“When do you turn into this?” His tone held back anger. “Jealous, mean, can’t even accept a kid, not the same as before.”

I stayed in place, one side of my face hurting with heat.

My fingers curled tighter little by little, and even my knuckles looked white.

The last small piece in my chest broke apart right then.

I laughed in anger, forcing myself to keep my voice from shaking.

“What are you saying about change? Do I need to question nothing, worry about nothing, always act calm and understanding, just to prove I didn’t change?”

“Then what about you, Lorenzo? Didn’t you change, too? Are you still the Lorenzo who said he would love only me?”

Lorenzo clearly froze for a second, his eyes shifting away.

A sharp pain suddenly hit my stomach, my breath stopped, my body dropped without control, I could only crouch down, my hand pressing over my belly, and cold sweat quickly covered my back.

Lorenzo’s face shifted, and he stepped closer without thinking.

“Wife, what’s wrong with you?”

“Lorenzo, Miguel lost consciousness!” But before he could reach me, Ariella quickly caught Miguel, her voice shaking as she called his name.

Without stopping, Lorenzo turned back, picked up the child, and walked away, not even looking at me again.

When he reached the door, he seemed to think of me and turned back to leave a line.

“Wife, calm down. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

The room went quiet once more.

I crouched where I stayed and closed my eyes. I had already made up my mind not to cry for this man again, but the tears still wouldn’t stop.

Lorenzo.

I had regretted it long ago.

If I hadn’t fought with my family because of you and hadn’t left the place that should have protected me without thinking, maybe I wouldn’t have reached this point today.

How could I be this foolish, believing you would love me for life?

After I got back home, I kept getting ready to leave.

Ariella sent me three awful photos. I couldn’t eat or sleep, and before I go, I have to leave three big gifts for this cheating pair.

These past few days, Lorenzo seemed to think I had become more understanding.

To make up for it, he started buying me things more often, jewelry, presents, and all kinds of costly toys for the child.

I had someone throw all of those things away.

Lorenzo didn’t notice at all.

Because he was busy staying with Ariella, bringing her and Miguel in front of different cameras, building attention, and talking online.

Comments online kept coming. Some said that even the cold Lorenzo could be this gentle when he meets the person he loves.

When I read that line, my heart moved a little.

That kind of praise used to belong to me in that circle before.

Five years earlier, several men bothered me in a narrow street, and it was Lorenzo, still studying at the university, who brought me out of that mess.

At that time, I felt something change inside me.

Later, I worried he might feel less than me, so I hid who I was and acted like my family was only at the same level as his.

I stayed by his side from having nothing to having something, quietly gave him help, supported him through the hardest time, and little by little turned that distant man into someone who smiled at me and would bow his head for me.

During these five years, I gave so much effort, and only then did that cold man slowly become warm.

The Lorenzo who loved me used to be the most admired boyfriend and husband in that circle.

When I got sick, he stayed by my bed all night, and in front of others, he never hid that I was the only one for him.

But now I understand I was never his only one.

In his heart, Ariella was.

When he was younger, she was the sister-in-law he looked up to.

Later, she became the widowed sister-in-law he needed to care for.

After that, she turned into a woman he could stay close to in a proper way.

And I was only a part that could be replaced.

There were only two days left before I left.

That day was his mother’s sixtieth birthday. She had treated me well, so in both feeling and reason, I should go.

I went by myself.

After all, Lorenzo didn’t come home, and he didn’t come to pick me up.

But when I walked into the banquet hall, I saw Lorenzo standing in the middle of the crowd. Ariella held his arm. Their clothes clearly matched, and their expressions looked natural and close.

Miguel, who looked like Lorenzo, stood beside them and made them seem like a real family.

And I stood by the doorway, like an outsider.

When the nearby relatives noticed me, their faces changed a little. They likely thought I would cause a scene like before.

But I just looked away, walked over, gave the gift to his mother, and smiled as I wished her good health on her birthday. My tone stayed calm, and my manners were proper.

I didn’t look at him again.

