Along with the loss of my child, the last trace of affection between us vanished as well.

Ryan tore up the blood donation consent form and hurled the shredded pieces at my face.

“Therese, you’re perfectly fine, aren’t you? Since you love playing the victim so much, then stay here and keep acting!”

He turned his back on me and walked away with Daisy in his arms, never looking back.

I lay in a pool of blood, my heart shattered into pieces.

My consciousness blurred as I was wheeled into the operating room.

Even lying on the cold surgical table, I could feel the instruments stirring inside me—metallic, cold, and unforgiving.

The child I had prayed for, kneeling step by step before the Buddha, was reduced to nothing but a pool of blood.

Through the entire operation, Ryan never sent a single message.

He didn’t care whether I lived or died—let alone about the child I carried.

When the anesthesia wore off, I trembled as I reached for my phone, intending to ask someone to help prepare the divorce papers.

Instead, I stumbled upon a trending post.

Ryan had just bought out every maternity store in the city for Daisy.

The photo showed him on one knee before her, eyes filled with adoration, his face gently pressed against her swollen belly.

A flood of memories came rushing back.

Five years ago, Ryan had been trapped in a mudslide during a business trip.

I was already eight months pregnant at the time.

My mother and I rushed through the night to find him, and together, we dug him out from beneath the rubble with our bare hands.

All ten of my fingers were scraped to the bone. I lost the child in my belly from the sheer exhaustion.

When the mountain crumbled again, my mother used the last of her strength to push him out of harm’s way.

A falling boulder struck the back of her head—she’s been in a coma ever since.

I didn’t even have time to grieve. I was rushed into intensive care and fought for my life for three days straight.

When I finally woke up, I learned I had damaged my uterus. The chances of conceiving again were slim to none.

At that time, Ryan knelt before me, just like he did for her today, and vowed that even if we couldn’t have children, he would still stay by my side for life.

But now, I was left with nothing.

And he had become the blade that pierced through my heart.

The fragile strength I had clung to finally snapped.

Sobbing, I called my lawyer and asked him to prepare the divorce agreement as soon as possible.

Before I left the hospital, I visited my mother’s room.

I knelt at her bedside and broke down in tears.

“Mom... I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve been living a happy life at all.”

“The baby is gone. I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want Ryan or this family.”

“You won’t blame me... will you?”

My mother lay silently in her hospital bed, unmoving.

But a single tear rolled down from the corner of her eye—saying more than words ever could.

When I finally returned home in a daze, Ryan was kneeling in front of Daisy, gently holding her foot and massaging it with tenderness written all over his face.

When I was pregnant, even when I was wracked with cramps, he never once did that for me.

He always claimed that, as someone of his status, giving a woman a foot massage was beneath him.

But now I understand—love and indifference could be painfully obvious.

The moment I stepped through the door, Ryan sneered coldly.

“You’ve got some nerve coming back. That performance at the hospital was Oscar-worthy—anyone who didn’t know better might think you’re the one who’s pregnant.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, swallowing the pain, and walked silently toward my room.

But Daisy stepped in front of me, dragging the two children with her.

Her face was filled with faux remorse as she pleaded pitifully.

“Therese, I didn’t listen to you and leave like I promised. You can punish me however you like.”

“If you want to hit me, I deserve it. Once I give birth, I’ll leave—I just hope you can acknowledge Ryan’s children.”

She tried to kneel, but Ryan pulled her into his arms.

He let out a scoff and looked at me with cold, mocking eyes.

“There’s no need for her to beg you. I’m the one who couldn’t keep it in my pants. What did she do wrong?”

“Therese, whether you acknowledge it or not, those children are my flesh and blood. You must treat them well!” Ryan thundered.

“If you don’t want to be thrown out, change your attitude and apologize to Daisy. Do that, and I’ll let today’s incident slide.”

I lifted my eyes, my gaze colder than ice.

“Ryan, you and she are the ones who wronged me. Why should I apologize?”

“Do you even realize the child in my womb... It was because of you—”

Before I could finish, Ryan cut me off with a mocking snort.

“You’re not seriously saying you’re pregnant too, are you?”

“Lie if you must, but at least make it believable. The doctor already said your uterus was damaged. You can’t get pregnant. You can’t even fake it properly, can you?”

“If you’re so stubborn, then get out there and kneel in the rose garden until you come to your senses. Don’t come back until you apologize!”

My whole body trembled. I stared at him in disbelief.

That rose garden... was the one he had personally planted when he proposed to me.

He knew I loved roses, but I had a severe allergy. I could only admire them from afar.

Since I couldn’t accept bouquets, he gifted me an entire field of roses instead.

He once said, “Flowers will wither, but my love for you never will.”

But now... that same love had become a prison of thorns.

Ryan ignored my struggles and forced my head down, pressing me to kneel among the roses.

The thorns pierced into my flesh, sharp and merciless. I couldn’t stop trembling from the pain.

Pollen filled my throat with every breath, suffocating me. I could barely breathe.

I screamed out in desperation.

“Ryan, are you insane?! You know I’m allergic to pollen! You’re going to kill me!”

