"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?"