Chapter 4

I felt my heart lurch painfully. I quickly grabbed Jayson's shirt hem and tried to explain myself.

"I don't even know who this man is, Jayson!"

"I don't want to hear any of your bullshit," he replied, picking at his ear with his little finger before cutting me off with an irritated look. "You can refuse to sign the papers. I'll just take you to court. We'll end up wasting each other's time, but the outcome will still be the same in the end.

"The problem is that you're a pregnant woman now, and I don't think you can afford to drag this out. Don't you think so?"

The cramping in my abdomen intensified, and my heart throbbed in pain.

After a few seconds of silence, I said hoarsely, "You're right. I can't afford to drag it out."

I ended up signing the papers. When he took the papers from me, he tossed me a bank card and said, "You kept me company for ten years, so here's five million dollars. That should be more than enough for you to spend in a lifetime."

It was hilarious. I'd given him ten years of my youth, and he came out of it as a billionaire, but I was only worth five million dollars to him.

He grabbed Amelia's hand and slowly walked out of the hospital room.

Tears blurred my vision. I said in a low voice, "You better not regret it, Jayson Kaiser."

He paused for a second and said, "I wish you and your lover the best."

After he left, I sat alone in the hospital bed and thought for a very long time if I should just abort this baby. And after thinking about it for a long time, I decided to book an abortion the next day.

I knew that the baby was innocent, but I really didn't want to continue living in Jayson's shadow for the rest of my life. He had already hurt me enough.

I stared at the photos in my hand and let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

Two weeks ago, this man in the photo had suddenly grabbed my arm from behind and hugged me tightly in the street. But when I stared at him in shock, he suddenly backed off and apologized, claiming that he mistook me for someone else.

However, that had been the only time I'd ever met him. In other words, only this hugging photo was real. I was very certain that the rest of the photos were edited or AI-generated. That also meant that I had every right to sue Amelia for infringing upon my rights to my image and my reputation.

Even if the photos hadn't gone viral or the offense wasn't considered severe, it would still be enough for her to end up with a criminal record.

I drafted the complaint, prepared all the necessary documents, and went to the courthouse.

The case was accepted shortly after.

The day after I underwent the abortion, Jayson kept flooding me with calls.

"Have you fucking lost your mind, Sherry? Amy just received a court summons at college! What will people think of her now? She's still a student! Can't you be more considerate of her for once?"

The phone was quickly snatched away from him, and I heard Amelia's tearful voice coming through.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Kaiser. I was wrong. I never should have hired a private investigator to spy on you and expose your marital affair to Dr. Kaiser.

"I'll apologize to you! I'm sorry! Can't we all please just each take a step back, and you drop the lawsuit against me?"

Before I could even respond, Jayson coldly ordered, "All Amy did was catch you with that man. Was it really necessary to sue her like this? Come to the cafe across from the college this instant! We need to talk."

"I can't," I replied. "I just had an abortion and am still under observation at the hospital."

He laughed derisively. "What, did that man dump you already?"

I just smiled and didn't answer that question. I then said, "You really ought to take a closer look at the court summons, Jayson. Tell Amelia that I'll be seeing her in court in three days."

With that, I hung up.