Chapter 4

In a daze, Kayla thought she heard Luke's furious voice echoing around her.

"What kind of security do we have at the villa? How did those people get in?

"No matter what it takes, I will make anyone who hurts Kayla pay a hundred times over!

"And take those online posts down immediately! What's that? The situation's too big? What's the Hudson family's PR department for then? Just take it from my accounts, fifty million, five hundred million—I don't care. I never want to hear another word against Kayla!

"What do you mean her condition is serious? Neither Kayla nor the baby can be harmed. If anything happens, I'll make sure you all pay for it with your lives!"

When Kayla finally woke, the first thing she saw was Luke. Tears were streaming down his face, almost as if he might break apart.

The moment he saw her eyes open, he swept her into his arms like he'd just survived a catastrophe.

"Kayla, my love. Do you know how close you just came to scaring me to death? You're my life!"

He spoke with a sincerity so raw it couldn't be faked, but Kayla felt nothing.

The moment Luke had declared in front of the media that Stephanie's child wasn't illegitimate and Kayla's was, she had completely lost any feeling of love for him.

Seeing the light in her eyes fade, Luke felt a terrible instinct gnawing at him. Something precious was slipping away in a way he couldn't stop. His heart felt like it was being crushed, and breathing hurt.

"Kayla, what's wrong? Are you angry with me? But I had no choice! I couldn't just stand by and let Stephanie's reputation be destroyed. She saved your life, remember? Seeing you hurt nearly drove me crazy! Can't you try to understand me, just this once?"

It was then that Stephanie pushed the door open, holding Kayla's abortion appointment slip in her hand.

"Yeah, Kayla. No matter how mad you are, you can't just get rid of the baby in your belly!"

"What?"

Luke stared at the slip in disbelief, his breath catching, completely thrown off balance.

Malice flashed openly in Stephanie's eyes.

"You went out on purpose, didn't you? Deliberately letting those people find you, hiding that you weren't feeling well from Luke, stirring up trouble so everyone would be furious at you. You just wanted the baby to miscarry on its own. And even if it didn't, you already scheduled the abortion. How could you do this to Luke? You've gone too far!"

The appointment slip in her hand was already crumpled in Luke's fist. His throat tightened.

"Is this true, Kayla? Are you really willing to end our child's life?"

Kayla only felt bitter irony.

He was the one who didn't want this child in the first place.

In a sudden motion, Luke overturned the teacup on the table. Glass shards scattered across the floor.

"Why? How much pain did you endure for this child? How many nights did you sweat through the side effects of the injections? I even knelt on the floor begging you to stop taking them. And yet you still wanted our child. How can you now be so cold as to abort this baby? Kayla, do you even have a heart?"

Yes. Kayla had risked almost everything for this child. But how could Luke erase his name from the birth certificate so casually, just to protect the child in Stephanie's womb? How could he willingly let her reputation be ruined, let their child be labeled a fatherless bastard, all for Stephanie?

At that moment, the voice of a servant came from the doorway.

"Mr. Hudson, the lawyer just delivered a divorce agreement. He says Mrs. Hudson asked him to draw it up."