At three months pregnant, Lucian pointed at my belly in public and told me to abort the baby.

I held back my tears and tried to coax him to come home, but he shoved me away.

He was arrogant and indifferent, looking down at me. "Lyra, you're nothing more than a bitch. When have I ever given you a home?"

"Wasn't it you who designed to climb into my bed, get pregnant with my child and secure a place to stay?"

I stood up, a sharp pain tightening in my stomach.

Lucian, ignoring me, kissed the woman in his arms, putting on an explicit show.

In the dimly lit private room, everyone was waiting to see my humiliation.

——

Lucian's dark eyes locked onto me as he kissed the woman in front of me.

Amid the picturesque spring scenery, the woman's soft moans lingered in the air.

"Don't... so many people are watching!" Her shy yet seductive voice sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Lucian tightened his grip, tearing the woman's collar with a ripping sound. "So what? Let Lyra take hers off and give it to you."

Lucian turned his gaze from the woman's fair skin to me. "You're not going to take it off? Are you waiting for me to do it for her?"

My face turned pale as I bit my lip, struggling to hold back the emotions that were about to overwhelm me.

Taking a deep breath, I removed my jacket and draped it over the woman's shoulders.

The box was too dark, I couldn't even see their faces.

"Lucian, you're drunk, I'll wait for you outside." The choking voice made my whole body tremble.

"Lyra, it's cold outside, I'll give you the coat back."

A sweet female voice came from behind me and before I could react, someone grabbed my wrist.

Under the woman's torn collar, the tiny kiss marks on her white neck were glaring.

She put the coat in my hand and smiled at me.

At a very close distance, I could see that the woman in front of me smiled exactly like the late Astrid.

I was a little stunned. "Astrid?"

The woman was startled by me, retreating into Lucian's arms for refuge.

"You have no right to say her name! It should have been you who died back then, not Astrid!" Lucian roared in a low voice, as if he wanted to tear me apart and devour me whole.

He hated me.

He hated me because I was the only survivor of that car accident.

Ten years ago, I accompanied Astrid to a dance competition but ended up in a chain-reaction car crash. Astrid died on the spot.

Lucian blamed everything on me. He thought if I hadn’t encouraged her to join the competition, she wouldn’t have died.

But what he didn’t know was that his beloved "lover" faked her death and ran away because she no longer loved him.

To keep him from being heartbroken, I kept this secret for years.

But even after ten years, I couldn’t warm his cold heart.

This time, I was truly exhausted. I no longer want the heart I couldn't warm.

With a loud bang, Lucian threw me into the corner of the wall.

The dull pain in my back almost left me breathless.

Instinctively, I held my stomach, but this only made Lucian angrier.

"I know you signed a surrogacy agreement with the Prescott Family. Once the child is born, the Prescott Family will acquire the struggling Aldridge Family. But I won't acknowledge your child! If you're smart, you'd better get rid of it as soon as possible."

Everyone present could no longer hold back and began murmuring among themselves.

Those mocking gazes fell upon me, cutting into me like a thousand knives.

They openly discussed the ridiculous and disgraceful ten years between me and Lucian, claiming I stole my late best friend's boyfriend, went bankrupt, drugged him to get into his bed, became a secret lover and even sold myself for investment.

They even mentioned the surrogacy agreement I signed with the Prescott Family.

Each accusation, each detail, pinned me on the shameful pedestal.

"I won't let anyone other than Astrid give birth to my…"

"Alright."

Before Lucian could finish his sentence, I interrupted him.

I used my elbow to support myself and slowly stood up.

He stared at me, his eyes filled with shock.

Maybe he thought I would never agree, which was why he called me over in the middle of the night to humiliate me in every possible way.

He likely had more despicable plans waiting for me. But he never expected me to agree so easily.

"What did you say?"

I gave a bitter smile and repeated, "I said, I’ll terminate the pregnancy."

As everyone's shocked gazes followed me, I slowly walked out of the private room. The noise of chaos and smashing echoed behind me, but when I closed the door, I shut out everything.

I dialed the number I had contacted a month ago.

"Astrid, you won. I don’t want Lucian anymore. He’s yours."

Astrid had returned a month ago, right when I had just discovered I was pregnant and signed the surrogacy agreement with the Prescott Family.

She reached out to me, hoping I would set up a meeting with Lucian for her.

I knew she only wanted me to be a witness, to tell a few lies that would help her case.

No matter how ridiculous Astrid's words were, Lucian would believe her. Just like how no matter what I said, he would never believe me.

I rejected Astrid's request, but she challenged me, betting that Lucian wouldn't let me keep the baby.

Now, I lost, thoroughly and completely.

I thought that even if he didn't love me, he might still feel some sympathy, even if just for the child. But Lucian didn't. He had no heart.

The next morning, I braved the snowstorm and took a taxi to the hospital to schedule an abortion.

"The baby has already formed. Are you sure you want to terminate the pregnancy?" The doctor flipped through my medical reports, looking somewhat regretful.

