When they got to the door, Erick stopped and looked at Lizbeth carefully.

“Liz, do you really like me? If you do, why did you let me be in danger?”

“You’re the kind of person who has had many lovers. After the child is born, will you leave me?”

“You have many men, but I am different… Liz, I only have you…”

Erick's fell onto the back of her hand.

Those tears also fell into Lizbeth's heart. She did not answer with words but instead with a deep, urgent kiss.

After a while, they pulled apart with thin threads of saliva.

“I feel the same. I only have you. Rick, I promise this is the last time it's going to happen. If you don’t believe me, we will register our marriage tomorrow.”

The boy grinned a little and moved closer so he could kiss her forehead gently.

“You lied to me. You said the date of our marriage registration is still far away.”

“I'm Lizbeth Flare. I can decide the date of my own marriage registration whenever I want it." She took his arm and walked out the door.

At that moment, my world fell apart.

Tears blurred my sight. I stood there for a very long time. I took out my phone and dialed the hospital.

“Schedule my surgery now,” I ordered.

After I hung up, I looked at the wound on my abdomen. The blood would not stop gushing. My body hurt, but compared to my heart, it hurt less.

I got the wound for kidnapping Erick. He stabbed me by accident... or maybe on purpose, who knows. What's clear was the fact the blade went through my kidney.

Coincidentally, my kidney injury affected my ability to have a child. It's lost forever. I would never be a father.

When the anesthesia began, I heard loud noises outside. I soon realize tt was Lizbeth.

My chest tightened.

“Where is the doctor? Check him! He passed out after getting into the car. Is he going to be okay?” she asked with worry.

“Miss, there are other people waiting for surgery. The clinic is not here,” a staff replied.

“Shut up! Say another word and I’ll shoot you! If something happens to him, this hospital will close! I mean it!”

A bullet smashed the glass of the operating room. The doctors instantly went panic and scrambled to get out and apologize.

Before leaving, one of them told me, “Sir, please wait. I will check on the injured man and come back right away.”

I lay on the operating table with a bitter smile on my face.

Lizbeth wasn't the woman she used to be. Now her eyes and heart belong only to Erick Wayne. I felt stupid for expecting her appearance in the hospital because she knew I got badly injured.

My mind grew fuzzy. I seemed to go back to when she first found out she was pregnant.

She held me and kissed my cheek gently. “Tom, I am so glad to have you.”

I kissed her back with the same warmth.

“When the child is born, we will move abroad. I had too many enemies here. I want a normal life.”

“All right. I will agree to anything. You are everything to me now,” I said.

The scene changed. She put a gun to my forehead, face twisted.

“I told you, he's different. He’s only a kid! Why won’t you leave him alone? I’ll tell you the truth. The child in my belly is his.”

“Tommy, this is going to be the first and last time, this kindnapping happen.”

Bang!

The gunshots rang.

Hundreds of my men, who had fought with me for eight years, fell in pools of blood.

“If there is a next time, this will be your end!”

The bloody scenes kept turning in my mind. She squeezed my beating heart in her hand, then stabbed the open wound on the left side of my chest.

“Where's Rick?”

“Tommy, you’re pushing your luck. So, don't expect me to show any mercy!”

“I'll leave this guy to your hands. Do whatever you want. No need to inform me.”

The piercing pain made me break out in a cold sweat.

The doctor wiped my sweat and shouted, "Hurry, the anesthetic's wearing off! The patient's awake!"

The pain was too much and I blacked out. When I opened my eyes again, I was already in a ward. My younger brother, Greg, was in the room. He went forward to support me.

“Tommy, you’re awake! Are you okay?” he asked. “Lizbeth really went too far this time. Why didn’t you let me that you're the one having surgery? If the anesthesia wears off, you could die from passing out because of the pain!”

“What difference does it make if I were to tell you?” I forced a smile.

Greg asked with worry, “She didn't notice you left that abandoned warehouse, did she?”

“No. We took another mountain road,” I replied.

Redness slowly creeping up to Gerry's eyes. “You risked your life to save Lizbeth back then. You even stabbed ten times. Now you’re dealing with just one person instead of many, why not just kill her?”

I shook my head. “If we kill her, we’ll all die. She’s not the Lizbeth she used to be.”

“Do one thing for me. After it’s done, leave the country, never come back,” Greg said.

I got the message that my passport was ready two days later. During those days, Lizbeth did not send me a single message.

My chest tightened with a thousand pricks of pain; I could not breathe. When I got home, I felt like I had no strength left.

Before I could relax, I heard the clear click of a gun being loaded. I snapped awake and gripped the dagger at my waist. At first, I thought it was one of Lizbeth’s enemies. But my body fell to the ground before I could even control myself.

I didn’t know what exactly happened other than terrible pain swallowed me whole. My body felt torn apart and then sewn back together.

