Boom!

It felt like a bolt of lightning struck her.

Liora’s body shook uncontrollably.

The woman the doctor mentioned,the one with the same name,was clearly her.

Liora suddenly remembered how,during her pregnancy,Edward would wake in the middle of the night,frowning,muttering about how the baby was giving her stretch marks and how she was no longer fit to be the wife of an artist.

He would not even touch her belly.

At the time,Liora had simply assumed he was just adjusting to impending fatherhood.

But now,knowing that Edward had essentially killed their baby just because of her stretch marks,everything seemed like a sick joke.

How blind had she been to believe this man ever loved her?

Soon,the anesthesia kicked in fully and Liora’s consciousness slipped into darkness.

When she woke again,a familiar face appeared before her.

Liora snapped fully awake,grabbed whatever was within reach and hurled it at him with all her strength.

"Get out!"

She shot up in bed and screamed from the pit of her stomach,her fury so fierce that her nerves felt like they were tearing apart.

Her sharp nails slashed across Edward’s arm without hesitation as if she wanted to claw him open.

This time,Edward did not retaliate.

"Liora,I’m sorry,I’m so sorry…I didn’t know you were pregnant…"

He did not seem to care how crazed she looked.He pulled her tightly into his arms,his voice low and shaking with panic.

"Liora,don’t worry.I promise you,we’ll have kids together in the future.No,you’ll have kids with my brother."

"I just got word that he didn’t die in that mudslide.I’ll bring him back soon."

No.

He could not come back.

Edward Gravemont’s accounts were being erased.In a week,everything between them would be over.

Liora stared blankly at nothing,thinking silently.

Still,she said nothing.

In the days that followed,Edward stayed by her side,doing everything he could to act responsibly and caring.

However,Liora did not respond to any of it.

She ignored the cheerful gifts he brought and refused every kind of nourishing meal he tried to give her.

"If you really want me to recover quickly,then start by sending Callista Ravenshade,the real culprit,to jail,"Liora said coldly,curling her lips with disdain.

But Edward,as always,deflected with the same tired excuse."I already told you that the driver who hit you was an old drunk.He’s been arrested.He’s the one truly responsible."

If Liora had not been absolutely sure she saw Callista behind the wheel,she might have believed him.

But since he insisted on protecting Callista,she said nothing more.She simply turned her back to him and refused to engage.

Still,Edward remained by her side every day,taking care of her personally.He only relaxed once she was out of critical condition and finally arranged for bodyguards to watch over her instead.

Liora welcomed the change.She no longer had to look at the face that now made her sick to her stomach.

She could not tell anymore if the happiness of the past five years had ever been real or just a series of carefully crafted lies and betrayals.

Just as Liora thought the days would drag on like this until she was discharged,Callista suddenly showed up,still as arrogant as ever.

"Liora Wrenford,you see?God’s on my side.So what if you were pregnant?You couldn’t even keep it."

"Even after Ed found out I hit you,he still found a scapegoat to take the blame for me."

"Now the only heir he’ll ever have is the baby growing in my belly."

Callista smugly stroked her stomach,parading it in front of Liora like a trophy.

"Every night,Ed spends time with me.He talks to the baby,rubs oil on my belly and showers me with gifts.He is terrified I’ll get upset and harm the baby."

"Guards!Throw her out,"Liora said calmly,not even looking up.She addressed the bodyguards stationed at the door.

Callista’s face turned ghostly pale at that.With a sharp glare,she slammed the food container she was carrying down onto the table.

"Who dares touch me?"

The guards hesitated,exchanged uncertain glances and then stepped quietly out of the room.

Callista smirked,triumphant again.But beneath that smugness was something darker,malice and cruelty.

She opened the food container and,with a calculated flick of her wrist,aimed the scalding-hot porridge at Liora.

"Oops…Ouch!"

The feigned gasp of surprise cut off instantly,replaced by a real,piercing scream.

Liora had seen it coming.She dodged just in time,grabbed Callista’s wrist mid-motion and redirected the splash.