Lorenzo stood there, his face going stiff for a moment.

I didn’t cause any trouble. He should’ve felt at ease, but instead, he became strangely annoyed.

As if not satisfied with how calm I was, Lorenzo suddenly spoke, “I plan to move Miguel’s registration under my name.”

“When my brother passed away, the child had just been born. His registration was never settled. This can’t be delayed anymore. I’ll raise Miguel from now on.”

“Don’t be upset. I’ve thought this through carefully.”

I looked at him without emotion, only feeling a little tired.

“As you wish.”

I cut him off.

Lorenzo froze. “What?”

“I said, as you wish.” My voice was so calm that even I found it unfamiliar. “Handle it however you want.”

“Then from now on, Miguel will be our child.”

Lorenzo said it casually, even with a hint of closeness.

“I’ll treat him well. He’ll definitely take care of us when we’re old. Anyway, yours is probably a daughter.”

I followed his gaze and looked over.

Miguel was also staring at me.

In his eyes, there was only disgust.

Take care of us when we are old?

He likely hoped even more that I would simply vanish.

I gave a careless nod.

“Hmm, you’re right.”

He could register if he wished.

In any case, I would soon no longer belong to this family.

Even if he planned to remarry Ariella next, I wouldn’t bother to look again.

For a brief moment, the Ortiz family seemed confused. Their gazes shifted between him and me, but no one spoke up.

At the banquet, Lorenzo mingled with the guests, yet his eyes kept drifting back to me.

I acted as if I didn’t notice, turned away, and walked toward the restroom.

Unexpectedly, just as I was about to leave, the door was locked from the outside.

I twisted the handle twice, my tone turning cold. “Who is outside? Open the door.”

No one replied.

The next moment, a bucket of freezing water suddenly poured down from above.

The cold soaked me from head to toe at once, and my whole body shook hard.

At the same time, the light went out.

Darkness closed in.

Just as I was about to speak, a voice came from the dark.

“Bitch, stay here quietly and wait to die.”

I quickly turned my head. “Miguel? What are you doing? Open the door!”

Miguel’s voice sounded cold, nothing like a child.

“If you and that bastard die, everything in the Ortiz family will belong to my mom and me.”

I shook with anger, my voice unable to hold it back. “Do you know what you’re saying? Open the door!”

But the only reply I got was the sound of footsteps fading away.

Soon, everything outside went completely silent.

Cold water slid down my clothes, chilling me to the bone.

My stomach suddenly tightened hard.

I knew I couldn’t stay locked in the restroom like this for long.

With shaking hands, I took out my phone and called Lorenzo.

No answer.

I clenched my teeth and called again.

“Lorenzo… answer the phone…” My voice shook.

No reply.

Third time.

Fourth time.

I couldn’t hold back the choking sob anymore.

“Answer… please…”

“Something’s wrong with the baby… I’m so scared…”

The other side of the call stayed silent.

The next moment, the signal suddenly cut off.

The screen showed no service.

Fear crept up little by little.

At that moment, I heard footsteps outside the door.

I almost rushed over and hit the door.

“Is anyone there? Please let me out!”

The person outside paused for a moment, their voice a bit weak.

“Ma’am… I was just listening to Ariella and watching you…”

I recognized it.

A distant relative of the Ortiz family.

My tone turned cold. “How much did Ariella give you?”

She paused. “One million…”

I clenched my teeth. “I’ll give you ten times that.”

She was clearly shocked. “Ten times? That’s ten million… can you pay that?”

The pain in my stomach kept rising again and again. I could barely stand, my hand pressing hard on my belly.

“I will.” My voice was rough. “Let me out now. I’ll give it right away.”

Outside stayed quiet for a long time.

She was unsure.

I was about to fall, cold sweat running down my forehead. “Hurry!”

Finally, there was a “click.”

The door opened.

That person was still uneasy. While holding me, she quickly said, “I already called emergency for you. You can’t break your word.”

I couldn’t hear clearly anymore.

Because at that moment, I felt warmth running down my legs.

