Chapter 1

Belinda's POV

The cold diamonds sent a chill down my chest and my spine. I felt like a fish forcefully taken out of the water as I flopped and thrashed about desperately.

"Did you forget how Alvin died?" I growled at my husband, Aston Powell.

Three years ago, Aston's elder brother, Alvin Powell, had discovered Tamara Davies' affair, and he'd died in a horrible car crash while chasing down the scoundrel.

Aston had been absolutely heartbroken and nearly had Tamara beaten to death, but I was the one who stopped him in time. Instead, he gave orders that she was to be locked up in the chapel to repent for her sins for the rest of her life.

However, now, Aston just sighed and said, "Tamara's been suffering for years. I'm sure that Alvin will have already forgiven her by now."

My daughter, Hailey Powell, then pursed her lips in dissatisfaction while leaning into his embrace.

"Mommy's mean and horrid! She's always so bossy! You're the one who can't get pregnant anymore, and you're still trying to stop Tammy from giving Daddy another baby?

"Daddy! Mommy's too fierce today. I only want to eat Tammy's cooking today."

Aston kissed her hard on the cheek and said, "Alright, then. Go ahead and call Tammy and say that you want her to cook for you."

I watched how Aston and Hailey got along together and gripped the three-month pregnancy test report in my pocket.

It all seemed so ridiculous now.

I knew that Aston never said it blatantly, but he'd always found it a pity that he couldn't have more children even if he wanted to. Hailey also kept bugging us for a little brother or sister.

Everyone thought that I had damaged my uterus when giving birth to Hailey. Even I had thought so myself. However, I deliberately asked the doctor not to disclose to them that I was pregnant once again, just so that I could surprise them both on Hailey's birthday.

However, it wasn't necessary anymore.

When Aston saw that I was refusing to back down, his face turned frigid.

"Are you sure that you want to go against me today?"

I knew what he meant by that.

The people attending Hailey's birthday party today were all prominent figures in Southbay.

My gaze swept over my parents in the crowd. Their faces were filled with worry. Their company, Crawford Group, had been losing money for years, and they were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Today was the final deadline for us to pay off several large debts that our family owed.

Several major creditors had also arrived at the venue early on to watch and observe us.

Aston had initially planned to publicly announce today that the Powell family would be injecting capital into Crawford Group to help us through this financial crisis. This was the last chance we had to save ourselves.

I forced my tears back down. I couldn't afford to offend Aston today.

At the very least, I couldn't let myself and the Crawfords become the subject of ridicule amidst the other prominent figures around today.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong," I said shakily, lightly patting him on the shoulder. "I won't cause any trouble for you today. Can't you also please not go and see her? Just announce the capital injection as planned."

Aston had initially begun to smile. However, the moment he heard the second half of my sentence, his expression turned stormy.

Hailey burst into loud sobs.

"You're only apologizing to Daddy because all you want is Daddy's money! Tammy was right! You don't love Daddy or me at all!"

Aston glared coldly at me before picking her up and turning to leave. I did everything I could to stop him.

"No! You can't leave! You promised me!"

Hailey screamed and kept hitting my arm with all of her might. "You're the worst person ever, Mommy! You don't love me at all!"

Yet I loved her the most!

Before I could even say it out loud, Tamara suddenly barged into the venue and shoved me aside.

She was wearing a plain gray dress, and she looked absolutely pained as she picked Hailey up and hugged her.

"Belinda Crawford! Are you out of your mind? Let go of Hailey now!"

During the struggle, the container of food that Tamara had been holding got knocked to the floor. Bits of food were scattered everywhere. Then, I was forcefully shoved to the floor, and a sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen.

However, Aston simply went over to Tamara and stroked her prominently pregnant belly with concern.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay put in the chapel to rest?"

Tamara hugged Hailey with one arm and choked up while staring at the spilled food on the floor.

"Didn't Hailey say that she wanted me to make something for her? I would do anything for her, but unfortunately…"

She then bit her lower lip and took a few steps backward.

"I'm sorry. I overstepped my boundaries. I'll go right back to the chapel now."

Hailey grabbed her hand and tugged her right back, screaming at the top of her lungs, "No! I want Tammy to stay! I want Tammy to celebrate my birthday with me!"

Aston held Tamara in his arms and turned to look at me.

"You don't even care about Hailey as much as Tamara does, Belinda."

His eyes turned red.

"Since that's the case, you can forget completely about the capital injection!"