Mia's Point of View

"Did you get the text I sent you? Jasmine hasn't had the best appetite lately. Make sure you find out her favorite meals and prepare them," my husband, Robert Wood, said as he walked into our living room.

His heavily pregnant mistress, Jasmine, was clinging onto him as if he were her lifeline.

"And fix that ugly face of yours. Don't ruin her mood and affect the baby!" he snapped at me when he noticed my sullen expression. "Now that she is in her second trimester, her body is fragile, and she needs a more conducive room to rest. You'll pack your things and move to the guest room," he added, leaving no room for arguments.

I can't believe he's doing this right now. It's our sixth wedding anniversary, and instead of spending it with me, he decided to bring his mistress and her mother home.

"What are you still waiting for? Go and pack your things," he said.

Without bothering to respond, I picked up my suitcase that I had already prepared and walked toward the door.

"Ma'am, you..." our housekeeper tried to stop me, but Robert's loud, mocking laugh stopped her.

"Don't stop her. Let her leave if she wants. She'll come back before the end of today and beg me to accept her back," he said.

Immediately after he said that, Jasmine and her mother roared with laughter. They began making bets on how long it would take for me to come back.

If only they knew I'm serious this time. A cab was already waiting outside, and I'm not coming back once I walk past this door.

> > >

Just as I made it to the door, Robert called me back.

"I heard you have a dreamcatcher. How about you leave it behind?"

"Why?" I found myself asking as I instinctively held onto the dreamcatcher hanging around my neck.

"Jasmine is having nightmares lately. It's not good for the baby. Hand it over," he said in a commanding tone.

I shook my head as I took defensive steps backward.

This is the only memory of my mother that I have left. I can't let it go to someone who doesn't know its worth. He sighed when he saw my reaction.

"Fine. Since you think it's worth something, then name your price!"

Price? He thinks everything is about money? I wanted to refuse. I wanted to slap him and leave, but I remembered the last time I tried that—I was deprived of food for three days.

"Alright," I replied.

I gently unclipped the dreamcatcher from my neck and handed it to Jasmine.

"May the child in your womb be a blessing to you and Robert," I told her with a smile.

Robert was surprised to hear me say that. As if to appease his conscience, he gave me what he called a 'golden opportunity.'

"I'll allow you to be my child's mother too if you behave yourself and be a good assistant to Jasmine during her pregnancy," he said.

I don't know what happened, but Jasmine suddenly let go of the dreamcatcher and it crashed to the floor. A shard cut her leg, causing her to bleed so much.

As if his life had just been threatened, Robert scooped Jasmine into his arms like a fragile baby.

"Quick! Get the doctor!" he barked orders at the housekeeper to call the family doctor.

Jasmine's mother turned to me and gave me a mocking look.

I don't blame her, because I also found myself laughable. I remembered two days ago when my ulcer flared up—Robert didn't bother about me. He left me and went on an ice cream date with Jasmine.

Even when I had a high fever a week ago, he still didn't care. He simply commanded the housekeeper to disinfect everywhere so that I wouldn't affect Jasmine and her baby.

Realizing my time here is up, I grabbed my suitcase and turned to leave. Robert grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"Where are you going without apologizing?" he asked.

Jasmine was now sitting on a sofa, giving me a victorious smirk.

"Apologize!" he barked at me.

"But I wasn't—"

Before I could finish my words, he slapped me and kicked my legs, making me fall on my knees before Jasmine. I winced in pain as my knees pressed against the broken dreamcatcher on the floor.

"You knew that nonsense dreamcatcher was broken before you deliberately gave it to her. Don't you think that's your fault and you should apologize?" he said.

I smirked. Saying sorry has been the only word in my vocabulary since I got married to Robert.

Jasmine missed her doctor appointment—I say sorry.

Jasmine vomited after eating a meal she prepared herself—I say sorry.

Robert woke up late and missed his business meeting—I say sorry.

It's not new to me anymore; I'm used to it already.

Taking a deep breath, I fell on my face as if I were greeting a queen.

"I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, ma'am." I raised my head and faced Robert. "Is that enough?" I asked him.

His gaze zeroed in on my knees pressed against the broken dreamcatcher.

"Stop pretending to be pitiful, Mia. No one will fall for your pretense here!"

