Chapter 6

Today wasn't Giselle's birthday—it was mine. Every piece of her personal information had been registered under my name. She was doing this on purpose to humiliate me.

Before I could even react, Chester stepped out from behind her. He frowned when he saw my plain short-sleeved outfit. "Why didn't you change her clothes before bringing her here?"

The bodyguard immediately explained, "Sorry, Mr. Miller. We left in a rush…"

"Don't blame them, Mr. Miller," Giselle said with a light laugh, covering her mouth. "This outfit actually suits Miranda. She probably isn't used to wearing evening gowns anyway."

The other guests didn't know me, but they laughed along with her.

Chester shot them a cold glance, and the laughter stopped at once.

"Come inside," he said, taking my hand. "It's chilly out here."

Giselle let out a soft sigh and said, "I really envy you, Miranda. You have such a wonderful boyfriend who is both powerful and handsome. Unlike me, I'm still single."

I ignored her thinly veiled mockery and looked at Chester. "My injuries haven't fully healed yet. Could you have the bodyguards take me home?"

Chester glanced at my hand wrapped in layers of gauze and flatly said, "It's just a birthday party. As my future wife, it's only natural for you to be there. Do you mean to tell me you don't want to be my wife anymore?"

It was a clear threat.

I let out a self-mocking smile, pushed past him, and walked into the banquet hall.

I wasn't about to give up being his wife. After all, I planned to personally destroy the two of them at the wedding.

When Chester saw me give in, he raised his brows in satisfaction and exchanged a look with Giselle.

Throughout the banquet, his eyes never left her. Every so often, he walked over to chat with her.

The socialites who had come over to me out of courtesy to Chester slowly drifted away, leaving my corner of the bustling banquet feeling unusually cold and empty.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chester grab Giselle's wine glass. "You've had enough for today. Stop drinking," he said, before finishing the rest himself.

Chester was never one to interfere. At my graduation ceremony, I had been forced to drink again and again, and he had just sat there, watching me drink until I was vomiting nonstop.

I had thought his coldness was just part of his personality. Now, I realized it was simply because he didn't love me.

I smiled bitterly. Wasn't this something I had known all along?

Years of pain had dulled my once-burning heart, but for everyone else, seeing him treat Giselle with such care was a first, and they immediately started whispering, "Mr. Miller, won't your fiancee get jealous? She doesn't seem happy."

"Why marry her at all? Ms. Thorne would clearly be a better fit for you."

They thought they were whispering, but I heard it all.

Chester didn't respond. Instead, he instinctively wrapped an arm around Giselle's waist.

I looked away and quietly ate the dessert in front of me.

When I glanced up again, the two who had been chatting moments ago were gone.

I didn't think much of it, but on my way to the restroom, I overheard what was happening. In the study, Chester had Giselle on the desk, pressing kisses to her eagerly.

"I agreed to let her come to your birthday banquet, and this is what you give me? 'Single,' huh?"

His breaths came out heavy.

"Chester, I was wrong. I really was," Giselle said, attempting to push him away, though her body pressed closer anyway. "Don't leave any marks on me. Someone might see…"

"Let them see," he said calmly. "You'll be my wife soon enough. Even if Miranda saw us together, she'd still swallow her pride and marry me. Three years have passed, and with only two days left, there's no way she'd let herself lose now."

Not long after, faint moans came from the study.

I looked at their intertwined figures and thoughtfully closed the door for them.

About half an hour later, the two of them finally came out. The moment they stepped back into the banquet hall, Giselle walked straight toward me.

She deliberately revealed the red marks on her neck. "Oh? Do you know where Chester went? He was with me the whole time just now. Why did he suddenly disappear?"

When I stayed silent, she let out a light laugh. "Oh, I forgot. He never went to your side in the first place, so how would you know where he is? Sorry for asking you such a difficult question."

I lowered my head without a word and continued eating my cake.

Seeing that I was ignoring her, Giselle grew irritated and pressed a glass of champagne into my hand. "Future Mrs. Miller, you haven't even had a drink with me yet."

I placed the glass back on the table. "I can't drink."

"You can't drink?" She scoffed. "If I remember correctly, you were famous for holding your liquor back in college, and now you're saying you can't drink at all? Miranda, are you trying to make things difficult for me on purpose?"

I had no interest in arguing with her and turned to leave, only to see Chester walking toward me with a glass of wine in hand.

"Drink it. Do I really need to teach you even basic etiquette?"

I stared at the glass of red wine he held out, my fist tightening instantly. "I said I'm not drinking."

The tense atmosphere immediately drew everyone's attention.

"She won't even drink a single glass. They're not even married yet, and she already has such an attitude."

"I think she's just jealous that Mr. Miller has been spending all his time with Ms. Thorne. That's why she's throwing a fit."

"Today's Ms. Thorne's birthday, and she's letting her personal grudges ruin everything. Is this really how the future Mrs. Miller behaves?"

With every remark, Chester's expression darkened further. They were clearly criticizing me, yet it felt like every word was a slap to his face.

"Guards," he said, looking at the bodyguards. "Make sure Mrs. Miller finishes this glass."

I looked up in disbelief, but before I could protest, a strong stream of red wine was forced into my mouth.

The bodyguards gripped my arms as I fought back. The wine poured over my face, drenching me in utter humiliation.

"Chester, stop! I'm pregnant…" I tried to speak, but the burning wine made it impossible to form complete words, and the crowd's laughter drowned me out.

Overwhelmed with shame, I pushed the bodyguards away with all my strength.

I hadn't expected that shove to knock Giselle backward. She stumbled and crashed into the statue behind her.

"Giselle!"

Chester shoved me aside, and I crashed into a nearby table. Blood poured from the wounds as shattered dishes dug into my skin, and a searing pain ripped through my abdomen, forcing me to curl up tightly.

"It hurts. Take me to the hospital…" I begged, looking at Chester weakly.

All I could see was him clutching Giselle, panic written across his pale face like I had never seen before. "Giselle, are you alright? Don't scare me."

Even the always-calculated Chester appeared unguarded with Giselle, as if a crisis could strip away all pretense and reveal the heart beneath.

Soon, the ambulance arrived. Chester immediately lifted Giselle into one of the vehicles.

He instinctively went to follow, but Giselle deliberately stopped him. "Mr. Miller, you should stay with your future wife. She looks like she's hurt worse than I am."

Chester frowned as he looked down at me lying on the floor. "She was the one who pushed you and ruined your birthday. I have to take responsibility for her actions, so I'll stay with you, Ms. Thorne," he said coldly. "As for her, let the bodyguards take her to the hospital."

When the car door slammed shut, it completely severed the last thread of hope I had been clinging to.

My stomach hurt terribly. I didn't know if it was from the fall or the alcohol.

I closed my eyes in despair and slipped into darkness. When I woke up again, the heartbeat inside my belly was gone.

It hadn't survived.

Even though I had already decided not to keep this child, the real loss still hurt like a knife.

Exhausted, I leaned against the wall as I walked toward the door, but I caught the nurses' conversation at the corner.

"I've been a doctor for years, and I've never seen anything like this. They made a pregnant patient donate blood during emergency treatment. We did everything we could to save the baby, but it was lost because of the donation."

I froze, gripping their hands in shock. "What did you just say?"