The boiling porridge landed squarely on Callista’s arm.

"Callista!"

Hearing her scream,Edward burst through the door.

Callista immediately burst into tears,playing the victim first.

"It’s all my fault,Ed.Liora was already in a fragile state after the miscarriage.I shouldn’t have brought her porridge,but it must have seemed like I was showing off that my baby is still healthy."

Edward rushed to check Callista’s burn,clearly distressed and quickly called for the doctor to treat her.

Then he turned to Liora with a frown,his expression darkening.

"Liora Wrenford,don’t even try to push your luck."

"If you hadn’t tried to throw Callista out…if you hadn’t exposed her in front of others,none of this would’ve happened.The baby might’ve survived."

He spoke as if she were the one at fault.

Liora let out a cold laugh."Get lost."

Callista’s eyes welled up with fresh tears.

"Don’t blame Liora.Even though she planned to abort her pregnancy…maybe if I’d moved out sooner and hadn’t upset her,there would’ve been a small chance her baby could have made it."

"What do you mean,abort her pregnancy?"Edward’s eyes narrowed,his voice sharp.

Callista blinked,then glanced at Liora with a deliberately provocative look,though her tone remained sweet and innocent.

"I overheard the doctor say that Liora had scheduled an abortion a few days ago.She never planned on keeping the baby in the first place."

The moment the words left her mouth,Edward lost control.His eyes reddened and he grabbed Liora by the neck.

"Liora,how could you be so heartless?That was your own flesh and blood!"

"If Callista hadn’t told me,would you have kept this secret forever?I’ve never seen a woman so cruel!"

He was panting,shouting,his grip on her throat tightening with every word.

Liora’s vision began to blur,but even as her breath caught,she managed a cracked,bitter smile.

Cruel?

And what about letting her abort a healthy child just because of a few stretch marks?

However,Liora said nothing.She only stared at Edward calmly,like she was watching a stranger.

"Whether or not I wanted that baby…has nothing to do with you,dear brother-in-law."

The final word,drawn out and deliberate,struck him like a slap.Edward froze.His breathing stalled and his hands fell away from her neck.

Liora quickly pulled back and put distance between them.His expression darkened with humiliation,but he could not get a word out.

Given his current legal identity,he was technically her brother-in-law.

If he tried to argue,it would all come out.

Callista stepped in at just the right moment.

"Don’t be mad at Liora,Ed.She’s just had a miscarriage.Her body’s still weak.If she didn’t like the porridge,I’ll go back and make another one right away."

Edward saw Callista being so considerate and when he thought of the child she was carrying in her womb,his expression softened slightly.

His lips pressed into a firm line and his gaze flickered as he looked at Liora.

"There’s no need to make a new one.She has no right to reject the porridge you thoughtfully prepared."

"Go ahead and feed it to her."

"Let go!Ugh!"

Liora glared at the bodyguards surrounding her,her eyes fixed on Edward and Callista as they walked away,her jaw clenched with rage.

But the porridge was still forced down her throat.

"Ugh!"

After finally breaking free,Liora staggered to the sink,her body trembling in distress as she retched uncontrollably.

However,the seafood in the porridge immediately triggered a severe allergic reaction.

Red rashes began to spread rapidly across her skin and her face and throat started to swell,her breathing becoming more and more labored.

Just then,Callista,who had already walked out,suddenly turned back with a sneer.

"Wrenford,do you like the gift I prepared for you?"

"Hmph,I don’t even need to lift a finger to deal with you.But Liora,I want you gone.I want you dead,so you’ll finally give up your place beside Edward completely!"

As she said this,Callista deliberately scratched her own belly with her fingernails without a moment’s hesitation.

"Liora,I shouldn’t have told Edward that you wanted an abortion…please,I’m begging you,not my child!"

"Callista,what’s wrong with you?Don’t scare me!"

The bathroom door was suddenly pushed open.Edward saw Callista lying on the floor,clutching her stomach and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

"Liora!Callista was worried about you,so she came back to check on you.What did you do to her?!"

