Chapter 8

"You—it's been so long!" Laura looked delighted to see her college friend, Mark.

Meanwhile, the man who had intended to harm Laura walked away ahead of her, realizing his wicked plan could no longer proceed.

Mark, who seemed to sense someone was about to harm Laura, quickly approached her. At first, he didn’t even realize it was Laura Brown whom he knew.

"Yeah, I didn’t expect to see you here. Out at night—aren’t you afraid someone might try something bad, Laura?" Mark asked, glancing at the man who had now distanced himself from them.

"Try something bad to me?" Laura gave a bitter smile. In her heart, she thought that everyone had already done her wrong.

"If someone did, maybe I wouldn't be safe right now. But Mark—what are you doing here? I heard you went abroad?"

"Ah, yes. I’m back now, and I think I’ll be staying for good," Mark explained.

They talked for quite a while, and eventually, Mark offered to escort Laura back to her apartment. He was still worried that the man from earlier might try something again.

"You really shouldn’t go out alone, Laura. I wasn’t going to say this, but I think someone is planning to harm you," Mark said, explaining a little of what he had witnessed before deciding to approach her.

Laura fell silent at those words, unconsciously placing her hand on her belly. Seeing her reaction, Mark became even more certain that something was troubling her. But he knew he couldn’t force her to open up.

What kind of problem was his friend dealing with?

"Just call me if you need help."

Mark handed Laura his business card and took his leave.

Laura entered her apartment, still visibly shaken by what Mark had told her.

"Michelle... could it be her? I already disappeared from William’s life—why would she want to hurt me... or... my child?"

"If it really is her, I won’t let Michelle hurt me or my child!"

The next day, William had already found out where Laura was.

She hadn’t gone far from the city, which made it easy for him to track her down.

William went straight to her apartment. However, Michelle was already waiting in front of the building, making him stop briefly.

"Will, what’s wrong with you? Why won’t you see me?" Michelle asked angrily.

"Get out of my way, Michelle, or I won’t be nice!"

"Why are you like this? Are you really going to forget all the love we shared?" Michelle hissed, even more furious now that William clearly despised her.

"Love? Don’t be ridiculous! I’ve realized I have no feelings for you anymore, Michelle."

"Are you saying you’re truly in love with Laura?" Michelle asked, not wanting to believe it.

"Maybe," William replied.

"You’re mine, William. Only mine! Laura was just a temporary replacement! Are you really going after her?"

William clicked his tongue in frustration. He didn’t want to entertain Michelle anymore, but if he ignored her, she’d keep pestering him.

"Yes, I’m going after her. I will still make her my wife!"

"She’s pregnant with someone else’s child, Will! Why do you still want to keep her?"

"That’s my business, not yours. Laura’s departure must have something to do with me, Michelle. You slapped my wife! What did you say to her that made her leave me like that?"

Michelle bit her lower lip. She couldn’t admit that Laura might be pregnant with William’s child. That was exactly why Michelle had slapped her sister—out of rage.

William knew Michelle wouldn’t answer. The handsome man already sensed something was off.

He knew Laura would have left him if he had given her the divorce papers, which was why, to this day, he had never planned to file for divorce.

William wanted to keep Laura, even if he didn’t understand why—why he was clinging to a wife who had cheated on him, even gotten pregnant.

In the end, the man hurried into the car where his driver was waiting, completely ignoring Michelle as she begged him to stay.

Michelle growled in anger and even screamed—William had truly abandoned her now.

"Laura, you must disappear forever!"

***

Now, William stood in front of Laura’s apartment.

He pressed the doorbell until Laura opened the door. She was shocked to find William standing there.

She tried to shut the door again, but William stopped her.

"What are you doing here, Will? Oh—if it's the divorce papers, I’ll send them to your office," Laura said, catching William off guard.

"Divorce? We will never get divorced, Laura!"

Laura let out a bitter laugh and looked at him coldly.

"Are you joking right now? You already divorced me first!"

Laura stepped back into her apartment and showed him the divorce papers he had already signed—the very man who now claimed he wanted to keep her.

"This...?!"