I thought his care was a sign of love, but it was actually a murder intent in disguise. “Hubby, I don’t like the milk’s taste. Can I skip this one?”

Vincent gave a helpless smile, but he didn’t let me refuse. “Jude, don’t be stubborn. The doctor said the more you dislike the food, the more your body needs it.”

“If you don’t rest well, the baby won’t either. Aren’t you the one who loves them the most? Be good—for the sake of our baby. Here, let me help you drink it.”

He was half persuasive, half insistent as he pressed the rim of the glass to my lips. I had no chance to refuse.

Vincent, were you so afraid that my child would stand in Estelle’s way? Or do you believe that the only person worthy of having your child is Estelle?

I closed my eyes in despair and drank the entire glass of milk.

In less than half an hour, the effects of the drug began to take hold. I curled up on the bed in agony, drenched in cold sweat from the pain. Vincent had just finished calling our private doctor when he returned to our room. It was as if he’d been waiting outside all along.

Even though I had been through this seven times before, losing my child once again still felt like a knife twisting in my heart.

Through the haze of pain, I vaguely heard the doctor’s voice “Mr. Long, your wife has lost significantly more blood than in her previous miscarriages. I’m afraid her body has been critically damaged and she’ll never be able to conceive again.”

Vincent said nothing, his eyes red as he cradled me in his arms. “Jude, don’t worry. Even if we can’t have children, I’ll still love you. I’ll take care of you for the rest of my life.”

From being the pampered CEO who had everything handed to him, Vincent now personally cleaned the bloodstains from my body. He was worried I’d catch a cold after the miscarriage. So, he held me tightly in his arms to keep me warm as I slept.

In the dead of night, Vincent muttered in the middle of his deep sleep, “Elle, don’t be afraid. I’ll make sure you get your happiness.”

The tears I had been holding back for so long finally broke free. On our wedding day, Vincent had promised me happiness, but it was only a lie to keep me from interfering with Estelle’s life.

At that moment, I suddenly realized that my entire marriage had been nothing but a complete joke.

I quickly sent a message to my best friend abroad:

[You once invited me to join you to go around the world, right? I’ve decided—I’ll come to Lichtonia to see you the day after tomorrow.]

I put my phone down, but my lower abdomen still ached terribly.

The thought that I had just lost another child and that it was his biological father who had taken it from me, left me breathless with pain. I locked myself in the bathroom, letting my tears fall freely as I replayed all the moments I had shared with Vincent over the years.

When I stood up, my phone accidentally slipped from my hand.

I bent down to pick it up. Then, I noticed something under the sink—a precious bundle wrapped carefully in layers of expensive satin.

Curious, I unwrapped it, only to discover it was a thick photo album. An album filled with pictures of Estelle, from the age of 15 to her current 28.

The design on the cover was familiar. I had seen it in Vincent’s office before. Vincent had always loved photography.

Although Vincent was Kenneth’s younger cousin, he was only a few years older than us. When we were kids, Vincent would often watch Kenneth and I fighting over something. Vincent looked aloof as if he couldn’t be bothered with the childish games we played.

One day, when Estelle just turned 15, she approached me and asked if we could be friends. I didn’t think much of it. Since I always saw her alone, I introduced her to Kenneth and Vincent.

It was around that moment on, Vincent started joining our activities. He even began learning photography.

I thought it was simply a sign of him maturing. In truth, it was because he had found someone he liked.

The photos in the album—I only saw a few of them, while I never even saw the rest even from back then.

Every smile, every frown, every glance and every fleeting gesture—Vincent's camera readily capture Estelle’s every movement.

After the day we got married, Vincent had never touched his camera again.

Once, I asked him to take a maternity photo for me. At that time, he simply told me that he lost his camera and introduced me to a famous photographer to do the job instead.

In reality, he didn’t lose his camera. It’s just that his lens was reserved solely for the person he loved.

While I quietly put the photo album back to its original place, my eyes were completely dried up. I no longer can shed tears for him.

I booked a plane ticket on my phone and drafted a divorce agreement next. If he loved Estelle that much, I may as well let him have her.

The next morning, my eyes were so swollen they looked like walnuts.

Vincent noticed and that seemed to made him worried. Unlike any day, he went on and prepared a nutritious breakfast for me himself. He boiled an egg and carefully peeled it. Then, he used the egg to reduce the swelling around my eyes.

His gentle, attentive care almost made me question whether everything from last night had been nothing more than a bad dream.

Yet, the emptiness in my belly reminded me that I was firmly grounded in reality.

Vincent sighed when he witnessed me not taking a single bite of his homemade porridge.

“Jude, we just lost our baby. I know you’re heartbroken and I’m hurting too, but you need to take care of yourself. After all these miscarriages, your body is in bad shape. Please eat something, for my sake. Don’t make me worry, okay?”

“Where is my baby’s body? I want to see him.”

Three months. By then, my baby would have already taken shape, but I would never get the chance to hold him or see him.

Vincent’s answer was the same as the previous seven times; “I’ve made sure the baby was properly buried. You’re too emotional right now and I don’t want you to be even more heartbroken.”

“Your parents are devastated as well. Let’s go to the family home for dinner tonight—it’ll do us all some good to spend time together.”

The moment I stepped into the Long Family estate, I saw Estelle clinging to Kenneth’s arm, her every gesture dripping with playful flirtation.

When she noticed me, she tilted her head slightly and proudly pushed her belly forward, as if showing it off.

“Oh, Jude! It’s been ages since I’ve seen you. Come, have a seat. I heard you had another miscarriage—be careful not to overexert your body!”

