I struggled but couldn’t break free, and a slap landed on his face.

Gilbert was slapped, but instead of being angry, he laughed.

It was exactly like the mockery from my previous life after I slept with him.

I kicked, clawed, but it was no use.

He threw me into the car like I weighed nothing.

My heart was racing, not because of his intimate actions towards me, but because I felt like something was slipping out of control.

He clearly knew that the person he had sex with last night was me, but I don’t understand why he, who loathes me so much, still refuses to let me go!

Was he reborn, too?

No.

That would make no sense.

If he remembered everything…why would he touch me?

Regardless of what’s wrong with him, I now avoid him like the plague!

He coldly watched me crawl from the passenger seat to the back seat, exuding a chill I couldn’t understand.

After a long silence, he rolled up the window, slammed on the gas, leaving Lytton behind stamping her feet in anger.

“Gilbert! Stop! I don’t want to go to the hospital!”

He shot me a glare that could cut glass.

I shut up.

Gilbert personally taking me to the hospital, is it to ensure that I don’t get pregnant with his child?

This is fine too.

Gilbert carried me straight into a VIP ward, where two doctors were waiting.

But he spoke to the orthopedic doctor first:

“She sprained her ankle, quickly check if any bones are injured.”

I’m a bit dazed.

Compared to a sprained ankle, dealing with the child is the top priority, right?

The doctor diagnosed my bones and prescribed medicine.

After that, he told the gynecologist to prescribe medicine.

The doctor was a little confused and carefully asked what kind of medicine he wanted.

“Abortion pills!”

“She got pregnant with my child last night.”

The embryo probably hadn’t even implanted yet, and he already wanted it gone.

Like I was filth.

Like our baby was filth.

Just like in my last life.

I smiled bitterly to myself and told the doctor about the emergency contraception.

The somewhat embarrassed Gilbert actually took the medicine from the doctor.

He thoughtfully poured me a glass of warm water.

He watched me take the medicine and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Put away your unrealistic thoughts.”

“I won’t pursue the matter of you using aphrodisiac last night.”

Living this life again, I still asked him unwillingly:

“If I said I didn’t use the aphrodisiac, would you believe me?”

Gilbert’s face, already cold as ice, became even colder:

“Shut up!”

“This matter ends here. If you dare to have ulterior motives again, you’ll bear the consequences!”

I smiled bitterly.

“Fine.”

My obedient answer made Gilbert choke on the rest of his words.

On the way back, he continued to issue strong commands:

“In 12 hours, come to my room to take the medicine. Check again in a month to see if you’re pregnant.”

“Don’t go out until your foot is completely healed. I don’t want any more scandals, especially not with you!”

“Okay.”

Having experienced a bad ending in my previous life, I will never have any illusions about him again.

But he frowned, looking somehow dissatisfied, though I didn’t know why.

On the way back, his phone rang.

Gilbert turned on the speakerphone, and a delicate, sweet voice immediately came through:

“Gilbert, I’m back. See you at the usual place.”

It was his first love, Bessie, who had returned to the country.

Upon hearing this, Gilbert’s face, usually as cold as a millennium of ice, instantly melted, like a lake of spring water thawing.

Gilbert and Bessie chatted sweetly for over ten minutes before Gilbert reluctantly hung up the phone.

I asked him again to pull over so I could get out.

He insisted on dragging me to buy roses and gifts.

“Gilbert, you’re going on a date, I won’t disturb you!”

When we arrived at the shopping mall, I wanted to hail a taxi to leave.

But Gilbert wouldn’t let me go:

“Aren’t you curious who that was? Didn’t you use to following behind me?”

It turned out my bland reaction had aroused his curiosity.

Unfortunately, having seen so much of his differential treatment in my previous life, I’m no longer surprised by his contrasting behavior.

And I have no interest in accompanying him to buy gifts for Bessie.

“Why do I need to be curious? Maybe I grew up..enjoy your date.”

Gilbert’s gaze towards me was inscrutable.

He slammed the taxi door shut, dismissed the driver, and dragged me straight into a jewelry store in the mall.

“Bring out the treasure of the store I asked you to hold back.”

The jewelry store saleswoman, seeing me being dragged into the store, thought I was Gilbert’s girlfriend.

She hastily brought out the pink diamond while praising my beauty, trying to please Gilbert.

As the clerk was about to try the diamond ring on my hand, Gilbert coldly took the pink diamond:

“She’s not even worthy!”

The atmosphere in the store instantly became extremely awkward.

The clerk was so frightened that her face turned white.

She immediately bowed respectfully to Gilbert, repeatedly apologizing and begging for his forgiveness.

