He even used "not done having fun" as an excuse to keep pushing back our wedding, again and again.

The memory was cut short by Dr. Warren's voice.

He set the phone down with a puzzled look, muttering：【Was Mr. Harding drugged or something?】

【I already told him not to play the fall guy, and now he's asking me to make time tomorrow to give that woman a prenatal checkup.】

I laughed, bitter and hollow.

【Don't waste your worry on him, Dr. Warren. He's been with that woman for a long time.】

【If there really is a baby, it's his.】

Understanding dawned on Dr. Warren's face, and the pity in his eyes deepened.

I hated that look.

I'd seen too much pity over the past two years.

Every time I showed up at the casino to make a scene, that was exactly how those people looked at me.

Time after time I swallowed my pride, accepted their pity, all for the home Lewis Harding had once promised me.

But in the end, pity was all I ever got.

Nothing changed. Nothing at all.

I was tired. So this time, I wanted to leave standing straight.

No one's pity. No one's sympathy.

I signed the bone-marrow donation consent form.

【You said last time that the baby has to be terminated before the donation.】

【Let's do it today.】

On the operating table, I didn't shed a single tear.

I thought it was because when you're about to die, nothing matters anymore.

But when Dr. Warren brought that tiny ball of flesh to me and asked whether I wanted to take it and bury it or have it disposed of, my vision blurred all the same.

I used to believe our child would be the happiest in the world.

I never imagined I wouldn't even be able to give him the chance to see it.

I placed the remains in a small wooden box, planning to bury it at dawn beside the grave I'd already prepared for myself.

By the time I dragged my weakened body home, it was already dark.

I'd wanted nothing more than to sleep, but when I pushed the door open, I met Lewis's eyes.

Instinctively, I hid the wooden box behind my back.

Lewis caught every bit of that.

He closed the distance step by step and snatched the box from my hands.

The moment the lid came off, he froze.

【Stella, what is this?】

I hesitated for a second.

I'd planned to leave quietly, without a word.

But then I thought better of it. This wasn't something I could hide forever.

Besides, this child was half his. He had the right to know.

Before I could get the words out, a shriek cut through the room.

Lydia was clinging to Lewis's shirt, cowering behind him in exaggerated horror.

【Lewis, what the hell is that thing? It's disgusting!】

【I told you I didn't want to come here.】

【Stella already hates me. Now that I'm here, she's just going to find more ways to torment me.】

Lewis covered Lydia's eyes, his face tender with concern.

Then he slammed the box onto the floor. The remains tumbled out and rolled through the dust.

Pain pierced through me, sudden and everywhere at once, as though a thousand needles had been driven into my chest all at the same time.

I shoved Lewis hard and screamed, my voice raw and broken：【Lewis Harding, that is our child! You'll pay for what you just did!】

Lewis went rigid. For a long moment he didn't move, didn't speak.

Lydia, however, let out a cold, contemptuous scoff.

【Stella, you really are running out of tricks, aren't you? Same old routine, over and over.】

【If this were really your child, it would be over four months along by now, right?】

【You expect anyone to believe you could keep something that big to yourself for four whole months?】

【You would've used that baby to pressure Lewis into marrying you ages ago.】

After all the battles we'd fought, Lydia did know me well.

The old me would have done exactly what she said. I would have used the baby to force a wedding.

But what she didn't know was that the reason I'd stayed silent this time was because of something Lewis had said.

A little over three months ago, he came home from the casino reeking of perfume.

I clutched the pregnancy test in my hand and tested the waters：【Lewis, if I were pregnant, would you give up Lydia and come back to the family?】

Lewis's hand froze on his tie, mid-pull.

He lowered his arm, tapped my stomach with one knuckle, and let out a scornful laugh：【If you're knocked up, get rid of it. I'm not done having fun.】

【You want kids? We'll talk about that after the wedding.】

In that moment, I buried any thought of telling him the truth.

I refused to let the child I'd fought so hard to conceive die at its own father's hands.

But Tessa's condition worsened so suddenly. In the end, I still couldn't protect my baby.

Pain dragged me out of the memory.

Lewis shoved me away. I lost my footing and my lower back slammed into the corner of the table.

What little color remained in my face drained completely.

Lewis didn't even glance at me.

【Lydia's right. Everyone knows what kind of person you are.】

【Don't think you can wave some random piece of flesh around and guilt-trip me.】

【Stunts like this only make me sick.】

With that, Lewis called the housekeeper over.

【Clean this up and throw it in the dumpster. Don't let Lydia see it.】

The moment I watched the housekeeper toss the box into the dumpster with a look of disgust, the pain nearly suffocated me.

I lunged forward, reaching into the bin.

But Lewis gave the guard dog a command：【Stop her.】

The dog charged at me, barking savagely, and tore a chunk of flesh from the back of my hand.