Ever since the wedding incident, things had been tensed between me, Kenneth and Estelle. Whenever I visited the family home, I’d deliberately avoid times when they were around.

It seemed today wasn’t one of those lucky days.

I glanced at Estelle's six-month belly and felt a sharp pang in my chest. She's carrying Vincent’s child. Meanwhile, that man had never let any of my pregnancies last longer than three months.

When Vicky, Vincent's mother, saw me, her face immediately turn sour.

“Useless. You can’t even protect the child in your womb. How many times has it been now? And you still have the nerve to complain about being exhausted? How did my son end up with someone like you too begin with?”

Vicky was Vincent’s biological mother and at the same time Kenneth’s step-mother. Right at her fifty years of age she had to witness the CEO position that rightfully should have gone to her biological son being snatched away by Kenneth. That, must have irked her quite deeply.

In the past, Vincent would have stood up for me. But now, his eyes were fixed solely on Estelle, brimming with longing and devotion, completely oblivious to the tension between Vicky and me.

“Ma’am, don’t be upset,” Estelle said sweetly, her tone dripping with faux concern. “It’s just that Jude isn’t blessed with the fortune to be a mother. After losing so many children, it’s not like she wanted it to happen.”

Vicky scoffed coldly. “She’s nothing but a cursed woman, dragging my son down with her.”

Pretending to play peacemaker, Estelle tried to ease the situation, even reaching to guide me into a seat. But as she stood, she stumbled slightly.

Though she quickly regained her balance, Vincent didn’t hesitate. He shoved me aside and rushed to her.

Ignoring everyone else in the room, he pulled Estelle into his arms and asked anxiously, “Elle, are you okay? You’re pregnant—why are you walking around by yourself? Where’s Kenneth?”

Estelle flashed a sugary smile. “Ken’s in the U.S. on a business trip. He’s about to take over as CEO, so he’s been super busy.”

She shot me a mocking glance before turning to Vincent, putting on a painfully sweet, almost cringey expression.

“Vince, I think I might have twisted my ankle just now. It hurts so much,” Estelle said, all pouty.

Vincent didn’t say a word. He simply swept Estelle up into a princess carry and headed straight for the upstairs bedroom, not even sparing me a glance.

Meanwhile, Vicky shot me a pointed look.

"Not only can you not have children, but you can’t even keep a man. If Ken hadn’t married Elle first, do you really think my son would’ve ever looked at you? How dare you eat in my house? Get upstairs, you’re ruining my appetite just by being here," her voice dripping with cold sarcasm.

I had always known Vicky didn’t like me.

She saw me as the woman Kenneth had rejected, the one who had latched onto her son and made a fool of him. And after all my miscarriages, her disdain for me only deepened.

Since she was Vincent’s mother, I tried to tell myself it was my fault for not being able to carry a child int the past. I felt guilty, especially when Vincent would step in and defend me.

I endured it all.

Right now, though, Vincent was so absorbed in Estelle that he didn’t even seem to remember I was there.

For a brief moment, I considered confronting the truth, but I quickly pushed the thought aside.

I had already made up my mind to leave, so what was the point in saying anything at all?

I silently made my way upstairs and noticed that Estelle’s bedroom door was slightly ajar.

Something compelled me to move closer.

What I saw made my heart freeze: Estelle, her clothes askew, lying on the bed with Vincent on top of her.

"Vincent, you're still the one who cares for me the most. Ken can't have children and if you let Judith gives birth, he won't be able to inherit the company. If that happens... I don't know how much suffering I'll face in the future."

Vincent gasped in between his thrusting, his eyes darkened with desire. "Is Kenneth treating you well? Has he been cruel to you?"

"Ever since I got pregnant, he’s been treating me like royalty. He’s terrified I’ll get tired, even washes my feet himself and he’s been more attentive to me in bed."

Vincent’s expression turned slightly bitter. "As long as he treats you well... as long as you’re happy... I have no regrets."

"Ken, you've done so much for me. I can't marry you, but I can give myself to you. Tonight, I belong to you."

Vincent could no longer control himself and their passion intensified as they pounded into one another.

I never knew that the usually cold and restrained Vincent could lose himself like this.

Tears fell as I stumbled back to my bedroom.

Vincent didn't come back the entire night.

The next day, Vincent stared at me with deep guilt.

"Jude, I planned to come back and stay with you last night, but Mom kept me all night to hear her talk. I just... couldn't get away."

I didn’t call out his lie, simply turning toward the door to wait for him.

A bucket of leftover scraps was suddenly poured over me and Estelle appeared in front of me, holding the slop bucket with a mocking smile.

"Judith, did you enjoy watching Vince lose his mind over me?" she taunted.

So, she had left the door open on purpose.

"Miscarriage doesn’t feel so great, does it? But you won’t have to worry about that anymore—after all, you’ll never be able to have children again."

"If you still had the gall to get pregnant again, I'll make you feel the consequences. You wouldn't steal my spot as Mrs. CEO of Long Enterprises!"

"For me, Vince didn’t just give up his right to inherit the company—he also helped me get pregnant. And those children you lost? They've become my... supplements."

I shot my head up, my voice shaking. "What did you just say?"

Estelle chuckled. "What? Didn't you ever wonder why, every time you miscarried, Vince told you the child had already been buried and wouldn’t let you see it? Well, it’s because I told him to keep it from you. Eating them... it's good for my health."

Despair, rage and disbelief all hit me at once.

So that was the reason Vince never let me see the children?

How could he?

Everything that happened… was all for Estelle?!