He simply stepped back with cold detachment, wrapping his arms around Daisy as he watched me suffer.

At that moment, I felt my heart turn to ash.

All the love I had given him was reduced to nothing but dust.

I knelt there all night, drifting in and out of consciousness, until someone finally dragged me out of the roses.

In the haze, I fell into a familiar embrace.

Ryan let out a sigh and gently brushed the dirt from my face.

“Therese, why do you have to be so stubborn? You can’t have children anyway. I’m only doing this for your own good.”

“As long as you agree to raise the kids, I’ll send Daisy away. We can go back to how things were.”

I pushed him away, face expressionless.

His stunned eyes followed me as I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago.

Through gritted teeth, I spoke each word clearly, “Ryan, I want a divorce.”

He stared at me, completely stunned, his gaze became frighteningly cold.

After a long moment, he snatched the papers from my hands, signed his name, and threw them in my face.

“Therese, you’d better not regret this!”

I ignored his shouting, picked up the signed papers, and turned to leave.

That’s when my phone began to vibrate uncontrollably.

I answered it, and a panicked voice from the hospital filled my ears.

“Miss Alba, your mother’s condition is critical. Please come immediately!”

The phone slipped from my fingers.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.

For once, a flicker of pain crossed Ryan’s face.

He helped me up, voice trembling for the first time.

“Therese, don’t panic. I’ll take you to the hospital right now!”

But footsteps echoed behind us.

Daisy came running from the villa, her hair a tangled mess, crying pitifully as she flung herself at Ryan.

“Ryan! The child—our child is missing!”

Before the shock could settle, she dropped to her knees in front of me, clutching my legs in desperation.

“Therese, I was wrong! I know I was wrong!”

“Punish me however you want, just please... give my child back!”

Before I could even speak, Ryan grabbed me by the throat.

“Talk! Where did you take my children?”

“If anything happens to them, don’t even think about staying alive!”

I collapsed to the floor in a mess, laughing through the tears streaming down my face.

“You didn’t even ask before accusing me?”

He ignored my question, his eyes blazing with rage as he glared down at me.

“If it wasn’t you, then who else? Are you saying Daisy would harm her own children?”

“You won’t talk? Fine. Then I’ll make you feel what it’s like to lose someone you love!”

He yanked me up by the hair and threw me into the car. Without a word, he sped toward the hospital.

When we arrived, my mother had just been resuscitated.

Her body was covered in tubes, her breathing was faint—so faint it was nearly undetectable.

With bloodshot eyes, he stormed into the room and ripped out her oxygen tube.

The blaring of medical alarms shattered the last of my sanity.

I lunged toward him, but he sneered and stomped down on my hand.

The bones in my fingers snapped with a sickening crack, nearly knocking me unconscious from the pain.

I bit through my own flesh, my mouth filling with blood, and begged him in agony.

“Please, stop! Don’t hurt my mom—she’ll die!”

“Ryan, if you hate me, then kill me! I’m begging you—just let her go!”

My heart-wrenching cries meant nothing to him.

I could only watch in helpless horror as my mother’s body convulsed before my eyes.

How could it not hurt?

This was the man I once dug out from beneath a landslide with my bare, bleeding hands.

The husband I protected even after losing my child... and now my mother.

And now, everything I’d sacrificed for was nothing but a cruel joke.

In utter despair, Daisy suddenly burst into the hospital room.

She ran into Ryan’s arms, her voice trembling.

“Mr. Parker, the children... I found them. I accidentally locked them in the basement.”

“Therese’s mother ended up like this because of me. Do you think she’ll hate me?”

Ryan’s expression turnedpale, then flushed with tension. But not once did he look at me with guilt.

“What are you afraid of? Her mother is just like her—tough as nails. She’ll survive.”

“But you, you’re pregnant. You need to stay calm for the baby.”

“Once you give birth safely, I’ll bring her back home.”

Without sparing me another glance, he scooped Daisy into his arms and walked away.

I dragged my broken body to my mother’s bedside, my trembling hands trying desperately to reattach the oxygen tube.

But it was already too late.

The monitor showed only a flat, unbroken line.

The mother I had waited five years to see again...

...ied right in front of me.

After handling the funeral, I wandered like a ghost up to the rooftop.

The man who once vowed to protect me for life had now destroyed even my last sliver of hope.

I closed my eyes, ready to end it all.

But someone pulled me into their arms just as I stepped forward.

When I saw who it was, a bitter smile curled on my lips.

“Here to save me? Too bad you’re too late.”

His eyes reddened with emotion.

“Therese, I owe you my life. And until I repay it, you are not allowed to die!”

“I’ll take you away from here. From now on, no one will ever hurt you again.”

—

Half a month later, Ryan arrived at the hospital, cradling his newborn child in his arms, ready to bring Therese home.

But when he opened the door to the room, it was completely empty.

His heart sank instantly.

A moment later, his assistant burst in, face pale as a sheet.

“Mr. Parker, I asked the doctors—Miss Alba’s mother passed away half a month ago.”

“And Miss Alba... has already disappeared.”