I accidentally overheard my boyfriend's innermost thoughts.

My boyfriend has cancer and is emotionally blackmailing me to have his child before he dies.

Later, I find out I'm pregnant, but the child isn't his!

***

I unexpectedly gained a system that allows me to hear people's most genuine thoughts. So when Ethan came to me with his medical test results, crying inconsolably, I knew he was lying!

On the surface, he was grief-stricken, but in his mind, he was cheerfully singing and praising his own acting skills.

I stared at him, utterly perplexed as to why he would fake a late-stage stomach cancer test result to deceive me. But the next moment, I understood the reason.

"Emma, can you have a child for me?" he asked urgently, grabbing my shoulders before I could react.

"My family has only one heir. If I die, my parents will be devastated. If we have a child, it will give them and you something to remember me by. You won't refuse me, will you?"

Immediately, a cold laugh echoed in his mind.

"Hmph, if that person hadn't taken a liking to you, do you think I'd go to all this trouble to act with you?"

That person? Who was he talking about?

What was Ethan hiding from me? Thinking this, I calmly spoke up.

"Ethan, calm down first. Your priority now is to get treatment. I know a cancer specialist. I'll help you make an appointment. You're so young, there must be a way."

But Ethan didn't listen to me at all. He suddenly pushed me.

"I see, you don't really love me. As soon as you hear I'm dying, you want to abandon me, don't you? Women are so realistic after all."

He looked at me matter-of-factly, his face twisted with malice, barely concealing his inner guilt.

"Go see a doctor with you? That would blow my cover! No, that person's deadline is almost up. If I don't bring this woman to them soon, I'm in trouble. Emma, don't blame me. If you must blame someone, blame your bad luck for being noticed by him!"

I took a deep breath and clenched my fists tightly, as if that could suppress my hatred.

Only now did I have to admit that I, Emma Johnson, a top student from the Law School, had been deceived by a man I met through a blind date!

Ethan was an excellent single man introduced to me by my cousin. Reportedly, he was an engineer at a foreign company, with an annual salary of millions. Although he was from out of town, he had a car and house here. Under my mother's constant nagging, I started interacting with him.

To be fair, Ethan had a refined appearance and was very thoughtful. But strangely, in the six months we'd been together, he had never mentioned his family and never made excessive demands. After each date, he promptly drove me home.

I thought he was a very traditional person, and my impression of him improved greatly.

But just now, he completely shattered my illusion. It turns out he approached me with this disgusting goal. Since that's the case, don't blame me for being impolite.

Ethan, you probably forgot that people who study law are not to be trifled with!

Thinking of the person behind him, I frowned and patiently said to him.

"Have you considered me in asking me to have your child? We haven't met our parents and aren't married. Do you want my child to be born with the stigma of being illegitimate? Ethan, if you're sick, focus on getting treatment. When you've calmed down, we'll talk again!"

Before he could reply, I prepared to leave. But Ethan rushed up and hugged me.

"Emma, don't leave me, I was wrong. Please, for the sake of me being close to death, don't abandon me. You don't even have to take care of the child. My parents have a car, house, and pension. They can raise him. Emma, please!"

At the same time, his inner voice echoed in my ears.

"Resist, the more you resist, the better the effect. Emma, since you refused to take the easy way, don't blame me!"

His manic expression was more than I could bear. I turned and slapped him. He froze, seemingly unaware of why I suddenly changed.

I didn't want to get entangled with him anymore. I quickly left, taking out my phone to investigate his information!

But what I didn't expect was that all this had been filmed and maliciously edited, then posted online!

In the video, Ethan clung to me, crying bitterly, begging me not to leave him. But I said he was sick, and after I turned to leave, Ethan standing there was accompanied by sad background music!

Seizing the momentum, Ethan even started a live broadcast to create a sympathetic persona.

Suddenly, the hot search was full of related keywords:

#Boyfriend with cancer abandoned by girlfriend#

#Female version of Traitor Tom#

#Cancer patient is an only child#

The comments were all cursing me and morally blackmailing me.

"How disgusting, as soon as her boyfriend got sick, she turned against him. What a selfish person!"

"It's normal for him to want a child. No parent wants to bury their child. And I think the boy's family is pretty well-off."

"I'd say this girl never loved her boyfriend at all. Look at her expression when she heard her boyfriend had cancer, like someone owed her millions."

"Yeah, even if she didn't want to, she shouldn't have done this. What kind of person is she?"

"Having a child, what's the problem? This is the hope of a family!"

I sat in the office, looking at this farce unfolding on my phone, getting more and more out of control!

"Knock knock knock," the office door was knocked, then pushed open.

I looked up at the newcomer and smiled widely.

"Kyle, you're here!"

The man who had just walked in was none other than my senior from university and the managing partner of my law firm—Kyle!

When I first met Ethan, I hadn't yet finished my Ph.D., so he assumed I was just a regular college student. There's no way he would've guessed that I'd started my own law firm back when I was still in grad school. This time, he's definitely bitten off more than he can chew!

