Seven Years of Sacrifices

After seven years of marriage, Cassian had slept with all my colleagues and friends.

I pretended not to see anything. As usual, I went for a prenatal checkup with my nine-month pregnant belly.

Until one day, on the way to my checkup, his new lover ran me over with her car.

I was bleeding profusely and begged him to take me to the hospital.

But Cassian looked at me with utter disdain and said, "Leona, since when did you learn to fake an accident? Don't think that putting on an act will make me care about you. Even if you die right in front of me, I wouldn’t spare you a second glance!"

With that, Cassian left with his new lover, not looking back.

By the time I was rushed to the hospital, the child in my womb had already suffocated to death.

Even my grandmother, unable to bear the shock, suffered a heart attack and passed away.

When I woke up, I stared blankly at Cassian's grandfather, Thomas Harland and said, "Let me go. Whatever debt I owed your family, I’ve repaid it with my life."

——

As I spoke, my phone buzzed incessantly with incoming messages.

One after another, they were all photos of Cassian and his new lover, Tessa.

While I was on the brink of death from a difficult labor, they had spent the night in a five-star hotel, entangled until dawn.

Tessa, covered in love bites, leaned into Cassian’s arms, her smile full of provocation.

Unaware of the truth, Thomas still wanted to make one last effort.

He placed a share transfer agreement in front of me. "Leona, Cassian isn’t a bad person at heart. You’ve loved him for so many years, why not give him another chance? As long as I’m here, no one can shake your position as Mrs. Harland."

I didn’t respond. Instead, I casually opened a video message sent by Tessa.

At once, the sounds of their entanglement echoed through the hospital room.

Gasping for breath, Tessa’s voice rang out. "Cassian, you really don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt leaving Leona on the street like that?"

Cassian, nibbling at Tessa’s neck, murmured with his eyes hazy with desire, "What’s there to feel guilty about? The one I love most is you. Even if Leona gives birth, she’s nothing compared to you."

The vulgar sounds filled the room, making Thomas’s veins bulge in fury.

After a long sigh, he finally conceded. "The Harland Family has made you suffer. I’ll handle the divorce. In seven days, I promise you’ll be free. As for your grandmother and child’s funeral arrangements…"

As he spoke, the nurse had already brought the lifeless child into the room.

It was as if even the heavens couldn’t bear to see me waste away in this marriage any longer. So, they took this child’s breath away the moment he was born.

I turned my head away, forcing myself to calm my emotions. "Bury the child in the Harland Family’s cemetery. I’ll take my grandmother’s ashes with me."

Thomas nodded painfully. "It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have forced you to stay in the Harland Family. Go… You deserve a much bigger world."

With that, he hunched over, holding the lifeless child in his arms as he walked away.

The tears I had held back for so long finally spilled over as a bitter flood of emotions surged through me.

My marriage to Cassian had been arranged single-handedly by Thomas.

He needed someone to keep Cassian in check, while I needed someone to pay for my grandmother’s expensive medical bills. So, we struck a deal.

I quit my job and married Cassian.

After the wedding, I learned about the tragic loss of his parents when he was young.

I saw with my own eyes how, in the dead of night, he would cry out for his mother in his sleep.

For a moment, two broken souls resonated with each other.

I wanted to heal Cassian’s wounded heart and build a happy family with him.

To fulfill my duty as a wife, I dedicated myself to mastering the art of cooking, striving to recreate the taste of his mother’s dishes.