I understood that Gilbert wouldn’t let me leave, and he just wanted to embarrass me. It had nothing to do with anyone else.

But I didn’t care at all, and looking up, I broke the awkwardness:

“Miss, it’s not your fault, it’s okay. He’s my brother, we’re picking out a gift for his girlfriend.”

The atmosphere finally eased, but the chill emanating from Gilbert intensified.

Ignoring my wishes, he dragged me to the airport to pick Bessie up.

Seeing Bessie, I naturally called her ‘sister-in-law,’ which delighted her to no end.

Gilbert stared intently at me:

“What did you call her?”

I said nothing, pretending not to understand that he was already on the verge of anger, and forcefully pushed Bessie into his arms:

“Brother, I’m heading out first!”

Ignoring the gaze from behind, I quickly ran out of the airport.

By the time I got home, footage of them embracing at the terminal was already viral.

Someone pointed out that the girl in the earlier paparazzi shot—the one from last night—looked nothing like Bessie.

Gilbert’s team issued an official statement:

“It was her.”

Three words had set the Veronatri clan ablaze.

That very night, Bessie was warmly invited to the Veronatri to discuss the wedding.

I had intended to hide in my room, but Bessie took the initiative to come upstairs to check on me.

But as soon as the door closed, she dropped her smile and stared disdainfully at my stomach:

“Julian, I know you were the one who slept with Gilbert last night. Since you’re being so sensible, take this pill.”

“I don’t want any accidents happening between Gilbert and me.”

Looking at the pill in her palm, I assumed Gilbert had asked her to deliver it and take a jab at me, to make me give up any thoughts about him.

Seeing that I obediently took the pill without a word.

Bessie went downstairs, satisfied, and told everyone that I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest.

Madre tried to come upstairs to check on me several times, but Bessie and Lytton stopped her.

Not long after taking the pill, my abdomen began to ache faintly.

Not wanting to alarm Madre, I endured the pain and forced myself to sleep.

Between sleep and wakefulness, it seemed someone else entered my room and fed me something.

The familiar bitter taste spread on my tongue, and I instantly woke up.

Seeing it was Gilbert, I habitually whined:

“Gilbert, my stomach hurts so much, I want to go to the hospital...”

He gently brushed away the hair on my forehead, which was soaked with cold sweat, and said coldly:

“Didn’t I tell you to go to my room and take the pill? Why didn’t you go?”

“Did you want to keep the abomination in your belly?”

It was then that it dawned on me that he had just fed me two emergency contraception pills.

The doctor specifically instructed that I could take a maximum of two pills.

But counting the ones Bessie gave me, I took a total of four.

“Brother, didn’t you ask Bessie to bring me medicine? I already took it...”

I got up, wanting to induce vomiting, but Gilbert pushed me back onto the bed:

“Julian!”

“I’m getting married soon. As long as you behave and don’t cause trouble, I can let you be my bridesmaid.”

I clenched my jaw—bridesmaid was your “biggest favor”? I didn’t need it.

All I knew was that my abdomen was experiencing waves of excruciating pain, even more painful than childbirth in my previous life.

The next second, a gush of warm blood flowed out from beneath me.

The panic of losing my life instinctively made me grab Gilbert’s hand:

“I don’t want to be a bridesmaid. Please, take me to the hospital...”

He looked at the bright red blood beneath me, and complex emotions welled up in his eyes.

“Julian, the doctor said it’s normal to bleed after taking the medicine. Just get some sleep and you’ll be fine.”

“By dawn, we can go back to how we used to be.”

He thought that an emergency contraceptive pill should be like an abortion, with heavy bleeding.

The more blood that flowed, the more completely that child who shouldn’t exist would disappear...

I saw him visibly relax his back.

He pried my fingers off his one by one, took my phone, locked me in the room, and strode away.

Separated by a door, I felt like I was back in my previous life, when he left me alone in the bridal chamber.

“Gilbert, we can never go back to how we used to be...”

The blood flowing beneath me increased, and the sounds of celebration for Gilbert’s upcoming wedding had moved to another spot.

My instinct for survival only allowed me to reach the old phone in the drawer.

The call connected, and I only managed to say “Help me” before losing consciousness completely.

The next day, Gilbert, in a good mood, instructed the nanny to clean my room.

The nanny, following his instructions, used the key to open my room door, only to find it wide open.

A strong smell of blood assaulted her senses, but I was nowhere to be found.

She screamed, her face turning pale deathly:

“Something bad happened! Miss Julian, something’s happened to her! She... is gone...”

As if realizing something, his face paled for a moment.