Chapter 2

The faint scent of Stephanie's perfume still clung to Luke.

Kayla shoved away the man she had loved for so many years, her eyes burning red as she screamed, "For Stephanie, you're willing to let our child grow up without a father? You worry about her reputation, but what about me? Doesn't my reputation matter at all?"

Luke stayed silent for a long moment, swallowing hard, his voice rough and hoarse when he finally spoke.

"If Stephanie hadn't come to warn me at the gala, you might have..." Luke's voice faltered, heavy with guilt.

"So I really can't just stand by and watch Stephanie be dragged through the mud."

At a gala three years ago, someone had slipped Kayla a potent drug. A group of thugs had almost taken advantage of her, and it was Stephanie who had alerted Luke, saving her at the last second.

Afterward, Luke had given the Campbell family dozens of projects and even added five million dollars in cash as thanks. But he still felt it wasn't enough.

For the past three years, he had been constantly helping the Campbell family. He managed their business affairs, secretly buying Stephanie several priceless pieces of jewelry, even rushing to care for her whenever she caught a cold.

Every time Kayla tried to stop him, Luke would cut her off with, "Stephanie saved you. I can't ignore her."

It was only now that Kayla bitterly realized the debt her husband felt toward Stephanie might consume his entire life.

And for the first time, she felt it. That heart which had once burned so fiercely for Luke was slowly going cold, bit by bit, until there was nothing left at all.

So this was what it felt like for love to fade.

Suddenly, Stephanie doubled over and screamed in pain.

"Luke! My stomach... it hurts so much! Our baby... is something wrong with our baby?"

Kayla felt the large hands holding her tense for just a moment. She allowed herself a bitter, hollow smile.

"Go ahead. Don't let yourself regret it."

Luke's expression was conflicted. In the end, he let go of Kayla and carried Stephanie straight toward the exam room.

Kayla wiped the last of her tears from her face and turned to take three decisive actions.

First, she scheduled an abortion.

Second, she contacted her lawyer to draw up divorce papers.

Third, she bought a plane ticket to fly across the ocean in two weeks.

Luke could let Stephanie ruin his own child's reputation, but Kayla couldn't. She would rather make sure this baby never saw the world.

As for her marriage to Luke, she realized it had no purpose left. In two weeks, she would leave this place that had broken her heart and never return.

The abortion was scheduled for three days from now.

When she picked up the appointment slip from the doctor's office, she ran straight into Stephanie.

"The baby in your belly is just a fatherless child. Do you really need a check-up?"

With Luke absent, Stephanie's true colors surfaced immediately.

"You didn't know, did you?" Stephanie said, a smug edge in her voice. "I made sure to schedule my check-ups at the same time as yours. Luke always chooses to come with me first. He won't rest until he's made sure I get home safely. I think there were several times he made you delay your appointment just because he came back too late, right?"

Kayla clenched her fists.

No wonder something always came up at the company whenever it was time for her prenatal checkups.

Last-minute emergencies. Meetings that stretched deep into the night.

How pitiful she had been back then. She'd pushed through her morning sickness and exhaustion, even when the nausea threatened to make her vomit, just to make a pot of hot stew for her husband so he would have it waiting when he got home from work.

The memory made her stomach churn, pain flaring up as anger and disgust swirled together.

She had no time for Stephanie's taunts. All she wanted now was to go back to bed and rest.

But before she could react, Stephanie's lips curved into a faint smile.

The next second, she pretended she lost her balance and fell backward.

"Stephanie!"

Luke lunged forward without hesitation, catching her just before she hit the ground.

Stephanie's voice trembled with quiet sobs.

"It's all my fault. That's why Kayla is so angry. She hates me... and she hates the baby in my belly. I don't blame her. She didn't mean it..."

It was the same kind of script all over again.

Kayla couldn't take it anymore.

"That's not true! I didn't—"

But Luke only looked down at Stephanie with a pained expression.

"Stephanie, don't blame Kayla, okay? I'll apologize on her behalf."

Kayla froze.

She couldn't believe it. Luke hadn't even given her a chance to explain. He had already decided she was guilty.

"That's not true! I didn't touch her! If you don't believe me, check the surveillance in the hallway!"

She pointed toward a hidden camera in the corner.

She hadn't expected there to be cameras here. Stephanie's face went pale, and she gripped Luke's arm so tightly her whole body shook.

Luke rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"Kayla, I know you're upset. I'm not asking you to apologize to Stephanie. Just... don't provoke her anymore, okay?"

At that moment, Kayla heard the sound of her own heart breaking.

The boy who had once carried her out of a freezing winter night, gently draped his coat over her shoulders, and promised he would always believe in her... had finally broken that promise.

Stephanie threw Kayla a triumphant smile before collapsing into Luke's arms, sobbing.

"Luke, I'm not feeling well. Can you take me back first?"

Luke's eyes flickered with hesitation, but he turned to Kayla.

"Stephanie's shaken. I'll take her to the car first and come right back for you. Stay here, okay?"

Without another glance, he scooped Stephanie up in his arms and hurried toward the exit.

A passing nurse watched them go, envy written all over her face.

"This man is way too good to his wife! We're on the sixteenth floor, and he didn't even wait for the elevator. He just ran down the stairs carrying her! When will I ever meet a husband like that?"

"Good husbands aren't easy to find. Look at that other pregnant woman over there. She's so pale, and her husband isn't even with her. Poor thing... wait, what's happening? Someone call for help! A pregnant woman just fainted in the hallway!"

Before Kayla lost consciousness, the last thing she saw was the nurse's terrified face.