Then, the smell of blood woke me. Upon opening my eyes, I noticed I was lying on a big hotel bed and everything else I saw made me sick.

My body had whip marks, there wasn’t a single part of my skin unmarked. My stomach churned and soon I vomited.

From the hallway Lizbeth’s voice came. “How is it? Did you record the video?”

“We recorded it, but… Mr. Randall has been with you for eight years. Isn’t this a bit too much, ma'am?”

“What are you trying to say?" She replied, unamused. "Remember who you belong to. If he hadn’t insisted on bothering Rick, I wouldn’t have had to do this. He was pushign it, he deserved to be taught a lesson.”

“Tell the men to guard Rick well. If Tommy shows up again, we’ll release those videos, no matter what,” she added.

“Yes, ma'am!”

One second before she opened the door, I fell back on the bed and pretended to have just woken up.

A nail then dug hard into my palm; the familiar pain kept me barely in control. Her expression immediately changed into that gentle, caring face from the past.

“How are you? Are you okay? I've caught the person who did this. If anyone dares hurt you, I will not forgive them,” she said softly.

I couldn’t hold back tears and stared straight at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lizbeth frowned. “Relax. I know you're short tempered. I've kept the culprit—so you could deal with him yourself.”

“Let’s go. He probably won’t live long.” She held me in her arms.

Her hug felt as warm as before. Yet, my whole body was as cold as biting ice.

On the way, she still did not let go of my hand. I could see her caring expression mixed with guilt.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t protect you well. I promise, it won’t happen again,” she cooed.

When I stayed silent, she kissed the corner of my mouth.

“Tom, you’re my everything. Don’t act like that, you’re making me and our baby worried.”

I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to hear more of Lizbeth's words.

The car soon reached a factory on the outskirts of the city.

There was a guy inside the building and was barely breathing. His eyes were full of hatred when he looked at me. But the moment he saw Lizbeth, his eyes turned red and he lunged at her like a mad dog.

“You’ll rot in hell!”

“You've touched my man and now threatening me?” Lizbeth kicked him hard in the chest. “Looks like you didn’t learn your lesson last time.” She pulled out a knife.

“Nobody touched your man, you crazy woman!” The man cursed wildly. “Lizbeth, you—”

Before he could finish, the blade was already in his chest.

She turned to me, a small smile playing on her lips. “Sorry! I hurt him before you did! I got too angry and can't stop myself.”

Lizbeth then pressed the knife into my hand, guiding it the way she’d once taught me. Her hand covered mine.

I didn’t remember how many times I stabbed the random guy. Before I knew it, blood had covered the floor like a lake spilling on the floor.

Each strike felt like it went straight through my own heart.

When we walked out of the factory, she hugged me tightly under the setting sun.

“Tom, stop acting all upset, okay? You know you’re special to me. As long as you behave, I’ll always be with you, right here.”

I just stood there, speechless at her words.

She gently took my hand and placed it on her slightly swollen belly. “Baby, say hi to Daddy. Daddy almost got into trouble today, but Mommy took care of it!”

“Tom, don’t you want to say something to the baby?” Her gentle gaze was locked on me.

Out of instinct, I jerked my hand away. “Sorry, I… I don’t feel well.”

Maybe it was guilt. Maybe I just didn’t want to keep pretending. She didn’t press further, didn’t complain about morning sickness like she used to.

On the way back, she kept glancing at her phone, a faint smile on her lips.

It reminded me of when we first fell in love. Back then, whenever she smiled like that, I’d tease her and grab her phone.

“What are you looking at? Something prettier than me? Tom, you’ve been naughty! No kisses for you tonight!”

She’d always pretend to cry. “Tom stop teasing me! You know I can’t sleep if you don’t kiss me! You’re so mean!”

To everyone else, she was cold and ruthless — a devil in heels. But to me, she’d always acted like a fragile, helpless bunny.

But not anymore. Now, I didn’t even have the courage to joke around with her. I couldn't risk myself to danger. So, I swallowed the bitterness.

Suddenly, she told the driver to stop. “Tom, someone’s causing trouble nearby. You should go home first. It might take a while. Go to bed without me. Text if you need anything.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her phone screen and the chat bubbles.

It was a message from Erick: [Miss you, baby.]

She replied: [What a coincidence. My baby misses Daddy too.]

I got out of the car and walked for three hours before reaching the villa. Just as I was about to open the door, a sharp pain hit the back of my neck. My body went limp and instantly falling to the ground.

When I woke up, the sound of a knife being sharpened filled the air.

There was a man with scarred face and only three fingers on his right hand in front of me. The grin he had was wide.

“Damn that Lizbeth. We've made a deal to stay out of each other’s business. And now she kidnapped my man? Did she think I won’t fight back?”

He spat before staring coldly at me. “Well, fine. Let’s do this. I’ve got both of her men in my hands now. Let’s what she can do about this.”