: Separation

Clara Sterling burst out laughing at my action, and Kael Volkov raised an eyebrow, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

My mother received prompt medical attention. She spent a week in the Intensive Care Unit and barely managed to pull through.

Hearing the news that she was out of danger was a huge relief. The nerves that had been stretched taut for days could finally relax.

But as soon as I let my guard down, I collapsed.

Sickness can strike you down in an instant.

When I opened my eyes again, Kael Volkov was sitting by my hospital bed.

There seemed to be a hint of worry in his brow, but I dismissed it as my imagination.

At this point, I no longer cared what his attitude toward me was.

Sensing my indifference, Kael Volkov frowned in annoyance.

"What's with that look? Are you blaming me?"

If you listened closely, there was even a trace of grievance in his tone.

I continued to ignore him.

"I wouldn't dare."

Kael Volkov suddenly took a step forward, his eyes bloodshot as he grabbed my wrist.

"Vivian Lennox, this is nothing! Compared to what I've given up for you, what does this little bit of suffering even count for? What? Didn't you say you loved me? Is your so-called love this fragile?"

His words left me reeling, and a suspicion began to form in my mind.

Ever since my rebirth, Kael Volkov's attitude toward me had been completely abnormal. I had originally chalked it up to the cause and effect of two lifetimes, assuming the gears of fate couldn't possibly turn in the exact same way twice. I figured he was treating me differently simply because the events of this life weren't identical to the last.

But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.

Thinking of this, the words tumbled out of my mouth, "Kael Volkov, were you reborn too?"

Kael Volkov froze, a look of stunned disbelief in his eyes. He coldly flung my hand away.

"What nonsense are you spouting? I think you've lost your mind!"

With that, he turned and left without a backward glance.

I watched his retreating back, lost in thought.

'Forget it.'

'Whether he was or not...'

'...it doesn't matter anymore.'

'In three days, our paths will no longer cross.'

A Nurse took me for a full-body check-up, saying Kael Volkov had ordered it.

I didn't refuse.

Unexpectedly, the next morning, the Nurse rushed into my room, looking at me excitedly.

"Ms. Lennox, your medical report is back! Congratulations, you're going to be a mother!"

I froze, not comprehending her words for a moment.

Seeing my confusion, the Nurse explained, "Ms. Lennox, I've already confirmed with the Doctor. You really are pregnant, almost two months along! Haven't you always wanted a child? Congratulations, your wish has come true!"

I was still in a daze.

"But didn't the Doctor say I wouldn't be able to have children anymore?"

That night of the storm, Kael Volkov had abandoned me in the suburbs for Clara Sterling. I walked for over ten hours in the pouring rain. The road was cold and slippery, and I lost my footing and fell into a lake. I lost the baby, and the Doctor's diagnosis was that the damage was so severe I would probably never be able to conceive again.

The truth was cruel, but I had no choice but to accept it.

I never thought that at a critical juncture like this, I would actually be pregnant with Kael Volkov's child.

Fate really does have a twisted sense of humor!

"Well, there are always exceptions! Perhaps this child is a gift from heaven. Ms. Lennox, you must be extra careful this time!"

I sat in a stupor the entire day, my mind a battlefield.

That evening, I finally made a decision.

I would have this child.

No matter what had happened between Kael Volkov and me, the child was innocent.

But I never could have imagined that shortly after making this decision, I would be injected with an anesthetic and dragged into an Operating Room.

I couldn't move a muscle, but my mind was terrifyingly clear.

Someone was whispering beside my ear.

"It seems Mr. Volkov still cares about Ms. Sterling the most. His wife and Ms. Sterling were both found to be pregnant, yet to keep Ms. Sterling from being upset, he ordered us to perform an abortion procedure on his wife without even batting an eye!"

"I know, right? It looks like in Mr. Volkov's heart, the official wife isn't worth a single strand of Ms. Sterling's hair. How humiliating to be the official wife in a situation like this!"

I kept my eyes closed, but tears streamed down my face nonstop.

A chilling despair filled my heart. My inner turmoil and helplessness from just a few hours ago now seemed like a complete joke.

As I let the cold instruments churn inside my body, the heart that had once beat for Kael Volkov was finally riddled with a thousand holes, shattered beyond repair.

I regretted it.

I regretted ever falling in love with Kael Volkov.

The slow torture inflicted upon me finally ended. I was wheeled out of the Operating Room as the anesthetic slowly wore off.

Just as I was on the verge of full consciousness, I sensed someone standing beside me, watching me.

It was Kael Volkov.

I kept my eyes shut, not knowing what he intended to do.

Suddenly, something soft pressed against my forehead.

He kissed me.

Kael Volkov caressed my face and seemed to let out a sigh.

"Vivian, this is the last time. This is the last time I will hurt you. As long as you pass this test, I promise I will love you properly from now on."