"Doctor, I want a regular abortion, not a painless one." I clenched my hand tightly in my sleeve and as I nodded, my heart felt like it was being torn apart.

The doctor looked up in surprise, glanced behind me and then nodded in understanding.

Since there was no one to sign for me, I couldn't choose the painless option, even for an abortion.

As I lay on the operating table, I could distinctly feel the child leaving my body.

The pain was sharp and excruciating, as if it were tearing me apart.

‘I'm sorry, baby. It's Mommy's fault, I couldn't protect you.’

"During the procedure, the pregnant woman suffered a perforation, leading to severe bleeding! Quickly! Get in touch with the patient's family!"

I fainted from the pain, but a nurse pushed me awake. "Where is your family’s phone number? You’re bleeding heavily, we need to contact them immediately..."

"The contact number for the child’s father is on the file!"

***

"Mr. Prescott, your wife is undergoing an abortion at the hospital and has severe bleeding. We need you to come and sign the paperwork!"

The nurse anxiously called out my name.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

"Lyra, are you trying to set up a scene with the doctor now? Wait until you're dead, then tell me to come collect the body!"

The line went dead with a busy tone and the operating room was in chaos.

My consciousness continued to drift, but the moment I heard those words, it snapped back.

He would rather wait for my death than believe me, not even once.

I forced a bitter smile and it wasn’t until tears began to fall that I finally closed my eyes.

I was so tired. Living was so exhausting and loving someone who didn't love me was even more tiring.

But Lucian, if he knew that the person he loved would rather fake her death to escape, would he regret how he treated me?

Lucian and I grew up together as childhood friends, but my feelings for him could never be seen in the light.

The man who never showed interest in women fell in love with my roommate, Astrid, during our first year of university.

She was a gentle and beautiful girl, like a white rose.

The year we graduated, Astrid suddenly came to me, telling me she no longer loved Lucian and was planning to leave for overseas with her first love.

To spare Lucian’s feelings, she asked me to help her put on an act. What I didn’t expect was that this act would trap Lucian for ten years.

Over those ten years, the Aldridge Family fell apart and my mother, seeking protection from the Prescott Family, drugged Lucian’s drink and sent me to his bed.

From that moment on, I became his secret lover. And under the Prescott Family's scheme, I secretly became pregnant with Lucian's child, signing a surrogacy agreement.

Ten years of turmoil, all I got in return was exhaustion, both physically and emotionally.

After surviving a near-death experience, I woke up to find no one by my side.

In my daze, I thought I saw my father, the one who had always loved me and protected me from everything.

“Dad... I miss you so much.”

The room was quiet, except for the sound of the IV drip.

For the entire half-month, Lucian didn’t even call once.

The day I was discharged, I called his number. When he answered, his tone was full of cold mockery. “Wasn’t it a miscarriage with heavy bleeding? How are you still alive?”

I tightened my grip on the phone and let out a few cold laughs. “Thanks to Mr. Prescott, I’m still alive. Mr. Prescott, I have a news for you. Astrid... she’s still alive.”

The breathing on the other end of the line stopped.

In the ten years I spent with Lucian, every corner was filled with news about Astrid, but her whereabouts always seemed to come from all directions.

No matter what Lucian was doing, the moment there was any sign of her, he would drop everything and rush to her side.

All for a blurry video, too unclear to make out the face, he abandoned me, leaving me alone halfway up the mountain to chase after her overseas.

For a fake rumor, with no photos or videos to back it up, he could even walk away from me after we were in bed together.

I knew Astrid was fishing for something. She couldn't let go of her first love, but she also couldn’t give up on Lucian, the big catch. So she came back and I wasn’t surprised at all.

I took a taxi back to the "home" Lucian had given me. The place he provided as a refuge.

I had barely settled down after returning home from the hospital when I heard the sound of the door opening.

Lucian, dressed in black and looking exhausted, stood in the doorway. “Where is Astrid?”

I didn’t expect him to be so impatient. It hadn’t even been half an hour and he was already here, looking for me.

He had never come here on his own before. Every time, it was me begging him. That’s why Lucian would say I was selling myself. Sometimes, I couldn’t help but feel worthless too.

"The Prescott Family's financial support to the Aldridge Family must not be interrupted. You need to have the contract written out in black and white before we talk." With a sharp sound, he slammed the contract onto the table in front of me.

I was momentarily stunned, instinctively picking it up to examine it.

The contract was meticulously detailed, laying out all my demands, even specifying Aldridge Family's future shares, dividends and the contract’s duration.

I looked up at him, feeling a strange mix of unfamiliarity and pity.

Seeing the person I loved give his heart to someone else, that suffocating pain tugged relentlessly at my chest.

"Mr. Prescott, you spend a fortune for love? you really have guts." I let out a cold laugh, then signed the contract without a second thought.

I pulled out the phone with Astrid’s number stored in it and tossed it toward him.

"Astrid came back a month ago. Use this phone to call her, she’ll pick up."

Not long after Lucian left, the phone at home rang.