Edward suddenly looked up and shouted furiously.

But then he saw Liora looking extremely disheveled,her face swollen,breathing heavily with her mouth wide open.

For a brief moment,the fury in his eyes came to a halt.

He suddenly remembered the symptoms Liora had shown during her previous allergic reaction and panic rushed in as he instinctively moved toward her to check.

But at that very moment,Callista suddenly fell to her knees,clutching her belly and kowtowing to Liora several times in a row.

"Liora,I swear I didn’t put seafood in the porridge and I didn’t mean to tell him that you were planning to get an abortion."

"If you’re angry,you can take it out on me however you want,but please,I’m begging you,don’t hurt my child."

Edward glanced at Callista’s pitiful appearance,sobbing and pleading for mercy and when he thought of how Liora had been cruel enough to want to abort their child from the very beginning,his gaze turned cold again without hesitation.

"Liora,haven’t you acted enough?Callista has been driven to this point by you,so what else do you want?"

Callista immediately reached out and clung to Edward’s sleeve.

"Don’t blame Liora,it’s all my fault,I…Ah!My belly!"

As she spoke,Callista gripped her stomach and cried out in pain.

There was a particularly distinctive rose-shaped birthmark on her belly.As her pregnancy progressed,her growing belly made the birthmark look like a blossoming flower,which was a unique and eye-catching feature.

And the small scratch she had made herself had been torn open into a horrifying,bloody gash,positioned just beside the rose birthmark.It had completely ruined the visual beauty of it.

Callista screamed and looked up at Edward,her expression filled with a mix of sorrow and accusation.

"Sobs,I’m so sorry...it’s all my fault for not protecting myself.The international art festival is approaching soon.What if this scar ruins your inspiration for your work…"

As expected,Edward’s attention was immediately drawn to the wound.

His eyes turned bloodshot in an instant and he looked at Liora’s hands with an expression of manic rage.

"Someone,come in!Use the family discipline!Hit her hands,every single finger!Don’t stop until all ten are broken!"

Because of the allergy,Liora’s breathing had grown increasingly labored,her pulse was weakening and her consciousness began to blur,leaving her completely powerless to resist.

Ten fingers were linked together in front of her chest.

After the searing pain,there was nothing but numbing silence.

What was more,when she received the news that Edward had been buried in the mudslide,she dug through the debris with her bare hands for three full days and nights and the wounds on her hands had still not fully healed to this day.

Liora eventually fainted from the pain.

When she regained consciousness,she discovered that she had been confined to a hospital ward.

Edward never showed up again.Instead,his assistant,Caelum,came to deliver a message.

"Ma'am,Mr.Gravemont said that your husband encountered an unexpected issue and will have to postpone his return for a few days."

"Is that so?"

Liora did not care anymore.

Because of the miscarriage earlier,Edward likely felt guilty and tried to comfort her by saying that Edward Gravemont was still alive.

Now,he had his assistant delay Edward’s reappearance,which was precisely what Liora wanted.

After all,the fake death Edward had painstakingly staged would become an irreversible reality once his accounts were completely erased three days later.

Liora would not allow Edward to return from the dead as he had planned,nor would she let herself be manipulated again by his arrogant confidence in always winning,like a caged bird trapped by his power and cruelty.

She hoped with all her heart that there would be no Edward in this world again.

Soon,the three days came to an end.

After receiving confirmation that Edward’s accounts had been officially closed,she went directly to the hospital to complete her discharge procedures.

But just after she started her car,she suddenly saw Callista standing right in front of it.

Liora slammed the brake pedal all the way down in a panic.

But even though the car had not touched her at all,Callista collapsed straight to the ground and the blood pooling beneath her quickly stained the pavement red.

Edward,who had come chasing after,saw the scene and clenched his fists tightly,his eyes turning red as if blood might seep out from them.

Bam!

He used all his strength to kick Liora away.

Blinded by rage,he immediately called for a doctor without hesitation.

"Draw as much blood as Callista has lost."