Caden Vaughn's childhood sweetheart had been secretly in love with him for ten years to no avail.

Yet on our wedding night, she went to a bar to drink her sorrows away and ended up in a car accident.

When she woke up, she claimed to have had a prophetic dream.

As the events from her dream began coming true one by one, everyone went from roaring with laughter to believing her without question.

Then, at a Vaughn family dinner, she pointed at me and declared that I would cheat on him, get pregnant with another man's child, and still be treated like a treasure by the Vaughn family.

Caden Vaughn stepped in front of me, completely unbothered, and said with a smile:

"It's just a dream. You can't take it seriously. I'll always believe in Anne, so please don't say things like that again."

The very next day, I was told the baby I was carrying had a defect and had to be aborted.

But as I was losing consciousness before the surgery, I overheard a nurse's curious question.

"Her fetus is developing perfectly. Why does President Vaughn want to get rid of the child, and even have her uterus removed?"

...

Before I was wheeled into the operating room, Caden Vaughn held my hand tightly, leaned down to kiss my forehead, and looked into my eyes with a gaze full of deep affection.

"Anne, don't be scared. It'll be over in a little while. It's going to be okay, it won't hurt. I'll be waiting for you right outside."

I placed a hand on my lower abdomen, forcing back the sorrow in my heart as I squeezed out a smile for Caden Vaughn.

Our little angel, whose arrival I had been so eagerly anticipating, turned out to have a defect. I had no choice but to be cruel and send it back to where it came from.

The doctor administered the anesthetic, and my gurney was wheeled into the operating room.

As I drifted into unconsciousness under the stark white glare of the surgical lights, a nurse's curious voice echoed in my ears.

"Dr. Shaw, this patient's baby is developing perfectly. Even if they didn't want the child, there's no need to remove her entire uterus, is there?"

"Hush. Don't ask questions you shouldn't. This is what President Vaughn wants."

"Oh, this can't be about that rumor, can it...?"

'But doesn't the baby have a defect? What did she mean, remove my uterus? What rumor?'

An immense panic seized me. I struggled to sit up, to demand an explanation, to stop the surgery, but my consciousness was already being dragged into a bottomless abyss.

When I finally opened my eyes, the only person in the hospital room was Caden Vaughn.

His face was covered in stubble and his eyes were bloodshot, the clear image of a man who had stayed up all night watching over me. His eyes lit up the moment he saw I was awake.

"Anne, you're awake. How do you feel?"

A throbbing pain radiated from the incision on my abdomen. I felt a vast, empty space inside my body, as if a cold wind were blowing right through me. Tears streamed uncontrollably from the corners of my eyes.

I had truly believed Caden Vaughn trusted me. I never imagined that because of Kara Jolie's slander, he would be cruel enough to murder our own flesh and blood, and even strip me of my right to ever be a mother.

I had stayed by his side every moment to reassure him. How could I possibly have had an affair?

But what I didn't realize was that my eagerness to prove my innocence was, in Caden Vaughn's eyes, a sign of a guilty conscience.

Caden Vaughn assumed my pain was from losing the child and tried to comfort me, saying we would definitely have another one someday.

I stared at him, unable to believe how one person could be so loving and so heartless at the same time.

"Caden Vaughn, did what Kara Jolie said that day really not bother you?"

I just wanted an answer. An answer that might lessen my agony.

Caden Vaughn reached out and gently flicked my forehead, then chuckled indulgently.

"Anne, I already told you, it was just things she said in a dream. Why do you remember it so clearly? Don't worry. I love you so much. Who would I trust if not you?"

A bitter feeling washed over me. I choked back my tears and swallowed the accusations on the tip of my tongue.

After I spent two weeks recovering in the hospital, Caden Vaughn took me home.

The moment I stepped through the doors of the Vaughn family home, I heard the cheerful sound of Kara Jolie laughing with Mrs. Vaughn.

A wave of deep unease washed over me. I frowned and looked at Caden Vaughn, only to see him acting as if this was completely normal.

Ever since Kara Jolie's accusation, I couldn't stand having her anywhere near me. Caden Vaughn had even promised that he wouldn't let her come to the Vaughn family home again.

Disappointment spread like wildfire, and I had the strange, sinking feeling that this was only to be expected.

