Camille thrashed in panic, but rough hands pinned down her wrists and ankles, another clamped over her mouth. She was nothing more than meat laid on the butcher's block, helpless beneath the blade.

The injection ended quickly. Then they dragged her into another room.

A nurse stuffed gauze into her mouth, strapped her tightly to the bed, and picked up an electric probe, pressing it against her belly.

The low, ominous hum of the machine sounded like a death curse. Camille's desperate cries dissolved into muffled whimpers.

Pain like needles stabbing into her abdomen spread through her body in violent waves. She convulsed, her limbs jerking uncontrollably.

One round ended—only for the nurse to jab another needle into her arm before resuming the shocks.

Her mind slipped into a haze. Her body lost control of even its most basic functions. The torment dragged on, hour after hour, until deep into the night.

When it finally ended, she lay crumpled like a beaten dog in filth and stench. That was when Katherine strolled in.

"Tsk, tsk... look at you, Miss Hudson—so dirty and foul."

She waved a hand in front of her nose in mock disgust, then nudged Camille's stomach with the tip of her shoe.

Malice gleamed in her eyes.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to kill that bastard in your belly. I just want you and that child—to suffer a little first."

Looking at her smug, venomous expression, Camille's hatred boiled over.

"You're nothing but a beast! If you want Rafael, that secondhand trash, take him! But why hurt my child?"

"If you're so capable, why don't you make him divorce me and marry you openly?"

Her words struck like a whip, and Katherine's face twisted with fury.

"If it hadn't been for your scheming parents, the marriage alliance with him would have been mine!"

"But what did you gain? You bled your family dry, and still ended up with nothing!"

"And now? Rafael loves me. Even the slightest pregnancy sickness, and he's frantic with worry! While you were being electrocuted, soiled and broken, he was listening to my baby's heartbeat."

"Camille, accept it—you and your cursed family were born cheap. You'll never beat me!"

The venom in her words snapped Camille's restraint. With every ounce of strength left, she lunged at Katherine.

But just as she was about to reach her, Rafael burst into the room.

He instinctively pulled Katherine into his arms and shoved Camille away. She crashed to the floor, pain shooting through her battered body.

When he finally looked at her—her clothes fouled, her face was ghostly pale—his expression faltered. Guilt flickered, and he almost reached to help her up.

"Rafael! Thank heavens you came in time!" Katherine clung to him, tears spilling instantly. "Miss Hudson can't stand my child's existence. She tried to kill us both!"

Camille let out a bitter laugh at her shameless lie and forced out the truth—that Katherine had colluded with hospital staff to torture her.

But Rafael cut them both off, his face clouded with gloom.

"Enough! Both of you are pregnant, yet you can't behave yourselves? Must you stir up trouble again and again?"

"Katherine, I told you not to provoke Camille. Why can't you listen? If you're unwell, go home and rest instead of running about!"

His words sounded like a scolding, but his tone dripped with tenderness.

Then he turned to Camille. Seeing her filthy, trembling body, some flicker of pity softened his gaze.

"Camille, this is your fault too. Katherine may be a little willful, but you're also expecting. Shouldn't you both show each other some tolerance?"

Camille stared at him, stunned. Then a laugh broke from her lips—harsh, broken, edged with despair. Tears streamed down her face.

"You're right. I was wrong. Not just me—my parents, even this child's existence, everything is a mistake!"

"Rafael, if I could turn back time, seven years ago I would've let you rot in the mud where you belonged, never to rise again!"

His pupils contracted. A sharp, inexplicable ache stabbed his chest.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward, lifting her into his arms despite the filth clinging to her. His voice softened into desperate comfort.

"Camille, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. Don't be angry, please."

"You're carrying our child—you can't let your emotions spiral like this. Come home with me. I'll take you home."

Without sparing Katherine another glance, he strode out, carrying Camille in his arms.

After the chaos at the hospital, Rafael stayed home for three days straight.

He spared no expense hiring a maternity nurse, learned how to massage Camille's body himself, and even cooked her nutritious meals with his own hands.

Watching him bustle about so attentively, Camille felt an ache in her chest.

If not for the betrayals and the wounds carved into her heart, this scene would have been bliss.

But after everything, his tenderness now felt like mockery.

Still, she told herself—it wasn't so bad. As long as nothing happened, in five days she could slip away quietly.

So when Rafael suggested they visit the temple together to pray for their child's safety, she didn't refuse.

But when she returned to the hall holding the blessed bracelet given by the master, her blood froze.

Rafael was lighting a blessing lamp for Katherine's child.

And he had dared to place that lamp right beside her parents' memorial tablets.

Fury consumed her. Without thinking, she rushed forward and slapped the lotus lamp off the altar.

"Rafael! Have you no shame? Pray for your bastard if you want—I won't stop you. But how dare you defile my parents' spirits by putting it here! Aren't you afraid that by tainting their peace, you'll only curse that bastard child of yours instead?"

Her words lit his rage. His palm cracked across her face before he even realized it.

Both of them froze in shock.

But Rafael didn't help her up when she collapsed to the ground. Instead, his voice thundered through the temple.

"You're a mother yourself now! How can you be so cruel, so venomous as to curse an innocent child?"

Camille's ears rang from the blow. She laughed bitterly, tears burning her eyes.

"Cruel? Compared to you, I wouldn't dare claim the word."

His gaze flickered, as if her words had scraped against his guilty conscience. But he pressed on, unwilling to yield.

"Don't twist things to shift blame! Do you still think you're the rich heiress you once were? Stop clinging to that pride. If not for me marrying you, you'd have been begging for scraps just to survive!"