Kyle set the documents down in front of me, teasing with a grin.

"Emma, you really outdid yourself this time! There's a lot more to this case than I expected. You might as well just join the police force!"

I smiled wryly. "Kyle, quit teasing me. But thanks for the trouble. You even came back from South City just for this!"

Kyle playfully flicked my forehead. "What are you talking about? I'm your senior! Even if I had to drop a case, I'd come back to support you for something this big."

Before I could reply, I heard him grumble under his breath, frustration seeping into his voice.

"This is so infuriating! I go away for six months on a business trip, and she goes on a blind date? It's all that jerk, Shawn's fault! He dragged me along on this trip for such a simple case, treating me like free labor. If I keep hanging around him, I'll lose my wife before I even get married!"

Noticing that I was staring at him, Kyle awkwardly shifted in his seat and muttered again, quieter this time.

"She's looking at me. What, finally noticing my charm? I mean, seriously, I've been this handsome for years and she never spared me a glance. I was starting to think she was going to marry her books and ignore men for life! And now she dares go on a blind date? See, I knew she'd realize I'm the best option!"

I stared at him in shock. Was Kyle... into me?

As I spaced out, he reached over to touch my forehead. The coolness of his fingers snapped me back to reality, and I quickly stepped back, dodging his hand.

"Thanks, Kyle!"

Seeing my reaction, he looked a bit disappointed but casually grabbed the documents from the table.

"Based on what we've got so far, Ethan is just the frontman for this group. I don't think what he's after is just getting you to have his kid. Whoever's behind him has their eye on you, because it's unusual for them to go after one person with this much effort. Someone must've specifically targeted you. I spoke to Shawn, and his team is already investigating. They didn't have Ethan on their radar before this, so he's either a hidden player or just a disposable pawn."

I looked at Kyle, his serious, calm demeanor making me second-guess everything I'd just heard. Did I imagine all that earlier?

"Emma?"

"Huh?"

I snapped back to attention at the sound of his voice and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Kyle, I got distracted. What were you saying?"

He put the documents down and walked to the door, pouring me a glass of water.

"I was saying that Shawn thinks we shouldn't alert Ethan just yet. We need to keep him close to find out who's behind him."

I nodded. "Got it. Leave it to me."

Kyle looked at me intently. "Safety first."

My heart warmed at his words, and I couldn't quite meet his gaze. Grabbing the documents, I stood up and hurried toward the door, but just as I was about to leave, he called out to me again.

"Emma, once this whole thing is over... let's have dinner together."

Seeing the serious expression on his face, I had to fight back a smile. I could practically hear his inner monologue:

"Dammit, why can't I get the words out? I was going to confess! It's all Shawn's fault. I've spent too much time with him, and now I've picked up his habit of dragging things out. Kyle, Kyle, haven't you learned your lesson yet? Aren't you afraid you're going to lose her?"

Amused by his inner struggle, I smiled and said, "Sure."

Then I turned and left.

I hadn't even stepped out of the law firm when my phone buzzed. I glanced down—it was a message from Ethan.

The second I read it, I couldn't hold back my anger anymore.

Ethan—how dare he!

By the time I got home, Ethan was livestreaming right in front of my house. My parents stood behind him, looking angry yet helpless. Ethan bowed apologetically toward them.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Johnson. I've dragged you into this. It's all my fault. I should have broken up with Emma on my own. Everything is my fault. It's just... I love her too much! And besides, I'm the only son my parents have. I'm really sorry!"

He choked up, and before my parents could respond, he turned back to the camera and bowed again.

"Thank you, everyone, for your concern. My girlfriend and her family are great people. It's me who's worthless. Please, don't disturb them anymore! The doctor said my condition is from overwork and too many social obligations. I didn't want this either, but Emma..."

I opened my phone and entered his livestream. Because of the buzz around the last video, the room was packed with viewers, and the comments were all condemning me.

"When a person is close to death, they tend to speak kindly. It's normal for someone so young to have these thoughts, especially after being diagnosed with cancer."

"Yeah, he's just unlucky to have a girlfriend like that. They haven't even broken up yet, and she's already acting like this. Makes you wonder what her parents taught her."

"I know Emma! She's from A University, top of her class. I used to go to school with her. Her parents are teachers too. She always acted so superior."

"Listen, Ethan got cancer because of his girlfriend, Emma. We work at the same company. He works tirelessly, staying up late, skipping meals, but he's always buying his girlfriend bags and necklaces. He even said he was saving up to buy her a house!"

"Sounds like his illness is directly tied to her."

"Agreed. If it weren't for the pressure his gold-digger girlfriend put on him, he probably wouldn't have gotten sick! I say she should take responsibility for ruining the only child in his family!"

Reading these comments, I snorted and turned off my phone, then walked directly toward Ethan, who was still livestreaming.

When he saw me, Ethan's face lit up with excitement, and he casually shifted the camera toward me.