The moment Kara Jolie saw us, she clutched her belly and fell to her knees before me, her eyes brimming with tears, her face a mask of guilt.

"Anne, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me when I drugged Brother Caden. I know I was wrong, but the baby is innocent. Please, I'm begging you, forgive me and my child."

The news hit me so hard my mind went completely blank. I couldn't process a thing.

Mrs. Vaughn, clearly doting on Kara, who was carrying her future grandchild, shot me a look of displeasure.

"Kara already knows she was wrong and has apologized. You should stop holding a grudge."

Mrs. Vaughn, who once took pity on me because my parents weren't in Veridia and had treated me like her own daughter, had been finding fault with everything I did ever since Kara Jolie's accusation. Her attitude had become so cold and unfamiliar it left me baffled.

I could ignore all of that. The only one I cared about was Caden Vaughn, the man who repeatedly claimed to love me.

I turned my head to look at the silent Caden Vaughn, the sting of impending tears burning in my nose.

"When did you find out?"

"Anne, I'm sorry."

Caden didn't answer. He just pulled me into his arms and buried his head in the crook of my neck.

This was Caden's usual little trick for apologizing. I always found it an endearing contrast to his usual self. In the past, whenever he did something wrong, this was all it took for me to forgive him.

'Does he think something like cheating can be glossed over with a simple apology?'

'What does he take me for?!'

I shoved him away, ignoring the look of utter shock on his face as I wiped away the tears that had started streaming down my cheeks.

Caden explained with a helpless air, acting as if my distrust was deeply hurting him.

"Anne, I honestly had no idea she was going to drug me. The baby... I only found out about it yesterday. I know you're heartbroken, but Kara said she just wants to have the baby, and that she'll let us raise it."

Kara Jolie jumped at the opening, her voice choked with sobs.

"Anne, you've been a mother. Surely you can understand why I don't want to abort my baby."

A new wave of pain clenched my heart as I thought of my own child, whose life was taken before it ever had a chance to be born. The agony was so intense I could barely breathe.

'Did Caden know Kara was pregnant all along? Is that why he was so quick to take my child away from me?'

'If you truly love someone, could you really bear to hurt them like this?'

For the past ten years, despite Kara's obvious crush on him, he had always made me feel completely secure. He never once crossed the line, not in word or deed.

When our friends would tease him, he would always put me first.

"I only have one love, and that's Anne. She's the only one for me."

'I thought that in marrying Caden Vaughn, I was marrying for love. But in reality, love can't conquer all. A single, flimsy prediction could shatter everything I once thought was beautiful.'

Suddenly, an overwhelming exhaustion washed over me, and I lost all strength to fight.

'A homewrecker desperate to take my place, a mother-in-law who deliberately gives me a hard time, and a husband who seems to love me but uses gentle coercion to force my hand...'

'Maybe leaving is the only way out.'

I curved my lips into a self-mocking smile. The dull ache in my heart was a silent, grinding pain.

"Do whatever you want."

Caden thought I had agreed and let out a huge sigh of relief.

Mrs. Vaughn snorted at me, then immediately turned to Kara. Her face lit up as she helped Kara to her feet, her expression full of tender concern.

"Look how drained you are. I'll have the housekeeper make some nourishing soup for you."

Kara said with a playful pout, pulling Caden's hand to rest on her belly.

"Brother Caden, look. The baby is acting up again."

I watched their loving family scene with cold eyes, then turned and went upstairs without a word. I had my best friend abroad book a flight for me.

'Since someone has to be the third wheel, I'll just remove myself from the picture and let them be happy together.'

I jolted awake in the middle of the night, my mind filled with the image of my child, crying and demanding to know why I hadn't saved him.

I trembled, silent tears streaming down my face.

The cold, empty space beside me was a reminder of my failed marriage.

Earlier tonight, Kara Jolie had claimed she'd had a nightmare. Caden, worried it might affect the baby, said he was going to check on her.

He didn't return all night.

The Caden who would pull me into his arms and gently soothe me whenever I had a nightmare was gone forever.

I got out of bed, intending to go downstairs for a glass of water, but there was a knock on my bedroom door.

I opened the door to find Caden standing there. The look deep in his eyes made him seem like a stranger.

