The night before my wedding, I was in a terrible car accident. I fell into a coma, and my body was broken and bruised.

While I lay unconscious, my fiancé called off the engagement and married his childhood sweetheart instead.

My mother went to demand justice on my behalf—but never made it back. She died in a sudden, brutal accident along the way.

In that moment of chaos, it was my childhood friend who stepped in. He knelt on one knee outside the hospital with a wedding gift of a hundred thousand dollars and quietly handled my mother's funeral.

I was wheeled into surgery. I lived, but was left with a permanent disability. And still, he promised to stay by my side, for life.

I was deeply moved. We got married.

But five years later, I overheard him talking to his secretary.

"Mr. Davidson, you arranged for someone to hit your wife with a car, just so Lucy could marry the one she loved. Aren't you afraid she'll find out?"

"For Lucy, there's nothing I wouldn't do. I've already given Ruby the rest of my life. Isn't that enough?"

I covered my mouth, holding back a sob.

Only then did I realize—the marriage I believed in had been a lie all along.

So be it. I'll disappear and let him be with the woman he truly loves.

In the study, Nate Davidson stared at a photo of Lucy Langdon with a tenderness that overflowed with love and regret.

"As long as Lucy is happy now, that's enough for me," he said quietly.

Beside him, the secretary sighed and asked, almost helplessly, "Mr. Davidson, aren't you afraid your wife will find out you were the one who arranged the car accident? And back then, her legs were perfectly fine. You had her injected with that drug—just so Lucy could win the dance competition."

Nate paused for a second, then let out a bitter smile. "It's all in the past now. I'll spend the rest of my life taking care of Ruby. That's my promise."

The secretary frowned, confused. "You gave Lucy away to another man, and even sacrifice the driver's life. Was it really worth it? And… your wife's mother's death anniversary is just around the corner. Shouldn't you at least—"

"Enough! Don't say another word!" Nate cut him off, voice sharp with anger.

My hands trembled. The coffee cup I was holding slipped through my fingers and shattered on the floor with a loud crash.

Hearing the noise, Nate abruptly stopped speaking and rushed to open the door.

When he saw me, his face changed. He quickly bent down to help me up.

"Ruby, why are you here? Did you get hurt?"

He hastily took the broken shards from my hand, worried I might've been cut. His expression was panicked, frantic, as if nothing mattered more than my safety.

Watching him fuss over me like that, it was hard to reconcile this man with the one I'd just overheard.

He turned and snapped at the maids nearby, "How are you all taking care of Madam? You even let her bring coffee herself? What use are any of you? If she got hurt, none of you would get away with it!"

The maids apologized in a flurry, rushing to clean up the shattered porcelain.

Everyone knew Nate spoiled me beyond reason. Whatever I wanted, he gave. Even when I joked once about wanting a star from the sky, he bought a minor planet and named it after my birthday.

He even founded a charity for disabled individuals in my name, and countless properties were registered under me.

I waved a hand to show I was fine. He carefully helped me over to a seat.

"Call the family doctor, now!"

I lowered my gaze to my useless legs. Tears fell before I could stop them.

That dance competition gold medal—it should have been mine. I had always thought it was the accident that took everything from me.

But now I knew. It had been Nate—the man I'd loved for so many years, the one who slept beside me every night. He was the one who destroyed my legs.

The pain in my chest was unbearable. I couldn't breathe. In a sudden fury, I began pounding my legs with my fists, hating myself for not realizing the truth sooner.

Dance had been my life, my dream. I gave everything for it.

Nate saw the tears on my face and thought I'd cut myself on the glass. He pulled me into his arms, cradling me like a child, gently patting my back to comfort me.

Back when I first woke up from the crash, I was plagued by nightmares. He stayed by my side day and night, never leaving the hospital.

Every time I woke in a panic, he was there, soothing me with soft words and gentle hands.

Back then, I thought he was my shelter, my warmth.

But now, all I felt was a deep, bone-chilling dread.

Everything, from beginning to end, had been a lie.

And I had been the fool, drowning in the illusion of a love he had so carefully, so cruelly constructed.

The doctor came and gave me a check-up. What he said next caught all of us off guard.

"Mr. Davidson, your wife is three months pregnant."

The room fell silent for a second. Everyone looked stunned.

This child—I had waited for this child for so many years, and yet it chose now to arrive.

I turned to Nate, searching his eyes for something—anything—but all I saw there was love. Unwavering, undiluted love.

"We're finally having a child, Ruby," he said, his voice full of joy as he embraced me.

Then, without wasting a second, he ordered the doctor to prepare a complete prenatal care plan. He turned to the servants and barked orders.

"Take good care of Madam. Make sure nothing goes wrong. Not even a little."

Everyone around us looked at me with envy. Over the years, they'd watched how much Nate loved me.

"Pass down the word," he added. "Once the child is born, all my shares in the company will go to my child."

The secretary looked shocked. "Mr. Davidson, are you sure..."

"What are you mumbling about?" he snapped. "Just do as I say!"

Then he looked back at me, his gaze warm and tender. "Ruby, I'm going to make sure you and our child are the happiest people in the world."

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and smiled faintly, nodding.

That evening, Nate canceled all his appointments and stayed by my side. He watched me drift off to sleep. But the moment he stepped into the bathroom to shower, I opened my eyes and began searching.

I had always known his phone was never turned off. But I'd never questioned why he so often left the house late at night. I used to assume he had urgent business matters to attend to. But what kind of work could require a CEO's presence in the dead of night?

I entered Lucy's birthday as the passcode. It unlocked instantly.

