Jack flinched, then looked at me with a wounded expression. “I didn’t expect you to be so heartless. If that’s your condition for marriage… then maybe we were never meant to be. Let’s just break up.”

“Hayley, don’t blame Jack—he’s innocent!” Katy suddenly burst into tears. “If you want to blame someone, blame me. I just… I can’t give up this child. But if you still don’t believe us, I’ll prove our innocence right now—with my life!”

Before I could react, she suddenly rushed toward the balcony.

My heart leapt into my throat. I instinctively stepped forward, but Jack, already panicking, darted after her.

Just as we reached her, Katy crumpled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Jack dropped to his knees and gathered her into his arms, his body trembling with fear and emotion.

After a long pause, he lifted his head. His eyes were cold as they met mine.

“Hayley,” he said icily, “your baseless accusations nearly pushed Katy to her death.”

His voice held no warmth. His gaze no longer saw me as the woman he loved—but as a stranger.

“She’s just a young girl—pregnant and fragile. You can stand there and watch, but I can’t.”

Then he stood up, still holding Katy and barked at me. “Move!”

I stood frozen, unable to speak. “I… I didn’t mean…”

“Jack… the baby… the baby’s coming…” Katy whimpered weakly before her eyes fluttered closed.

“Katy!” Jack’s face turned deathly pale. He shoved me aside and rushed out the door with her in his arms.

I fell to the floor, biting down on my trembling lips, but I couldn’t stop the cold that was seeping into my bones.

I stayed up all night, staring at the ceiling, heart numb. At dawn, my phone lit up with a message from him.

“I lost my temper last night and spoke too harshly.” “Hayley, I’m sorry.”

Tears welled in my eyes the moment I saw his name. All these years, whenever we fought, he was always the one to apologize first. And I would always forgive him.

But this time… was different. This wound couldn’t be patched up.

Before I could reply, another message came in—A photo.

In it, Jack was cradling a newborn baby gently in his arms. His gaze as he looked at the child was soft—tender, like spring rain.

“Katy gave birth early, but both mother and daughter are safe.”

“She looks just like me.”

“Katy has no family. I’ll be staying at the hospital for the next three days to care for them.”

“Let’s postpone the wedding a week. I’m too overwhelmed right now.”

Ordinary words. Yet each one stabbed straight through me.

I stood up in a daze.

One by one, I tore the wedding decorations from the walls.

Then I picked up a pair of scissors and began cutting the wedding dress into shreds.

My hands trembled uncontrollably as I packed my suitcase.

Just as I zipped it shut, Mrs. Jack walked in. Her face was glowing with excitement.

“Jack asked me to bring him a change of clothes at the hospital,” she said cheerfully. “And as his grandmother, I can’t wait to see my little granddaughter.”

Seeing my silence, she gently took my arm and smiled kindly.

“Hayley, Jack was wrong not to tell you about the sperm donation. I know it hurt your pride—but that’s not an unforgivable mistake, is it?”

“Auntie knows how deep your feelings are for each other. Are you really going to break up over something so small?”

“As for the things said in the family group yesterday… let’s not take them too seriously, alright?”

“Come on, let’s go to the hospital. Take a look at the baby. Give Jack a way out. Once this all calms down, it’ll be over.”

I followed her like a ghost, every step hollow.

When I finally came to my senses, I was already standing at the hospital room door.

Inside, Katy lay pale and weak on the bed, her face streaked with tears, clearly exhausted from the pain of giving birth.

Jack gently cradled the newborn in his arms, softly humming a lullaby.

Even Jack’s father, who rarely smiled, looked unusually cheerful.

“Since Jack’s a pilot, let’s name the baby Ava Jet—to carry on the family’s aviation legacy!” he suggested with pride.

“What nonsense!” Jack’s mother snapped. “How can a little girl be given a name like that?”

She reached out eagerly to hold the baby.

But Jack stepped aside, protective. “Mom, you don’t know how to hold her properly. You might hurt her.”

Then his eyes landed on me, lighting up with excitement. “Hayley, come look! Her little hands, her tiny feet—aren’t they adorable?”

He leaned in to kiss the baby, then abruptly stopped, flustered like a child caught doing something wrong. “No, no. Daddy can’t pass germs to you.”

I had never seen him like this before—clumsy, tender, childishly excited. He was glowing with the joy of being a first-time father, eager to share it with the world.

But I was the last person he should have shared it with.

I forced a stiff smile, tugging at the corner of my lips, then turned to leave.

Jack quickly caught up, gently holding the baby out to me.

“Hayley, look at her nose and mouth—don’t they look just like mine?”

I glanced down. The resemblance was undeniable.

That tiny face could’ve been carved from his.

A sharp sting rose behind my eyes and my throat tightened with pain. But I pushed the blanket aside coldly, meeting his eager gaze with ice.

“Take her away. She’s ugly. Just looking at her annoys me.”

The baby immediately began to cry. Jack’s face darkened as he gently patted her to soothe her.

Jack’s mother glared at me like a dagger. “The only one who’s annoying here is you!”