Before I could reply, the family doctor rushed in, pushing me out of the way and rushing to Jasmine's side.

Of course, I don't exist to anyone related to Robert.

MIA’S POV

I picked up my bag and walked toward the cab already waiting outside. But just as I reached it, Robert’s guard burst through the door and hurried toward me, his face hard.

“Mr. Robert wants to see you. Now,” he said firmly.

I looked at him and raised a brow. “Anything else?”

Instead of answering, he grabbed my elbow and yanked me back, throwing my bag to the ground.

“Please, you’re hurting my arm,” I said.

He didn’t care. He just smirked and dragged me back inside, then shoved me into the room.

Robert was standing there with his hands in his pockets, waiting.

He cleared his throat the moment he saw me.

“Sit.”

I glanced behind me. The guard was still there, looking like he was ready to shove me into the seat. I sat down carefully.

“Jasmine has a rare liver condition,” he began.

I frowned. I didn’t understand where this was going. Jasmine’s health had nothing to do with me.

“Is that why you won’t let me leave?”

“Shut up and let me finish, Mia. Since when did you start interrupting me when I speak?” he snapped, his eyes burning with anger.

“Her liver is failing and it’s putting the baby at risk. That’s why you’ll be donating a portion of yours.”

I gasped, nearly choking on my own breath.

“Robert, you can’t be serious. That kind of surgery is dangerous. That’s not something you force on someone.”

“I wasn’t asking for your opinion,” he cut in sharply. “You should be glad to help. Your liver is a match. And don’t forget, this baby is yours too. Don’t be foolish.”

At that moment, the doctor, who had been standing quietly near the door, gave me a concerned look and stepped forward.

“This surgery isn’t simple,” the doctor said carefully. “She’ll need time to recover. There are serious risks. Bleeding, infection, even death. We should look for another donor.”

“There is no one else,” Robert barked. “Jasmine is important. She’s carrying my child. And who is Mia? Who?”

The doctor hesitated, clearly troubled, but said nothing more.

“Exactly,” Robert said coldly. “She’s a nobody. Now do your job and save my Jasmine.”

Without another word, they both walked back into the room.

The doctor gave me a quick, apologetic glance before the nurses approached me with a consent form I wasn’t allowed to read.

I was prepped and wheeled away before I could even process it.

The doctor gave me a quick, apologetic glance before the anesthesia mask covered my nose and mouth. Cold gas filled my lungs. My body went numb, my thoughts blurred. They were about to cut me open, take a part of me I’d never get back. All for Jasmine. For Robert. My chest tightened as everything went dark. It felt like dying.

“Good girl,” Robert said with a smirk. “At least you’re useful for something today.”

“Robert Wood,” I said groggily.

“Yes, that’s my name, wifey,” he replied in a sarcastic tone.

“When this is over, I’m never coming back. You’re letting me go.”

“Keep running and keep being selfish, Mia. The baby is ours. Jasmine is just offering her womb, that’s all. You’re doing this for our child. Always remember that.”

Deep down, I knew once the baby arrived, Robert would cut me off without blinking. My mouth tasted sour, metallic. My head was spinning as I stared at the bandages on my side, the ache in my body a brutal reminder of what they are taking from me.

“Robert…”

Before I could finish, a loud scream echoed from the other room. It was Jasmine. She sounded like she was dying.

Robert rushed out instantly.

“Her body’s rejecting the transplant. Do something!” he shouted.

The doctor followed quickly. “She needs more tissue support. Her liver is shutting down again.”

“Then take more from Mia!” Robert barked.

“We already took the maximum safe amount. Any more could kill her,” the doctor warned, panicking.

“Do it now or we lose Jasmine,” Robert snapped.

The doctor paused, then turned back toward me.

I could barely keep my eyes open. My vision dimmed, my body cold and aching from the operation. I heard footsteps. The sound of metal clinking.

And then… nothing. It felt like death.

***

I woke up to the smell of something strong. Liver and beetroot soup, maybe. A tray sat by my side. I blinked and sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes with my hand. My head was still spinning.

“You looked so dead in your sleep,”

Robert said, setting his phone aside the moment I spoke.

“You lost a lot of strength. The doctor recommended that for you,”

he added, pointing to the tray.

