Chapter 4
The little boy ran into Morgan’s arms, crying loudly. “Daddy, that bad lady hurt me. Please hit her for me!”
He wailed so hard it sounded like something terrible had happened.
Before Morgan could even respond, Violet rushed over and scooped the boy up. “Ian, what’s wrong, sweetheart? Why are you crying like that? Tell Mommy, who hurt you?”
Ian pointed at Luna and sobbed, “It was her. She pinched me. It really hurts!”
Violet turned to her with tears in her eyes and said, “Luna, I know you hate me. You can hate me all you want, but Ian is innocent. He is just a child. Why would you take it out on him?”
Luna frowned. “I didn’t do anything.”
Violet gave a bitter smile. “He’s only three, Luna. He can barely talk properly. How could he lie, especially about something like this about my own sister?”
More and more people gathered around, whispering and judging Luna.
“I heard his mom call her ‘sister,’ so that’s the boy’s aunt? I’ve never seen such a cruel aunt before.”
“Just look at her. She doesn’t seem like a good person. Maybe she’s jealous of their happy family and took it out on the boy.”
“Shame on her. Poor boy, having an aunt like that.”
Each whisper felt like a knife stabbing deeper into Luna’s chest.
She suddenly remembered how Violet once made the whole class against her, spreading lies that made everyone hate her. Even breathing became painful.
Trying to stay calm, Luna looked at her half-sister and said coldly, “When you were three, you fell down the stairs and blamed me for it. Why wouldn’t your son learn to be a liar from you?”
Violet froze for a moment before shouting in anger, “Who are you calling a liar?”
Morgan shot her a warning glance, silently telling her to stop, then turned to Luna. “Luna, he’s just a child. Kids don’t lie.”
Luna stared at him, disbelief filling her eyes. “So, you think I would lie? You think I would just hurt a child for no reason?”
The man frowned again. “That’s not what I meant. I know you didn’t do it on purpose. Maybe you had… one of your episodes again and didn’t even realize it.”
“Luna, can’t you just make things easier for me? Why didn’t you stay in your hospital room and wait for me to come back?”
Luna let out a quiet, bitter laugh and held up the bag of medicine in her hand. “Wait for you? What about my medicine? You never came back last night after you left, remember?”
Guilt flashed in his eyes upon hearing her answer.
“I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t mean to. Something urgent came up at work and I had to go deal with it. I was wrong, yes, but I promise, once this is over, I’ll come back to stay with you and never leave again.”
Luna looked at him and then at Violet, already knowing the truth. There had been no urgent work, of course. He had gone to see her half-sister.
Just then, Violet secretly pinched her son hard. The boy burst into loud tears again.
Morgan immediately pushed his wife aside and rushed to them. “Ian, what’s wrong?”
The boy clung to his leg tightly, crying harder. “It still hurts. Daddy, don’t leave me. That bad lady glared at me again!”
Morgan frowned and turned back to Luna. “Luna, he’s just a child. Why are you acting like this?”
She let out a small laugh. “Acting like what? He just called my husband ‘Daddy.’ Am I not even allowed to look at him?”
His face instantly grew tense, but he still held the boy tightly. After thinking a moment, he finally said, “Luna, I told him to call me that because… because he is our child.”
Luna froze, completely confused, but then Morgan brought the boy even closer to her face.
“I adopted him from the orphanage. Luna, we’ve been married for years and still don’t have a child. Maybe it’s fate. So, I thought we could adopt one. It’s the same thing.”
“I know you’ve been sad about not having kids, but now you don’t have to be. You can be a mother without the pain. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Ian, come on, call her Mommy.”
The boy looked at Luna, then suddenly slapped her across the face while crying. His little nails scratched her skin.
“I don’t want a bad woman as my mommy. Sobs!”
She touched her cheek and stared at the blood on her fingertips.
However, her own husband pretended not to see it. He and Violet both tried to calm the boy down. Ian kept crying, sticking out his tongue at Luna, pretending to gag.
Violet suddenly gasped. “Oh no, what’s happening? Luna, what did you do to him?”
Morgan gave his wife a complicated look, then turned and carried Ian away, leaving Luna standing alone as everyone around her continued to blame and insult her.
Chapter 5
Morgan was gone for three days. He didn’t even show up when Luna was discharged from the hospital.
When she got home, she only planned to grab her documents and leave. The evidence she had gathered was enough to prove her husband had been cheating. She wanted to contact her uncle, find a lawyer and make sure Morgan walked out of this marriage with nothing.
But as soon as she stepped through the door, her eyes fell on two unfamiliar pairs of shoes by the cabinet, one pair of women’s heels and one tiny pair of children’s sneakers.
Her heart sank. And before she could even move, she heard two familiar voices from the living room.
“Morgan, when are you taking me and Ian on that trip abroad? I’ve been waiting for so long.”
“Daddy, let’s just forget about that mean lady, okay? I only want to live with you and Mommy.”
Luna couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. So, now she wasn’t even “Aunt Luna” anymore. Her husband had completely become their family.
Expressionless, she walked inside and saw the three of them sitting close together, looking like a happy family.
Violet noticed her first. She lifted her chin proudly and silently mouthed, “You lost.”
Luna barely glanced at her. Without a word, she continued walking.
Morgan finally noticed her and quickly pulled his hand away from Violet’s. “Luna, you’re back?”
She gave him a faint smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your time.”
He frowned. “That’s not what I meant. You should’ve called me so I could pick you up.”
She smiled bitterly as she replied, “You’re always so busy. I didn’t want to bother you.”
