Chapter 4

There was nothing but silence outside the door. There wasn't even a cold response.

Time passed slowly.

Just as I was about to lose all hope, the door finally opened with a creak.

However, the one standing there wasn’t Bruno. It was Raine, whose face was a multitude of complex emotions. She had my neatly packed suitcase next to her and my phone in her hand, which I had dropped on the floor earlier.

Raine handed both to me. “I thought you were just playing hard to get. I didn’t expect you were actually leaving.”

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would feel gratitude toward my former rival. If Raine didn’t come, I probably would have been locked in this bedroom until the wedding.

I glanced into the living room. There was no sign of Bruno, just some warm food left on the table. He must have sent Raine to get me something to eat.

Relieved, I grabbed my suitcase and phone and made a beeline straight for the door.

As I passed by Raine, I paused for a moment and murmured, “Thank you.”

She scoffed. “What are you thanking me for? I can’t wait for you to leave. Do you know that I'm pregnant?"

I froze for a moment.

Raine took out her phone and showed me an ultrasound report.

“It’s Bruno's child. I don’t want my baby to be born illegitimately. If it weren’t for you, I’d have married him long ago. That’s why I sent you that message. I didn't want you to wake up so quickly, but I didn’t expect you to love him that much.”

She spoke with a gentle smile, recounting her past. Her words had lost all the resentment from when she sent that message. It even carried a hint of pity.

I glanced at her slightly bulging belly, silent. She probably thought I loved Bruno so much that I would grant him his wish, even at the cost of myself.

The truth was, I never would have agreed to marry Bruno had I known about his first love. After all, my father had only requested Bruno to take care of me before he died—marriage was never mentioned.

With that thought in mind, I felt the need to correct Raine.

“He only hid your relationship from me because he wanted my shares. He was setting me up. I never ruined your relationship. You’re blaming the wrong person.”

Raine waved her hand and smiled triumphantly, replying with something completely irrelevant.

“You gave him back the money he paid for your shares, and you say you don’t like him? We women know each other best. Well, it doesn't matter now. I’m marrying Bruno in a couple of days anyway, so I won't blame you for coming between us.”

Not interested in hearing her bragging anymore, I headed straight for the door.

Just as I stepped forward, Raine held my arm and pulled me back. Any sense of gratitude I felt for her vanished instantly.

“Move.”

I stared at her coldly. If she weren’t pregnant, I would have pushed her away already.

Raine pretended not to hear what I said and pulled out a card, stuffing it into my hand. “You’re heading overseas with nothing. I’m worried about your safety. There’s two thousand on this card. Take it and never come back. Got that?”

I took a deep breath and looked at Raine, completely fed up. Seeing her smug expression, I couldn’t hold myself back anymore.

Smack!

I slapped her across the face with all my strength.

Raine let out a scream; she was about to curse at me, but she saw Bruno rushing over out of the corner of her eye. Immediately, she held her face and fell to the ground.

“Oh, Bruno! My stomach hurts! It hurts so much!” she wailed piteously.

I frowned, not understanding her act until I was suddenly shoved aside. Bruno pushed me so hard, I fell and hit my lower back with my suitcase still in my hand. A sharp pain shot through me, and my face instantly turned pale.

Bruno walked past me and bent down to pick up Raine. He left without even sparing a glance at me. All I caught was a glimpse of his anxious, worried face as he passed.

Seeing him like that, I understood. Bruno clearly knew about the pregnancy, too.

But none of their business had anything to do with me anymore.

I struggled to my feet, rubbing my aching back, and carefully made my way downstairs.

I hailed the fastest cab I could find. Even though I moved as quickly as possible, my back slowed me down and I was still a step too late. I had to reschedule my flight.

Despite that, I didn’t feel discouraged.

I put some medicine on my back and booked the next available flight, spending the night at the airport. I also used this time to change my visa from short-term to long-term, as I wasn’t planning to come back anytime soon.

The next morning, just as I was about to board the plane, I got a phone call.

“Hello, is this Ms. Aelia Lawson?”

“I'm Aelia Lawson, yes.”

“We’ve found a matching heart donor for you. Can you come to Sceleria as soon as possible?”

I stared at the unfamiliar number, confused. “I didn’t make any appointments with any hospital overseas.”

“You know Mr. Charles Lawson, right?”

My expression froze. “He’s my father."

“He asked us to help find a match for you. It took us some time, given your unique condition, but we finally have one.”

I hung up, stunned, trying my hardest to hold back my emotions.

Finally, I boarded the plane and left everything behind.