The amniotic fluid broke!

My eyes were full of fear. I held her hand tightly, my voice shaking badly.

“Hospital…”

“Quick… take me to the hospital…”

“I’m going into premature labor…”

By the time the baby was born, it was already daylight.

She was a small bundle, wrapped in a white blanket. Her skin showed an unhealthy red, and her breathing was so light it could barely be heard.

I only looked once and knew she was much smaller than a full-term baby.

My heart felt tightly held. I raised my hand, my fingers trembling badly, but I still moved closer step by step and softly touched her face.

“I’m sorry…”

My throat felt tight, my voice hoarse and unfamiliar. “It’s mom’s fault.”

She could have stayed inside my belly a bit longer, not needing to come into this world so early, so suddenly.

“It’s Mom who didn’t protect you well.”

The doctor stood nearby and quietly explained the situation, saying the baby needed to stay in an incubator for monitoring. Although she was premature, her vital signs were still fairly stable for now.

I heard it in pieces, but my mind felt unusually clear.

“The child’s father…” the doctor paused for a moment.

I cut him off.

“Don’t notify Lorenzo.”

The doctor was clearly startled for a second, but he still nodded.

When the baby was wheeled away, I kept watching that door.

Only after the door fully shut did I slowly close my eyes.

Not long later, the ward door was pushed open.

When Lorenzo came in, his face looked so dark it was scary, and anger pressed between his brows.

“Are you satisfied?”

I lay there, too weak to even lift my eyes, yet his question still shocked me.

“Vienne, do you have to make things this final?”

He coldly laughed, his tone turning harsher.

“During last night’s livestream, Ariella was attacked by a group of haters. They kept calling her a mistress. She held on alone until she broke down and almost cut her wrists in the bathtub to commit suicide.”

“Those online trolls, you arranged them, right?”

He looked at me, his eyes cold with no warmth.

“Just because I didn’t pick up your call?”

“You’ve gone too far.”

I silently laughed.

Lorenzo actually believed I did this.

“Ariella is my brother’s wife, the person my brother worried about most before he died. Why did you push her this far?”

“You have me, you have a child, you have a complete family. What else are you unhappy with?”

“She almost died. Do you know what Miguel would do if she died?”

So Lorenzo came here not because I was lying in a hospital bed.

He came to stand up for Ariella.

The blanket covered my body, hiding my already flat stomach.

He didn’t notice.

I didn’t remind him either.

“Then do you know—”

I looked at him, my tone calm.

“I was locked in the restroom at the banquet, soaked with ice water, and the door was locked from the outside.”

“I almost died in there, and I almost… lost the child.”

Lorenzo’s brows tightened at once.

“What does that have to do with Miguel?”

He reacted fast, his tone turning cold. “Are you trying to say Ariella taught him?”

Before I could speak again, he cut me off.

“Vienne, don’t blame everything on her. Do you think I’d believe you making things up about them now?”

At that moment, the last bit of warmth in my heart went out.

I didn’t want to speak anymore.

No hurt, no anger, no wish to argue.

I just looked at him, at the man I once loved without thinking, my voice so soft it was almost unheard.

“Believe whoever you want.”

Anyway, it didn’t matter anymore.

Lorenzo’s expression changed slightly.

He paused, then still said, “Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. I’ll make it up to you. As long as you’re willing to apologize to Ariella, we’ll have dinner at night and settle this.”

After speaking, he turned and left, already assuming I would agree.

When the door closed, the room became quiet again.

Not long after, the lawyer called.

“President Bailey, everything has been completed.”

My assistant also contacted me quickly, saying the company transfer was fully finished.

I felt my body grow lighter. I got up, found the baby, and held her in my arms.

She slept quietly, a small bundle against my chest, her breathing faint but real.

I lowered my head to look at her, my voice very soft.

“Let’s go, okay?”

“Mom will take you away.”

Leave this place.

Leave everyone.

Apology, anniversary, none of it will happen anymore.

Lorenzo, I wonder what you’ll do when you receive the three big gifts I prepared for you.