Chapter 4

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 a record of his rabies vaccination. I forced myself to believe him.

However, my intuition as a woman made everything feel unreal, even while I was preparing for our wedding. A voice inside me kept whispering that perhaps he had only agreed to marry me as compensation for betraying me.

Like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, I dared not verify it. Yet unwillingness gnawed at me, and I began to quietly follow him.

After discovering that his so-called client meetings were actually visits to Ruby’s home, I had already been waiting for him to confront me. Hence, when he did not show up for our wedding rehearsal, I did not ask. When he texted me saying he was registering his marriage with Ruby, I did not object either.

“Please move aside.”

I had no interest in arguing with Ruby. I just wanted to leave.

Just as Zach came out holding the first-aid kit, Ruby suddenly grabbed my hand and fell backward into a pile of shattered glass.

“Coco, I know you don’t like me, but why did you push me? Ouch, my belly! My belly hurts so much…”

She raised her hand. Her palm was cut open and bleeding.

Zach rushed over in a panic, his face full of urgency and concern. “Ruby, don’t be afraid. I’ll take you to the hospital now.”

He scooped her up and rushed out. Before leaving, he shot me a cold glance. “I never thought you could be this vicious, Coco! How could you be so cruel to a pregnant woman?! If anything happens to the baby, there’s no future for us.”

As I watched him walk away, I murmured softly, “Our future was shattered long ago."

When I cleaned up the broken glass on the floor, the wound on my foot had already stopped bleeding. However, the wound in my heart was still raw and torn open.

The suffocating heaviness in my chest made me contact several shareholders of the company. When they heard I was selling my 30% stake, they all showed an interest. I told them to bid, and the highest bidder would win.

Half an hour later, I signed the equity transfer agreement with the CTO. He was capable and ambitious but was always suppressed by Zach’s suspicion. With my shares, he would become the largest shareholder.

I hoped Zach would like the wedding gift I prepared for him.

My phone vibrated again. When I answered, the wedding planner sounded annoyed.

“Ms. Wagner, what exactly is going on with you two? One moment, you cancel the wedding. The next, you want it as planned. All the decorations were already thrown into the trash as per your instructions. What am I supposed to do in the middle of the night?”

I felt a little guilty for causing trouble, but it was not my fault.

“I apologize for the inconvenience. The wedding between Zach and me is indeed canceled, and I will not ask for a refund. As for him wanting to proceed with it, he can place a new order.”

“Won't he kill me, then?”