There was a trace of annoyance in his voice. “Luna, must you talk like that? Ian had a fever a few days ago and I’ve been taking him to the doctor. That’s why I haven’t had time for you. Are you really upset over a child?”
“Anyway, since we’ve decided to adopt Ian, it’s better for him to stay here from now on. You weren’t home these past days, so Violet has been taking care of him. He’s gotten attached to her, so it’s better if she stays too.”
Even though she had expected it, hearing it from his mouth still made her heart ache.
She could only force an insincere smile. “Fine. Whatever you say.”
However, her calmness only irritated him more. “Then it’s settled. The room next to ours will be for Ian and Violet. That way, I can check on the boy easily.”
Luna’s chest tightened in pain. That room had been prepared for the baby she lost before she was even born.
She rushed upstairs, but when she saw the destroyed children’s room, she gasped. “What happened here?”
Violet gave a mocking smile, pretending to look confused. “Wasn’t this room abandoned? I thought it was unused, so I redecorated it for Ian’s playroom. Morgan said it was fine.”
He nodded carelessly. “It’s just a room for a kid, Luna. Ian likes it, so why not let him have it?”
Finally, Luna couldn’t hold back her anger anymore. She shouted, “What do you mean, ‘just a room’? That was Yasmine’s room. How could you take it away from her?”
Then she rushed inside, searching desperately. “Where’s Yasmine’s photo? What did you do with her picture? Give it back to me!”
Ian was frightened by her sudden outburst and started crying loudly.
Morgan hurried to stop her. “Enough, Luna! That baby was never even born. It was just an ultrasound photo! Why are you making such a scene? You’re scaring the kid!”
At that moment, Violet gasped dramatically. “Oh no, I told the maid to throw out some trash earlier. Maybe she tossed it out by accident.”
At those words, Luna ran outside in panic.
Morgan tried to stop her, but Ian clung to his leg tightly.
Violet quickly said, “Don’t stop her. She won’t calm down until she finds it herself. Maybe let the maid help too. But… if someone sees her like this, it might hurt your reputation and the Elwood Family’s image.”
Morgan thought of how his wife had been acting lately, annoyance flashing in his eyes. “Forget it. Let her go. Don’t bother with her anymore.”
Then, with Violet in his arms, he turned and went back to their room.
Chapter 6
Luna searched through the trash bin alone. Shards of broken porcelain cut into her hand, but she didn’t care.
Then, suddenly, Violet appeared in front of her, wearing that same cruel smirk. Without a word, she threw a handful of torn paper onto the ground, the shredded pieces of Luna’s ultrasound photo.
Luna immediately tried to pick them up, but Violet stepped hard on her hand. Pain shot through her fingers, yet she still didn’t fight back.
Violet leaned down with a cold smile, whispering like a devil, “You still care about that little brat, huh? Do you even know how she died?”
Luna looked up in shock. Something she had overheard before suddenly came back to her and a terrible thought came to her mind.
Violet sneered coldly and said word by word, “August twenty-third. That morning, you drank a bowl of chicken soup. Someone added a heavy dose of abortion medicine inside it.”
“Guess who did it?”
“Your loving husband, of course. Haha! I only mentioned that your pregnancy dates didn’t match and he believed me. Then he killed your baby with his own hands.”
“And that time when you weren’t feeling well? You were actually pregnant, Luna, but he paid that doctor to lie to you. Then he secretly gave you sleeping pills so the doctor could take the baby away without you even knowing.”
“How stupid of you, Luna. Morgan and I have been playing with you all along.”
Luna felt like her head was going to explode. She held her head in pain, unable to believe any of this was real.
But Violet laughed coldly. “Someone like you doesn’t deserve Morgan and you’ll never beat me. If you’re smart, you’ll leave quietly. Otherwise, you might lose that worthless little thing in your belly, too.”
After saying that, she turned and walked back inside.
Morgan had just finished calming Ian down. When he remembered that his wife was still outside, he went out to look for her.
But as soon as he opened the door, he saw her standing there, her hair messy, her eyes full of pain.
“Morgan, how did Yasmine really die?”
A flash of guilt appeared in his eyes, but he quickly hid it and answered calmly, “I told you already, your body was too weak, so the baby just couldn’t make it. Why are you bringing this up again?”
Luna’s expression didn’t change. “Swear to me. Swear that Yasmine’s death had nothing to do with you.”
Morgan frowned impatiently. “Luna, haven’t you caused enough trouble? You’re blaming your own husband for an unborn child. That’s too much.”
“Enough, go get some rest. I’m hosting a dinner to officially introduce Ian tomorrow night. Make sure you take your medicine beforehand. I don’t want any problems.”
Luna said nothing and her silence made his guilt flicker again. He patted her shoulder gently.
“Be good, Luna. Ian is our child now. Let’s live peacefully as a family, okay? No more drama. I’ll spend some time with Ian tonight. After dinner tomorrow, the three of us can go to the amusement park.”
He turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.
“Morgan, I had a miscarriage at the hospital.”
Because of the pollen in her drink, she could barely survive, but their baby couldn’t.
Her husband paused for a moment, then replied indifferently, “You can’t even tell what’s real and what’s not. You were never pregnant, Luna. How could you have a miscarriage?”
“Enough. Go to sleep. I’m spending the night with Ian. You’ll sleep alone.”
Luna watched as he walked straight to the next room, where Violet’s perfectly manicured hands pulled him inside.
At that moment, she stood there feeling numb, unable to even feel her own heartache anymore.
With trembling hands, she decisively made a call. “I’m ready. Come pick me up.”
After hanging up, she looked around the house where she had lived for years, then quietly walked out the door.