I nodded quietly and reached for the spoon.

My hand shook as I tried to scoop from the bowl, and some of it spilled onto the floor.

“Let me feed you,”

he said, stepping closer.

“No, I can do it,” I replied quickly.

“You should be grateful I even offered. No sane man keeps a wife who can’t give him children. If you can’t bear children, you get divorced. So be thankful I’m still keeping you around.”

Before I could say anything, my phone chimed.

Robert’s eyes narrowed, lingering on it.

“That phone has been doing that ever since you went off,” he said sharply. “I wonder who suddenly cares about you,” he added with a scoff.

I wonder why we have to stay in a marriage where we already hate each other so much.

Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and immediately started smiling, then giggling like a teenager.

“Heyyy, I’ve missed you a lot,” he said, already walking toward the door with a stupid grin on his face.

Almost right after, my phone rang again. I picked it up.

“Hey babe? When are you leaving that hell of a place? Don’t tell me you actually went back…”

CHAPTER THREE

"I promise to be back. It's just something urgent I need to fix," I said quickly over the phone before hanging up.

Robert came in just as I dropped it. His eyes moved from the phone to my face, studying me. For a second, I thought he might ask who I was talking to, but then he looked away like he had decided not to care.

"Jasmine needs me, but I’ll be back before noon," he said, giving me one last look before walking out.

I would rather count individual grains of rice than count the lies Robert had told me in the past six years.

Robert never came to the hospital for the rest of the week.

A nurse walked in to run a check-up on me, and for some reason, she started grinning so widely it felt like she was mocking me.

"Mr. Robert looks so good with Miss Jasmine. They are so lovely. Everyone on the internet can’t even get over them. Just take a look," she said, holding her phone close to my face.

It was a video of Jasmine and Robert on a yacht, all loved up. He was rubbing her stomach, kissing her, touching her like I had never existed. The caption underneath read, "A soft life for my queen and our little miracle."

“Everyone in the comments is just all over them,” the nurse added, still grinning like it was the best news ever.

My stomach twisted, but I managed to say nothing.

***

I got discharged and was ready to leave. As I walked past the gynecology department, laughter echoed from the hallway. I paused. It sounded like Jasmine’s voice. And it was. The same set of nurses surrounded her again.

"Mr. Robert is madly in love with you. He hardly leaves your side. I really wish for a marriage like this," one of them said with a giggle.

Robert stood next to Jasmine, looking at her with eyes full of softness.

I brushed my hand over my stomach, remembering the last time I had been pregnant. I had gone to tell my dear husband, only to walk into his study and find Jasmine on her knees in front of him.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Mia, I just…" she had stammered, tears streaming down her face.

"How dare you not knock before entering my study? Can't you see you're upsetting Jasmine? Close the door and get out," Robert had shouted at me without hesitation.

He cuddled Jasmine, lifting her up as she cooed around him like a child. My stomach twisted as I rushed out of the room, clutching the pregnancy test. But then, I felt it—warm blood trailing down my legs. I lost the baby that same day. He never got to know.

“Mia? What are you still doing here?”

Robert called out.

“Nothing, I’m just…” I started to say.

“She looks so weak like she might die,”

Jasmine said, clinging to Robert.

“You don’t need to worry about her. I’m sure she’s fine,”

Robert replied, his eyes scanning me briefly.

“I think we should just take her home with us. She donated some parts of her liver for me. The least we can do is give her something to eat so she doesn’t pass out from weakness.”

“You’re so lovely, Jasmine, and thoughtful,”

he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Why are you still standing there? Get into the car and don’t waste Jasmine’s time,”

he snapped.

I didn’t want to go with him, but I had a few original documents like my medical records and some personal identification papers that I needed to pick up before leaving. So I followed them into the car.

I went into Robert's library. I needed to hurry out because Robert hated seeing me in his library and had warned me never to enter it again. But I had to take the documents. I rushed over, checking the boxes, and found the papers, including our marriage certificate and some medical files. I also wanted to pick up my wristwatch, but instead, my hand brushed over some used condoms on the table.

Robert hated having anyone in his library, yet now he did this here?

“Oh, help me throw that away. I forgot to,” Jasmine said from the door.