Chapter 4

Elizabeth's POV

The turning point came when I was nine months pregnant.

Quinn dropped by the house alone when Jonathan was away on a business trip, wearing a branded dress and a pair of high heels I couldn't afford.

She leisurely circled the living room before smiling brightly at me, saying, "You have such a big house, Liz."

I ignored her.

Quinn didn't seem bothered by my lack of response. She sat on the couch and flipped through the prenatal check-up reports on the coffee table.

"Oh? You're having a C-section next week?"

I walked over and snatched the reports out of her hands. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

Quinn smiled.

Her smile at that moment was completely different from the one that she showed Jonathan when he was around. It wasn't weak or innocent. On the contrary, it sent a chill down my spine.

"Do you want me to let you in on a secret, Liz?"

"Go ahead."

"Did you know that John's mother called me last week?"

My hands froze.

"She asked me what type of ring I liked."

Silence descended upon the living room.

Quinn stood up and approached me, tilting her head back slightly to look at me. She was shorter than me by half a head, but the glint in her eyes made it obvious that she was looking down on me.

"His mother told me that the daughter-in-law of the Myers family either has to be of the same status as them or capable of benefiting the company. Which category do you think you fall into?

"You're an orphan who doesn't have any parents. You quit your job to rely on a man to take care of you. How could you possibly challenge me?"

Quinn chuckled and pulled her phone out from her bag. She tapped on a photo before handing me the phone.

It was a screenshot of a chat. The name at the top was "Mom".

"I think John's wife is pregnant, Mom."

"I know. I already told him that he can keep the child, but I won't acknowledge the child's mother."

"She's so pitiful."

"Is she? She's the one who shamelessly came on to him. We didn't force her to be with him."

My hand balled into a fist as I stared at the messages, crumpling the reports.

Quinn put her phone away and patted my shoulder with a knowing look. "Take good care of yourself, Liz. I'll get the Myers family to send you some money after you give birth to the child."

She turned around and glanced at me when she was at the door, saying, "Oh, that's right. You can forget about threatening John with the child. He's the type of person who's completely immune to blackmail."

The door clicked shut behind her.

I stood rooted to the spot for a long time. I couldn't help but feel that I had been turned into a laughingstock.

…

That night, when I realized that I had a high fever, I called Jonathan.

The call rang for a long time before he finally picked up.

I could hear the muffled sounds of a woman's heavy breathing on the other end of the line.

"What's up?" he asked, sounding a little impatient at being disturbed.

"I'm running a fever, Jonathan. 102 Fahrenheit."

"Don't you know how to call an ambulance?" Jonathan snapped.

He paused for a moment. His voice was calm again when he said, "I'm busy right now."

He immediately hung up after he was done speaking.

I had to call the ambulance myself even though I was days away from giving birth. I was alone when I checked myself into the hospital, had my blood drawn, and was attached to an IV drip until dawn broke on the horizon.

One of the nurses asked, "Where's your family, miss?"

"I don't have any family," I said flatly.

She glanced at me but didn't question me further.

The next morning, Jonathan showed up at the hospital.

He had a bouquet of fresh flowers and a bowl of hot soup. He sat on the edge of the bed and held my head. Guilt was written all over his face.

"I'm sorry, honey. The contract last night was very important. Quinn was there too. She helped me during the negotiations for the entire night—"

I scoffed and retracted my hand. "Are you sure you were just talking the entire night? Or were you doing it the entire night?"