Jack’s father jabbed a finger toward the door. “You’re not welcome here. Get out!”

Just then, Katy stirred on the hospital bed, her voice weak but pleading. “Hayley… I want to speak with her alone.”

The Lawndsey family hesitated, but after a moment, they left and closed the door behind them.

Katy turned to me with a face full of remorse. “Hayley, I never wanted to come between you and Jack. He truly loves you. That night… he was drunk and we…”

My mind went blank. “It wasn’t a sperm donation?” I asked, my voice hollow.

She turned away, avoiding my eyes. “It was Jack who asked me to keep it from you. He didn’t want to break your heart.”

“When I found out I was pregnant, I was already three months along. He was furious. He said he’d give me a lump sum once the baby was born and that I should never bring it up again.”

“Then why tell me now?” I asked coldly. “Why show up at my door with your belly out? Why not keep the lie going forever?”

She hadn’t expected me to confront her so directly. Her face flushed and she bit her lip in silence.

I let out a cold laugh. “Well, now that I’ve broken up with him and your child is born, the three of you can live happily ever after. So what are you still worried about?”

Her expression twisted. Her lips curled into a strange, sinister smile.

Then—without warning—she rolled off the hospital bed with a loud thud onto the floor.

She screamed in panic, her voice trembling, “Hayley, I know I was wrong! Please, don’t hit me!”

I stood there, utterly stunned. I hadn’t even moved.

Before I could speak, a strong hand yanked me backward.

Smack!

Pain exploded across my cheek. I tasted blood.

Mr. Lawndsey stood before me, eyes burning with fury. “You wretched girl! Do you think a hospital is a place to cause a scene?”

He raised his hand again, but Jack quickly stepped in between us.

“She’s my fiancée,” he said coldly. “I’ll handle it.”

Jack pulled me out into the corridor and gently pressed an ice pack to my face. I lowered my gaze and murmured, “I didn’t push her…”

“Hm,” he replied softly—neither anger nor comfort in his voice.

But I knew him too well. This kind of silence was the cruelest response. If he believed me, he would have defended me. If he didn’t, he would simply say nothing.

And yet… if he didn’t believe me, why was he being so gentle?

Tears slid down my cheeks and fell onto his hand. He flinched, as if scalded, then abruptly stood up.

“If you’re just going to stand here and make Katy and the baby suffer,” he said coldly, “then you should go home.”

I grabbed the hem of his shirt, my voice trembling with desperation, “Just this once… believe me. Please.”

He sighed heavily, then pried my fingers off his shirt one by one, as if completely disheartened.

“Hayley, I can forgive you—for anything. Because I love you. But the least you could do is be honest with me.”

Suddenly, a familiar ringtone cut through the silence—Katy’s custom ringtone.

"How much further must I go to enter your heart? How much longer must I wait to be close to you..."

I had asked him once, “Is it really appropriate to set a custom ringtone for a female colleague?”

He had looked confused. “She likes the song, so I used it. Don’t overthink things.”

Now, I watched as he answered her call and walked away—without so much as a backward glance.

I sat there on the cold bench, face swollen, chest hollow, laughing and crying like someone slowly losing their mind.

He said I should be honest. But did he ever show me the same honesty?

I returned to pack up my things, intending to go back to my parents’ house. But before I could leave, a video call came through.

My father appeared on screen, clutching his chest, his face red with fury. He pointed at me with trembling fingers.

“The Lawndsey Family said you caused a scene at the hospital and injured a woman who just gave birth. Do you even think before you act? The hospital director is a friend of mine—he posted in our group chat, asking what happened. You’ve completely embarrassed the Morgen Family!”

His breathing grew labored. My mother quickly handed him his medicine, then turned her scolding glare on me.

“Jack already explained everything. He and that girl are just colleagues. Why did you have to interfere and force them into this mess?”

She glanced at the red mark on my face and sneered. “You brought that on yourself.”

I drew in a shaky breath, my voice raw. “What did I do wrong that you’re all scolding me? Why do you believe everyone else but me?”

“Then tell us—what should we believe?” they snapped in unison.

Looking at their cold, unyielding faces, my heart sank. “…Forget it.”

I hung up.

I couldn’t let them see my tears—because if I cried, they’d just say, “All you ever do is cry.”

At that moment, I had no idea where to go. I felt like I had no one left.

Then my phone vibrated.

A message from Tom Gerald.

[Hayley, when can I take your place?]

[Now.] I replied without hesitation.

Tom—the boy who once sat at the bottom of the class, always failing his exams. In senior year, he suddenly changed, studying day and night just to follow me to university. He confessed to me a hundred times and I rejected him a hundred times.

Who would fall for a boy worse at academics than a failing student? Even if he was cheerful and handsome, with a heart-stopping smile…it just wasn’t enough.

After graduation, I started dating Jack. Tom went abroad to Switzerland to continue his studies, but we never lost touch.

Everyday messages, casual updates and every so often, the same question.

[When will you let me take the lead?]

I never answered. But he never stopped asking. Like a tireless machine—relentless, unwavering.