Chapter 3

Elliot said nothing.

At the mention of love, the first thing that flashed through his mind was a face that looked almost exactly like Angela's.

Neely.

If this child who had suddenly popped out of nowhere wanted a father, then the baby he'd watched grow inside Neely day by day needed a father even more.

He called Neely again. Only this time, the call wouldn't go through at all.

He left an irritated voicemail as anxiety gnawed at him. "Rule number three for being a stand-in—never ignore my calls. Have you forgotten? Do you think you can get away with anything now that you're pregnant?"

Suddenly, he remembered that she had left him a message. He'd been packing up stuff with Angela at the time, so he couldn't listen to it.

He played the message.

A weak, breathless voice, filled with raw terror and desperation, immediately came through the speaker.

"I got into a car accident. I might… I might lose the baby."

His phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor of the car with a sharp thud. He quickly scooped it up and called Judy Platt, his housekeeper.

"Where's Neely?"

"Ms. Vaughn went out for her prenatal checkup first thing this morning and hasn't returned. What's wrong?"

Elliot couldn't stay calm anymore. He hurriedly asked his driver to take him to the hospital.

Just then, Susie, following her mother's instructions, darted out in front of the car. Even though the driver slammed on the brakes, the car still struck the child.

"I don't want Daddy to leave! If Daddy leaves, he won't come back," Susie sobbed hysterically.

Angela immediately rushed over and pulled Susie into her arms. "Susie, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Susie's arm was twisted at an awkward angle, but she still gritted her teeth and insisted she was fine.

"As long as Daddy doesn't leave, I'll be fine."

Holding Susie in her arms, Angela knocked on the rear car window. "Eli, Susie is hurt. Can you take her to the hospital?"

Elliot took a deep breath. His mind was in complete chaos. The only thing he could think of right now was Neely, and all he wanted to do was rush to the hospital.

Bringing the two of them along wouldn't hurt. Today was the first time he'd ever met Susie, and she was already clinging to him and calling him "Daddy".

He knew nothing about Angela being pregnant or giving birth, and what really happened still needed to be investigated. Since they were going to the hospital anyway, he might as well have a paternity test done.

…

When they arrived at the hospital, Angela asked, "Elliot, let's go to pediatrics and have Susie's arm checked out."

But when she turned, she found Elliot already sprinting frantically toward the emergency room. That desperation was something that came from the bottom of his heart.

She clenched her fists tightly.

Elliot grabbed the first nurse he saw. "Where's the pregnant woman who was in a car accident? I'm her fiance."

The nurse looked him up and down.

"You finally made it," she said, before leading him to wait outside the operating rooms.

A surgical nurse came out again and again. Each time, she brought him grim news and handed him one critical condition notice after another.

"The facial laceration is deep. It'll likely form a raised scar.

"There's internal bleeding.

"The fetal heartbeat has stopped."

Elliot could barely stay on his feet. Tears streamed down his face as he begged, "You have to save her! Please, save her!"

13 hours later, the light above the operating room doors finally turned off.

Elliot immediately rushed forward. The woman he saw before him was no longer Angela, but Neely. The real Neely.

Half of her small, pale face was covered in white gauze. Judging by the blood seeping through, the wound was quite long. And underneath the surgical gown, her stomach had gone completely flat.

"Does it hurt?"

Tears fell from his eyes the moment he opened his mouth.

Their baby was gone.

…

Neely didn't know how long she had stayed in the ICU. All she knew was that when she finally woke up, the trees outside the window were bare, having shed all their leaves.

After being transferred to a regular patient room, she saw Elliot. He'd lost a lot of weight, and his eyes were red-rimmed.

"You're awake?" he asked.

He took her hand and dropped to one knee. "Let's get married. No matter what happens to you, I still want to marry you."

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a little girl burst inside.

"Daddy, why do you want to marry this ugly witch instead of Mommy?"

She then turned to Neely and screamed, "You ugly witch! Why don't you die? It's because of you that my mommy left!"

Elliot immediately stopped her. "Don't be rude!"

Neely touched her face and felt the long scar. She looked up at Elliot and asked, "Am I really that ugly?"