His sharp words pierced her heart like knives. Never had she imagined the man she once risked everything for would one day strip her dignity so ruthlessly.

"Rafael, have you forgotten? Everything you have now came from the Hudson family. My parents died because of it! And now you humiliate me in front of their tablets—are you even human?"

They stood locked in hostility when Katherine's call came through.

Rafael let out a long, weary sigh. With cold command, he ordered the guards to escort Camille home, then left in a hurry.

From that day on, she was placed under virtual house arrest. Rafael didn't return home, not even once. He didn't call, didn't send a message.

And yet, Camille knew his every move.

Katherine made sure she did—gleefully sending her updates every day.

Sometimes it was news of him accompanying her to burn incense at her dog's grave.

Sometimes it was videos of them shopping for baby supplies together.

Camille endured it, indifferently, until the third afternoon.

That was when Katherine called her via video chat.

The screen jolted—and Camille's world collapsed.

Her parents' memorial tablets were engulfed in flames.

Every muscle in her body went rigid. Then the camera shifted, and she saw Rafael shielding Katherine with his arm... while standing there, watching, as the tablets turned charred black.

Her mind nearly shattered. Her parents' ashes were already gone—if even the tablets were destroyed, she feared she would lose her last shred of sanity.

She stumbled to the front doors of the villa, pounding on them, screaming for the guards to let her out.

Minutes bled into hours but no one answered.

Her rage and grief surged, tearing through her chest.

With a final cry, blood gushed from her lips. Darkness swallowed her as she fainted.

Camille was jolted awake by Rafael's furious roar mixed with Katherine's sobbing.

"You almost caused Camille to lose the baby! If anything had happened to her, I would never forgive you!"

The moment he noticed Camille had woken up, Rafael yanked Katherine over to the bedside and forced her down.

"Kneel. Apologize to her."

Katherine's face twisted with reluctance, but under Rafael's thunderous expression, she had no choice but to bow her head.

From beginning to end, Camille said nothing. After driving Katherine away, Rafael dropped to his knees beside the bed with a heavy thud.

"Camille, it's my fault. I've indulged Katherine far too much, letting her do as she pleased."

"The fire at the temple was an accident—I've already found a respected monk to consecrate a new memorial tablet, and the offerings will soon resume. As for Katherine's blessing lantern, I had it removed. Please... don't be angry with me anymore."

His voice carried rare sincerity, even a hint of pleading humility.

But Camille's heart felt like dead wood, drained and numb. She could no longer afford to let emotions put her baby at risk. Her friend had arranged everything—the staged death would take place in three days. She could not allow anything to jeopardize the plan.

Seeing her remain silent, Rafael grew restless. A sudden thought struck him like lightning.

"Camille... are you hiding something from me?"

Her body stiffened.

"Emmet told me yesterday—you've been selling off the houses and company shares I once put under your name. Why?"

Camille's fingers, hidden beneath the quilt, loosened slightly. Thankfully, he was only asking about this.

Without a change in her expression, she explained calmly, "There's a charity auction tomorrow. I heard some of the jewelry my parents had once donated will be on display. I wanted to buy them back... as keepsakes."

Suspicion ebbed from Rafael's eyes. His brows slowly relaxed.

"You should have told me. Why trouble yourself raising funds? Tomorrow, I'll go with you. Whatever you want, we'll buy it back together."

...

The next evening, Camille, elegantly dressed, appeared at the auction with Rafael, who wore a bespoke suit.

But before the bidding began, Rafael suddenly announced he would light a sky lantern tonight. The hall buzzed in astonishment, but Camille remained composed. She knew it was nothing more than a performance, a façade of being a devoted husband.

By the end of the night, Camille succeeded in reclaiming her parents' jewelry, bringing her a rare sliver of relief.

She sat at the cliffside bar afterward, gently brushing her fingertips over the gemstones that shimmered in the dim light. Her parents' graves had been dug up, their memorial tablets burned, and the family estate long gone. These jewels were all she had left to hold on to.

As she gazed at a necklace in her hand, lost in thought, a shadow fell across her. A hand snatched it away.

"Well, isn't this gorgeous? Miss Hudson, you really stole the spotlight tonight. And Rafael is so generous, spending so much on you. Since you've gained so much, why not give this necklace to me?"

It was Katherine. Somehow, she had found her way into the auction as well. Camille hadn't noticed her earlier.

"Give it back! That's not yours!" Camille shouted anxiously.

"Why so stingy, Miss Hudson? It's just one—"

"Katherine!" Rafael's voice cut through her mockery like a blade. "Enough! That necklace is Camille's parents' keepsake. Return it!"

Katherine's eyes welled up instantly, her tone pitiful. "Fine! Who would want a dead person's trinket anyway? If you don't want me to have it, then forget it. No need to yell at me!"

With feigned indignation, she flung the necklace—hurling it with deliberate force. It arced over the bar counter and vanished into the cliffside abyss.

"Wait—!"

Camille lunged instinctively, reaching out to snatch it back. But the gown she wore hampered her movements. And Katherine, pretending to "help," pressed against her waist—shoving her instead of steadying.

Her footing slipped. Her body toppled over the bar's edge.

In the brief instant before the plunge, she caught sight of Rafael—rushing forward, but not toward her. He had his arms wrapped protectively around Katherine, who had twisted her ankle.

The sea swallowed her with a merciless roar.

Icy water pierced her lungs. Her stomach throbbed with sharp, unbearable pain. She clutched at her belly as she sank deeper and deeper.

'Baby... I'm sorry. In this life... your mother couldn't protect you after all...'