There they were—countless voice messages from a contact saved under the name "Baby."

"Nate, I miss you so much," her voice said, sweet and familiar.

It was Lucy. I could never forget her voice. After my accident, she had sat next to me, whispering in the same honeyed tone about how heartbroken she was for me.

I scrolled up through the messages. What filled the screen were Nate's texts.

After marrying him, I had grown insecure—crippled, abandoned by my former fiancé, I'd always felt I didn't deserve him. I rarely messaged him, afraid of being a burden.

But looking at it now, I realized it had always been one-sided. My tears spilled onto the phone screen. I wiped them quickly, but accidentally tapped one of the voice messages.

"Find a way to get rid of Ruby's baby," Nate's voice said. "Silently. Make sure she never finds out."

He had sent it to his secretary.

"Put something in her food. I can't keep this child. I'm afraid Lucy will be upset if she finds out."

The phone slipped from my hands.

So his love could be faked that easily. Those sweet words from earlier in the day, that tender embrace—they meant nothing. The same man who had spoken of happiness had also planned to erase our child like it was some inconvenient stain.

Only now did I understand. To him, both the child and I were disposable. We were something to be discarded for Lucy's comfort. The child I had cherished was, in his eyes, nothing more than a nuisance.

I put the phone down. A strange pain began to stir in my belly. He had acted fast—too fast. I had no chance to prepare myself.

I clutched my stomach, panic rising as I felt something warm rushing out. Blood. It soaked through the sheets. Red everywhere.

I fumbled for the phone, trying to call for help. But the dizziness came fast. He had drugged me with sleeping pills. I couldn't fight it. Consciousness slipped away.

He had thought of everything and left no room for escape.

When I woke again, I was in the hospital. I pulled back the blanket and looked down.

My stomach was flat. Empty.

Nate's eyes were red—anyone could see he'd been crying.

The moment he saw I was awake, he pulled me into his arms, holding me as if I might slip away. His voice trembled. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I couldn't protect our child."

He paused, took a shaky breath. "The doctor said the baby had congenital issues. That's why... the miscarriage happened."

His hand moved gently over my back, slow and rhythmic, as though he could soothe the loss out of me. "Don't be sad, Ruby. We'll have another child. We will."

I felt a dampness spread across my shoulder—his tears soaking into my gown.

Everything felt unreal. Just yesterday, I'd uncovered the truth: he was the reason behind my car accident, the one who'd shattered my life, stolen my ability to dance. And now, he had taken my child too.

Was he my lover? Or my executioner?

Grief surged through me, thick and suffocating, like drowning in a sea with no surface in sight.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.

He rushed out and returned moments later with the doctor. After a brief examination, the doctor told me the same thing—just that I needed rest, that my body was weak after the miscarriage.

I closed my eyes, unwilling to let him see me cry. Nate stayed by my side, apologizing again and again.

"It's my fault, Ruby. I never wanted you to suffer like this."

I didn't respond to his hollow apologies. I stayed silent.

My heart had already died the moment he chose to kill our child.

Just as he leaned in to comfort me again, his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, then stood up quickly. "Ruby, something urgent came up at the company. I'll be back soon."

I watched him leave, then opened my phone.

While he was asleep, I had connected our phones and turned on location tracking. Now I could see exactly where he was.

The signal showed he hadn't left the hospital. He'd paused outside for a moment, then turned around—heading toward the obstetrics and gynecology department.

I frowned, unsure what to make of it. And then I heard her voice.

Lucy. Her voice was unmistakable as she clung to Nate's arm.

"I just got here and George suddenly said something came up at his company. Good thing you came to keep me company," she said in a sugary tone. "I get nervous going to checkups alone."

There they were, sweet-talking under my nose.

I was in a private VIP ward, far from the general patient rooms. If I hadn't tracked his location, I never would've known.

"Lucy," he said gently, "I told you before—I'll always treat your baby like mine. I'll always be by your side."

"You're the best, Nate," she giggled.

"You wait here for a bit. I'm going to meet the best OB-GYN in the country—I asked him to come just for you."

His wife had just lost a child, and he was already accompanying another woman to a prenatal appointment. Like nothing had happened.

After Nate walked off, Lucy came to my room.

"Ruby, long time no see," she said, smiling.

She was dressed head to toe in custom couture. No makeup, but she still looked radiant. Clearly, someone had been doting on her.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly.

She laughed, her hand resting on her stomach.

"Oh, nothing. I just heard you lost your baby and thought I'd come show some concern. And since today's also your mother's death anniversary, I figured you might be feeling extra emotional."

"I don't need your concern. Get out."

Her expression turned icy in an instant.

"You don't know yet, do you? Your baby... died because of Nate. He didn't want me to be upset, so he had abortion drugs slipped into your meals."

Her voice dropped to a near-whisper. "The doctor said the fetus already had a human shape. Too bad, huh? But what do you expect when someone like you is the mother?"

My fingers clenched tightly around the bedsheet. I could feel the blood boiling in my veins.

"I'm pregnant too," she added with a grin. "Even if it's not Nate's baby, he still takes care of me like it is."

The old me would've lashed out, screamed at her, refused to believe a word she said.

But now... now it felt like all the air had gone out of me. I didn't care about Nate the way I used to.

So I just looked at her, expressionless. "Are you finished? If so, leave."

She stared at me, confused at first, then visibly shaken by my lack of reaction.

Her fake sweetness evaporated.

"Ruby, who do you think you are? You're just a cripple. You should be grateful I let you live this long."