Fading to Zero

Zach and I simply were not suitable for each other.Zach recalled his earlier message and sent a new one.[I shouldn’t have said that last part. I don't want Ruby to see it. She’s pregnant and tends to overthink things. Just treat what I said as something that needs to be handled. I’ll make it up to you in three years with the rest of my life.]I could not help but let out a laugh.Two minutes later, he recalled that message too.Was he lying to me or to himself? If he was only helping Ruby, why would he care if she was upset over the promise he made to me? The child in her belly was not even his, yet he was willing to go this far for her.If the child were his, what would he be capable of?I shook my head, forcing the irritating thought out of my mind.I casually typed: [Okay.] However, I found he blocked me.So be it, then.I did not care. I posted an update on social media announcing the cancellation of the wedding. Almost immediately, many people messaged asking why.N

Ruby gently rested a hand on her belly, smiling with unmistakable triumph. “The child in my womb is his biological son.”I lowered my eyes, trying to hide the tears that suddenly surged up.Zach really had betrayed me. Yet he still treated me like a fool, asking me to wait three more years for him.I calculated the timeline in my head. The child in Ruby’s belly was conceived on the night that Zach did not come home. That was the first time he forgot my birthday. He had stayed out to socialize for work instead.The next day, he came back full of remorse and apologized to me. At the same time, he proposed to me. He said he would give me a dream wedding.I had waited eight years for that moment. Happiness overwhelmed me, pushing every trace of unease away.That night, he forgot to lock the bathroom door when he showered. When I walked in, I saw several fresh scratch marks across his back. I asked him what happened, and he calmly said he had been scratched by a cat. He even showed me

Zach loudly told his mother, “Mom, Ruby is pregnant. You’re finally going to have a grandchild.”I thought that after longing for a grandchild for so many years, Mrs. Quinn would be overjoyed by the news. Instead, her voice shot up an octave as she bellowed, “Bullshit! She lost her uterus when she was a child. What pregnancy are you talking about?”I could not help but freeze in shock. The whole thing felt absurd and ridiculous. However, none of it had anything to do with me anymore.Realizing the call was still connected, Mrs. Quinn hurriedly shouted into the phone, “Coco, don’t go! I’m going to get justice for you right now! Scamming my son into marriage? She’s just as shameless as her mother!”The flight attendant announced that the plane was about to take off, so I hung up and switched off my phone. Just before the line went dead, I thought I heard Zach ask in a trembling voice, “Mom, is that true?”However, I had no interest in the truth anymore. Whether Ruby was really pregn

It turned out that what had been growing inside Ruby was not a baby at all. It was a tumor. In addition, her uterus was removed when she was eight years old to save her life.The reason she deliberately fell yesterday was that she had already been scheduled for a minimally invasive surgery to remove the tumor. She just used the entire situation to scheme against my marriage.I watched Zach’s ice-cold expression on the screen. Even through the video, I could feel the frost in his gaze seemed enough to chill the air. Yet Ruby still had no idea her lies had been exposed.She acted spoiled while clinging to his arm, deliberately pressing herself against him.Zach lifted his eyes and looked at her with a gaze as cold as ice. He pushed her away and ordered the wedding to be canceled.Ruby immediately panicked. Tears streamed down her face as she threw herself against him again.“Zach, I know your mother doesn’t like me, but we’re already married. I’ll work hard to make her accept me. I

Zach stumbled and collapsed to the ground, then suddenly crawled over to my feet. “Coco, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault! Hit me, yell at me, do whatever you want, just don’t leave me, okay?“I know you’re mad at me, and that’s why you even walked away from the company we built together. Tell me what you want me to do. I’ll do anything. Just give me one more chance!“I already contacted the wedding planner. We’ve redesigned everything into a grand ceremony and included all your favorites. Come back with me and we’ll get married right away. Please!”The next second, he pulled a velvet box from his pocket. Inside was an expensive pink diamond ring.It was the one I had once glanced at twice. Back then, he insisted on buying it for me, but I refused, saying the company needed cash flow during its early stages. He then promised that once the company grew, he would buy it for me.However, even by the time he proposed, he never fulfilled that promise.Now, it meant nothing to me anymore.