The Forsaken Lady

When I become pregnant with Ryan Hurst's child—at the same time his so-called first love, Kate Davis, do—he doesn't hesitate to claim hers, while ignoring mine.

My child is thus branded an "illegitimate child".

Ryan, the eldest son of the powerful Hurst financial empire, looks down at me with eyes like frost.

"Kate is a real socialite. She can't have her reputation tainted by… this," he says coldly.

It turns out that our seven years of marriage were nothing but a lie.

The day my adopted family, the Kleimanns, forces me to get an abortion, Ryan is in another country, playing the doting partner at Kate's side while she gives birth.

When we meet again, I will have already burned the bridge between us with my own hands.

What none of them know is that behind Kate's polished smile lies a festering rot.

And as for me, I am the sole heiress to an old and powerful aristocratic bloodline.

In the third month of my pregnancy, I ran into Ryan Hurst and his first love, Kate Davis—daughter of a real estate tycoon and Ryan's childhood sweetheart—at a private clinic in Molhatt.

Through a potted plant, I heard Kate say, "Ryan, darling, feel this. He just moved."

From the side, Ryan looked soft and affectionate. I had never seen that expression on him before.

He let Kate pull his hand and place it on her swollen belly.

"Helen Hurst?" the nurse called me.

Ryan abruptly turned around, his pupils contracting.

I walked over and slapped Ryan across the face twice.

Even as his cheeks flushed red, Ryan silently took the hits.

"Explain." My voice trembled.

"What are you doing?" Kate screamed, pushing me away and standing in front of Ryan. Crying, she revealed, "It's me! I'm the one pregnant with Ryan's child!"

I broke out in tears instantly.

Ryan explained, "Don't cry, Helen. The child in her belly isn't mine."

Kate cried even harder and accused him resentfully, "Ryan! You promised to be my child's father! How can you tell her the truth now?"

Ryan stared at her coldly. "That's enough, Kate. Helen is my wife. She has the right to know the truth."

The sadness on Kate's face vanished, and a malicious smile curled her lips. "Wife? Then, does she know?" She turned to me, adding, "That the child in her belly is an illegitimate child?"

Ryan's body trembled, and his face turned pale.

Kate smugly caressed her belly. "Ryan and I grew up together. I'm a real socialite, you know. Since he can't bear to see my reputation ruined, he can only wrong his biological son.

"In the future, my child will be his heir."

She gave my belly a scornful glance, adding, "As for the illegitimate child inside of you, maybe we'll be kind enough to let him live in the Hurst family as an adopted son."

My baby had been reduced to an illegitimate child.

I looked at Ryan, the man I had loved for seven years.

I was the adopted daughter of the Kleimann family, a family of lawyers. For the sake of shares and added benefits, I had been used as a pawn in an arranged marriage with the financial family's only son, Ryan Hurst.

Back then, Kate's infidelity had broken Ryan's heart. That was the only reason he gave up his first love from a real estate family and married me, an adopted daughter.

He once said that he would only love me for the rest of his life. But now, for the sake of the child in Kate's belly, he was abandoning me and our child.

Ryan tried to hold me in his arms, but I struggled with all my strength.

"Let go of me!" I shouted.

He held me tighter. "I'm sorry, Helen. I'm sorry."

I collapsed into Ryan's arms, hoarsely asking, "Why, Ryan? Kate's the one carrying the illegitimate child. Why are you giving up on our child?"

After a moment of silence, he said, "Kate is different. She's a true socialite. She can't afford the scandal of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy." He tightened his arms around me and promised, "It won't be long, Helen. Once Kate's situation is settled, I'll make the news about our child public."

I looked at Ryan, and the last bit of warmth in my heart extinguished.

"Public?" Kate suddenly sneered. "What right does the adopted daughter of the Kleimann family have to bear the heir of the Hurst family? Helen, you should've known your place seven years ago." She raised her hand, her sharp nails slashing across my face in a fierce slap.

"Ah!"

Pain surged through me as the nurse shouted in panic, "Mrs. Hurst! You're bleeding!"