Chapter 3

Emma froze for a moment and instinctively asked, "What do you mean by that, Shane?"

Shane was breathing heavily. He realized that he couldn't hide it any longer, so he just laid it all out. "You have to believe me, Emma!

"I was just fooling around with Jasmine back then. I swapped out her fertility pills a long time ago to prevent her from getting pregnant. I mean, she's been taking them for years now, so even if she gets herself checked out at the hospital, they wouldn't be able to find anything. She couldn't possibly conceive!

"You can rest assured that I'll only love you and our future child, Emma!"

Emma fell silent and briefly glanced over at the restroom where I was hiding. She then turned to Shane and softened her demeanor, saying, "I'll believe you for now, then. I'm hungry, so come get something to eat with me, Shane."

It wasn't long before the sound of their footsteps drifted away.

I leaned against the restroom wall, my entire body going numb as it shook uncontrollably. I could barely believe what I had just heard. I still held onto a sliver of hope as I made my way to the pharmacy and handed the bottle of fertility pills I usually took to the pharmacist.

Upon receiving the bottle, the pharmacist poured out a pill, inspected it closely for a moment, and looked up at me with a strange expression.

"These are levonorgestrel pills, which are used for contraception. I've also noticed the dosage written on the bottle. Is it possible that someone deliberately swapped out your fertility pills?"

I managed a faint smile at the pharmacist, too exhausted to even thank her. I walked out of the pharmacy in a daze and stood in the middle of the busy street, suddenly feeling that these past five years with Shane had been nothing but a cruel joke.

Just then, thunder rumbled overhead, and heavy rain came pouring down all at once.

I had no umbrella, so I just trudged through the rain by myself. I didn't want to go home—not that I had a home to go back to anyway.

Passersby ran by, trying to get out of the rain, and one of them slammed into my shoulder. They didn't even apologize. They just glanced back at me and vanished into the rain.

I went weak in the knees and collapsed into the cold rainwater, too exhausted to get back on my feet. I covered my face and cried uncontrollably; the rainwater blended with my tears and seeped into my mouth, tasting salty and bitter.

It was a long while before I finally raised my head again. I spotted a familiar umbrella held over me—the one I had given Emma earlier. I then looked at the bodyguard in the black suit holding it over my head.

Just then, the window of the luxury car parked alongside rolled down slowly. Emma looked out at me and said, "You can quit crying now. You could cry your eyes out, and that scumbag Shane wouldn't give a damn. Get in the car, Jasmine."

I was helped into the car by the bodyguard, and since the car's heater was blasting, it wasn't long before my freezing hands and feet warmed up.

Emma threw me a pair of dry towels and waited until I finished wiping down before speaking. "I'm going to ask you one last time. Do you want to get back at Shane, Jasmine?"

I looked at Emma, and when our eyes met, I saw my reflection in her eyes. "I do."

…

That night, I dragged my suitcase and returned to Shane's side.

Shane didn't seem surprised by my return. He smiled smugly and pulled me into his arms. "It's tough being out there by yourself, isn't it? Isn't it better to just stay by my side? I'll provide for you for the rest of your life, Jasmine."

I smiled faintly and wrapped my arms around Shane. "I'll stay with you for the rest of your life, Shane."

Having said that, Shane turned his swollen cheek toward me and said aggrievedly, "Emma even slapped me today because of you, Jasmine."

"Your cheek is completely swollen," I said as I furrowed my brows, pulling him down to sit while looking completely heartbroken.

I then took out the first-aid kit and grabbed a cotton swab to apply some medicine to it. "I'll put some medicine on it, so hurry up and close your eyes. You wouldn't want it to get in your eyes, right? Emma really went too far. How could she hit you so hard, Shane?"

It was too bad that Emma didn't hit him harder.

Shane closed his eyes, grabbed my hand, and casually tossed out another sweet line. "It's alright. If it earns me your concern, then I'd say the slap was worth it, Jasmine."

I offered a bashful smile and gently applied the medication to his cheek.

It was a shame Shane had his eyes closed. He couldn't see that my face had already lost every trace of love I once had for him, leaving nothing but cold indifference.

"Don't say that.

"Shane, I really love you."