The pain was blinding, but I didn't pull back.

My complete disregard for my own safety sent Lewis over the edge.

He grabbed me and wrenched my hand out of the dog's jaws by force.

【What the hell is wrong with you, Stella?!】

【You've made your point! Do you really have to take it this far?!】

In just that sliver of time, the housekeeper had already wheeled the dumpster out and handed it off to the garbage truck.

I watched the truck pull away, growing smaller and smaller, and something inside me collapsed. My legs gave out and I sank to the ground, eyes hollow.

Lewis exhaled hard and crouched down in front of me.

【Stella, let's just put this behind us. No more of this nonsense.】

【I promised I'd marry you, and I keep my word.】

【A dog bite isn't something you ignore. Let me take you to the hospital.】

I pulled away from his outstretched arms and gripped the edge of the table, dragging myself to my feet.

【No need.】

I was going to die soon anyway. A wound like this was nothing.

My coldness stung Lewis.

But before he could lash out, my next words pinned him where he stood.

【By the way, don't worry about the wedding. I won't pressure you anymore.】

【If you don't want to marry me, we can break off the engagement……】

【What did you just say?】

Lewis seized my wrist.

He'd forgotten about my hand.

His fingers pressed directly into the wound, deep enough to show bone. I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth.

Something uneasy flickered in the depths of Lewis's eyes.

Lydia caught every bit of it. Terrified of losing her grip on Lewis, she rushed to fan the flames.

【Stella really knows how to play hard to get.】

She looped her arm through Lewis's.

【Lewis, you're just too easy to fool.】

【Her sister is still lying in the hospital. Without your money, Tessa won't survive.】

【You really think Stella would let you break things off?】

Lewis bought it.

Relief loosened something in his chest, and in its place, anger flared white-hot.

He flung my arm away and let out a cold, biting laugh.

【Stella, you really do keep me on my toes.】

【Since you clearly don't care about yourself, I don't see why I should worry about you either.】

【Go move your things out of the master bedroom.】

【Lydia's staying with me for the time being. Once she's had the baby, you can move back in.】

Lydia's eyes gleamed with the unmistakable thrill of victory.

But she insisted on playing the innocent lamb.

【Lewis, isn't that a bit much?】

【Stella designed and decorated the master bedroom herself. It's supposed to be your bridal suite.】

【If I move in, wouldn't that make me a cuckoo stealing the nest?】

【Stella would never agree to that.】

Lewis lit a cigarette and spoke without looking up：【So what?】

【The bet was her idea. She lost, so she does what she's told.】

【Worst case, I'll buy her a new place for the wedding later.】

I wrapped a towel around my injured hand and felt nothing. Not a ripple.

【Fine. A bet's a bet.】

【I'll go pack now.】

The master bedroom was filled with memories of Lewis and me.

I had built a large glass wall cabinet and lined it with photographs of the two of us.

The Sydney Opera House. An overwater villa in Fiji. The Northern Lights in Iceland.

Only then did I realize that every place Lewis had taken Lydia was somewhere he and I had already been.

In the upper-left corner of the cabinet, one spot sat empty. I had saved it after Lewis promised to take me to Antarctica to see the penguins.

That photograph would never be filled in now.

While I stood there staring, the rustle of clothes drifted up from downstairs, followed by Lydia's breathy moans.

The sounds hit me like a bucket of cold water and snapped me awake.

I lit the photographs one by one and flushed them down the toilet.

Lewis smelled the burning and rushed upstairs. When he saw the empty cabinet, something uneasy flickered behind his eyes.

But he still believed I was throwing a tantrum, and sneered：【Go ahead and burn them. You're the only one who'll regret it.】

This time, he was wrong.

After letting go of everything, I didn't feel that terrible anymore.

What I felt, more than anything, was release.

All those years by Lewis's side, all those years of misery, and I had never once felt as light as I did now.

That night, I slept soundly.

No more lying awake over Lewis.

In my dreams, it wasn't just him anymore.

I went back to childhood.

Mom and Dad were still alive, and Tessa Matthews hadn't gotten sick yet. The four of us sat around the table, eating the dinner Mom had cooked.

Dad ruffled my hair and Tessa's, saying things that were too big for us to understand back then.

【Stella, Tessa, when you grow up, find a man who loves you with his whole heart.】

【The way Daddy loves Mommy.】

【Never settle for someone who'll waste your love.】

I left the house before dawn.

I took nothing with me except the bank card with twenty million dollars on it.

I was afraid I might die on the operating table, so I gave the card to Dr. Warren and told him to hand it to Tessa once she woke up.

That way she'd be taken care of for the rest of her life.

Then I walked into the operating room.

【Dr. Warren, let's begin.】

【Lewis will be bringing Lydia in for her checkup soon.】

【The sooner I close my eyes, the sooner I won't have to see him again.】