"Anne, Kara had a nightmare. She dreamed that you didn't like the baby and pushed her down the stairs. Now she's afraid to let you raise the child."

"Mother has a Statue of Guanyin in her room. Go and kneel before it for a night to pray for the child. And apologize to Kara, won't you?"

I was starting to wonder if I was still asleep.

"She just had a dream and you believe everything? Caden Vaughn, do you believe in dreams, or do you just believe in her?"

The dream about the child had made me emotional, and Caden Vaughn's displeased frown made it even harder for me to pretend to be calm.

In his eyes, it was just a bastard. Why would he feel any guilt?

Tears of anger streamed down my face, and I couldn't even form a complete sentence.

Caden Vaughn sighed wearily, as if my "unreasonable" tantrum was putting him in a difficult position.

"Anne, just be a good girl. It's only for one night. You'll be fine."

"I'm doing this for your own good. Didn't you always want a child? Your child is gone, but Kara is pregnant. Maybe this is fate."

Trembling all over, I finally couldn't hold back and slapped Caden Vaughn across the face.

'If it weren't for him, how could anything have happened to my baby?'

Caden Vaughn's expression turned cold. He looked down at me, scrutinizing me.

A chill rose in my heart. My instincts screamed that something was wrong, and I tried to shut and lock the door, but Caden Vaughn blocked it.

"You care about that child a lot, don't you? Why do you get so emotional the moment it's mentioned?"

"Anne, be obedient and don't make me angry. You're already making things very difficult for me. But it's okay. After all, I love you so much. I can overlook your cheating. But if you keep being this willful, I'll feed that bastard's ashes to the dogs!"

I stared at Caden Vaughn in disbelief. I couldn't believe the man I had loved for so many years had become such a stranger, capable of saying such things.

"What proof do you have that I cheated? You're the one who was in the wrong first! Caden Vaughn, that was our child! How could you… how could you be so cruel…"

Caden Vaughn remained noncommittal, clearly not believing a word I said.

I had no choice. That child had already been robbed of his life; how could I bear to see him not even find peace in death?

"Fine. I'll go kneel."

I closed my eyes, unable to look at Caden Vaughn again. Suppressing the metallic taste of blood in my throat, I forced out a reply.

I would go pray for my child, hoping the Bodhisattva would grant him this blessing: that next time, he wouldn't be born into a family where his father didn't want him.

"Also, Kara said the guest room is uncomfortable. For the sake of her baby, you two will switch rooms for the time being."

Caden Vaughn didn't care about my reaction at all. He just stated it like a notice, and when he heard Kara Jolie say she was uncomfortable, he rushed away.

He left me standing there, my already cold heart shattering into a million pieces.

From that night on, I had to kneel before the Statue of Guanyin for two hours every evening.

Mrs. Vaughn found me to be an eyesore, so she had someone move the Statue of Guanyin to a spot beside the utility closet at the turn of the stairs. She even made me kneel when the maids were present.

"If no one is watching, who knows if you're sincere or not."

I remained silent, piously praying for my child amidst the idle chatter of the maids.

Meanwhile, Caden Vaughn—the man who claimed to love me—appeared with Kara Jolie in his arms in all the places I used to be.

His childhood sweetheart became the "Mrs. Vaughn" on the lips of company employees, the "Saozi" to Caden Vaughn's friends, and the true love of "President Vaughn" in media reports.

Their love story was praised by all—a decade of unwavering devotion and romance that made everyone envious.

And I, naturally, was forgotten, even becoming the "other woman" in the gossip people shared after dinner.

I thought Caden Vaughn would use the opportunity to file for divorce, but even when I placed the signed divorce papers in front of him, he remained unmoved.

"You and Kara Jolie are in love, and you have a child on the way. Isn't getting a divorce the best option for us?"

I had already conceded so much; I didn't understand what more Caden Vaughn could possibly want.

'I've already shattered my heart to pieces. I have nothing left to give.'

Caden Vaughn picked up the papers, his gaze obscure and unreadable, but his face was veiled in a sinister gloom.

He curled the corner of his lip into a smile that held no mirth.

"I've already forgiven you for cheating, and I'm even figuring out how to eliminate any future trouble from it, yet all you can think about is leaving."

"What, are you that desperate to run off to your lover? Are you that thirsty?"