'

Samuel hesitated for just a second before smiling and patting my head. "You're a mother now, yet you're still acting like a child? Giving birth was already hard on you, and now your legs are hurting. I couldn't sleep all night worrying about you, Lydia. Just take pity on your husband, okay? I still have to be a good father to our baby."

"Don't worry. I added honey to the water. It's sweet. Come on, let me feed you."

'No. That is not my baby. It’s yours and Xandra’s!' I mentally screamed.

He brought the pill to my lips, leaving me no chance to refuse.

A chill spread through my body. I closed my eyes and swallowed the pill dry, refusing to drink the honeyed water.

I didn't want that kind of fake sweetness.

The effects of the drug hit quickly. A searing pain burned through my lower abdomen, as though flames were consuming me from the inside, or as if someone were slicing me open with a knife. Blood gushed from between my legs.

"Lydia, what's wrong?!"

Samuel shouted for the doctor. The pain was unbearable, and I passed out.

In my daze, I heard the doctor’s voice.

"Mr. Lopez, the drug has completely corroded her uterus. She will never be able to have children again."

Samuel let out a long sigh of relief.

When I woke again, his eyes were red, his face filled with grief as he gazed at me. "Lydia, the doctor said you suffered severe postpartum hemorrhage... The doctor said you won’t be able to have children anymore."

"Don’t be sad. Thankfully, we already have Apollo. He’ll grow up to be a good son to you."

Apollo?

He had already chosen a name for Xandra’s child so soon?

Samuel refused to let the nurse clean me up. Ignoring his own obsession with cleanliness, he fetched hot water himself and carefully wiped away the blood.

He told me his mother wanted to see her eldest grandson and had already taken the baby away.

By the time everything settled, it was late at night.

I looked at his slightly tired face and forced a weak smile. "I’m fine. You’ve been busy all day. You should rest now."

Samuel kissed my forehead. "Alright. If you need anything, wake me up. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to see Apollo. From now on, the three of us will live happily together."

After he fell asleep, I quietly picked up his phone.

To prove his loyalty to me, Samuel had never set a lock screen password.

But I had never known—he had a second system on his phone, and the password to switch systems was Xandra’s birthday.

The moment the screen changed, the wallpaper became a photo of him and Xandra from their university days.

His messenger had only one contact—Xandra.

I clicked on their chat. The first message that appeared was a picture of Xandra holding a baby.

[Samuel, look at our beautiful child. He’s going to be as handsome as you when he grows up.]

That baby looked exactly like the one Samuel had brought to me earlier tonight.

The further I scrolled, the colder my heart became.

During the eight months of my pregnancy, Samuel had been constantly "on business trips." The number of days he had actually spent by my side could be counted on my fingers.

I didn’t want to distract him from work, so I endured the morning sickness and exhaustion alone, going to prenatal checkups by myself.

And now I knew—those "business trips" were just an excuse for him to stay by Xandra’s side, caring for her and their unborn child.

Among the thousands of photos stored on his phone, every single one recorded Xandra’s journey from pregnancy to childbirth.

Samuel personally prepared nutritious meals for Xandra every day, took her on walks and shopping trips, and even held her vomit in his hands when she suffered from morning sickness.

He never missed a single prenatal checkup, staying by her side, his gaze filled with devotion as if she were the most precious treasure in the world.

I had begged Samuel countless times to pick a name for our child. However, he would always take a long time to reply.

"Lydia, a name is just a label. Just pick something random. I'm busy. We’ll decide after the baby is born."

Yet, the moment Xandra got pregnant, Samuel had already come up with over a hundred names for her child.

"Xandra, how about calling our baby Asha? It means a bright future ahead."

"Or maybe Ethan? It signifies great knowledge and a promising destiny."

"No, let’s go with Apollo. I don’t care if he becomes someone important. I just want him to be safe and live a long life."

After every prenatal checkup, he would gift Xandra something—a piece of luxury jewelry, or a limited-edition sports car.

"Our Xandra has made it through another checkup safely. We must celebrate!"

He even gifted her a European castle to celebrate her successful delivery.

And me?

All I ever got was a single sentence, "Lydia, thank you for your hard work. I have a meeting to attend."

So this was the difference between love and indifference.

I put down the phone, my heart cold and numb. Without a second thought, I booked a plane ticket to leave the country in three days.

Lying back on the hospital bed, I stared at the ceiling, my chest filled with an unbearable emptiness.

I didn’t sleep a single moment that night.

—

The next morning, Samuel, as usual, had his assistant buy me a nutritious meal.

I used to be touched by his thoughtfulness, believing that even when he wasn’t by my side, he still cared about my health.

It wasn't until I recalled him bustling around the kitchen last night, cooking for Xandra, that I realized it was all just for show.

I finally understood—this wasn’t love. It was just routine. A meaningless gesture.

Compared to genuine affection, money was worthless.

Seeing that I hadn’t taken a single bite, Samuel frowned, his voice filled with concern, "Lydia, why aren’t you eating? Does it not suit your taste?"

"It’s nothing. I just miss the baby," I replied coldly.

Samuel chuckled. "Oh, you mean Apollo? I miss him too. I never understood before, but now that I’m a father, I realize—I don’t want to be apart from him for even a second. Our Apollo is the most adorable child in the world."

"Mom is over the moon now that she has a grandson. She’s been celebrating at the old house. Let’s go pick Apollo up later."

I didn’t respond. I had already decided to leave, so I didn’t care anymore.

—

When we arrived at the Lopez family’s old estate, the moment we stepped inside, I saw my mother-in-law and Xandra happily playing with Apollo.

Xandra was dressed in a high-end limited-edition outfit, her face radiant. There was no trace of exhaustion from childbirth.

My mother-in-law, doting on her grandson, was feeding Xandra spoonfuls of bird’s nest soup, treating her like her daughter.

The moment Xandra saw me, she smirked and turned to my mother-in-law, her voice dripping with false modesty. "Auntie, you really don’t have to treat me so well. People might mistake me for your daughter-in-law. Lydia might get jealous. You should give her the bird’s nest instead—she’s weak and needs it more."

Following her gaze, my mother-in-law looked at me, her expression immediately turning sour.

I was still wearing the bloodstained clothes from the day of the accident.

Disgust flashed across her face. "Has my son ever deprived you of food or clothing? Why are you dressed like this? It’s so unlucky—are you trying to embarrass our family?"

"Look at Xandra! She just gave birth, yet she looks so much better than you. You’re just being dramatic."

"You couldn’t even behave yourself while pregnant, running around like a fool. It’s a miracle you didn’t die from that fall. And now, you dare to play the victim? If anything had happened to my grandson, I would have made Samuel divorce you on the spot!"

"You knew you had to breastfeed, yet you dared to take medicine recklessly? If it weren’t for Xandra stepping in to feed him, my grandson would have starved because of you! You bring bad luck!"

"I’m making it official right now—Xandra is my goddaughter. From now on, she’ll call me 'Mom,' just like Samuel does."