Chapter 4

Aaron then threw my bag out the door. He'd barely even left when Candace suddenly ran out after me, grabbing me by my arm at the stairs.

She grinned sweetly at me. Her tone was gentle, as though she were coaxing a little child.

"Come on, Viola, won't you please stay? It's only for three months. I promise that I won't bother you anymore after the wedding."

I didn't even spare her a glance and shook her hand off, trying to leave. However, she came even closer to me and spoke directly into my ear.

"Wasn't that prenatal education book really interesting? Say, what do you think is going to happen if I shoved you down the stairs right now? It wouldn't have to be a hard one. Just a little push… What if someone died?

"And if you left now, who's to say that an accident wouldn't happen to you while you were out?"

I gasped and felt the hairs on the back of my neck rising. I immediately spun around and grabbed her by her neck.

My hands trembled. "You wouldn't dare!"

She grabbed at my hands and fought me off. Her face turned red as she struggled to breathe. However, she still said, "You know I would. Haven't you witnessed it for yourself while in college, hmm?"

I bit my lip hard. Tears streamed down my cheeks and dripped down. I had really thought of choking her to death at some point, but ultimately, I still released my grip on her.

Then, I dragged my bag back into the apartment.

Aaron frowned as he watched me walk back inside. He stopped me at the door.

"What, you want to be humiliated again? Don't you think the money I gave you was enough?"

I glared at him and said, "So, you are aware that you're humiliating me after all!"

He shifted his gaze, and I burst out laughing.

"Get out of the way. I'm not going to say no to 15,000 dollars with food and lodging included. Only fools would turn it down."

…

It was fairly easy working as a housekeeper as long as I pretended that Aaron didn't exist. That way, Candace would leave me alone.

However, just five days before the period was up, someone leaked a video of Candace cornering me in the college bathroom and slapping me until I was all black and blue.

The video went viral online. Netizens doxxed Candace and published all of her information online, and her family's business was also badly affected.

Candace, who was just about to move out of the apartment to prepare for the wedding, suddenly set down her suitcases and rushed over to me like a madwoman, grabbed me by my collar, and yelled, "How dare you, Viola Goodwin!

"How dare you destroy me just as I'm about to get married!"

I stubbornly met her eyes and said, "I never did anything! And you never should have done any of those things in the first place if you were so worried about your reputation!"

She trembled hard and began taking out all of her anger and frustration on me.

"I don't care! I'm dragging you under with me as well if that's the last thing I'll ever do!"

She shoved me to the floor and straddled me. Then, she yanked my head up by my hair and began slapping me over and over again.

I firmly protected my belly the entire time with both my hands, so I didn't have any way to fight back. After she was done slapping me, she realized that I was protecting my belly and began laughing like a crazy maniac.

She got up, smoothed her hair, and raised her red stiletto-clad heel before kicking me repeatedly in the stomach.

My consciousness began to blur. I couldn't tell if it was my stomach that hurt or my head that hurt anymore.

Just then, Aaron happened to have come home from grocery shopping. Candace immediately intercepted him at the door and said, "Let's go out for dinner tonight, Ronnie!"

He thought of going inside to set down the groceries first, but she refused to let him in.

I did my best to make a sound from the floor, but Aaron never noticed me. Instead, I heard the cold, cruel sound of the front door shutting on me.

Dustin called some time later, and I mustered all of my might to crawl over to my phone. Right after swiping on the "answer" button, I slipped into a dead faint.

…

When I woke up, I figured that I must be lying on a hospital bed. However, the only sounds I heard were machines beeping from beside me. Amidst my daze and confusion, I also heard the words "induced birth", and tears began rolling down the sides of my cheeks, wetting the bed underneath me.

I vaguely saw the emergency doctor removing a dark purple lump from me. It was my baby, and it was barely the size of my palm.

I heaved a sigh of relief. However, I couldn't say a word, so I tried lifting my hand to say that I wanted to take a look at my baby.

Before I'd even taken a good look at him, I suddenly heard, "1.6 pounds. Confirmed dead."

My face contorted. My lips parted for a while. Then, my raised hand fell limply back onto the bed.

"Her blood pressure's dropping!"

"No heart rate detected."

"Prepare for defibrillation!"

…

I managed to regain consciousness on the third day in the ICU for about half an hour. Dustin came to visit me.

He asked, "Why isn't Aaron here? How could he disappear on you at such a crucial moment like this?"

I still couldn't speak. My lips just trembled instead.

He wiped away the tears from the corners of my eyes. His eyes reddened as he said, "Just hold on for a while longer, Viola. About the cancer, we have a new treatment plan. You're not even 26 yet! You must hold on!

"Didn't you say that you were going to rebuild the orphanage after you'd earned enough money for that? I'll invest in your project! I promise!"

I forced a wan smile on my lips, nodding firmly.

However, even though I had a strong will to live, fate did me in, and I was pronounced dead on the fifth day in the ICU.

The miracle didn't happen after all.

Dustin rushed over to me as soon as he was done with his own surgery. However, by then, my body had already been covered with a white cloth. I had already been wheeled to the hospital morgue.

He stood in the corner, trying to collect his emotions. Then, he thought of informing my family about my death.

However, he realized that aside from my ex-colleagues' numbers, the only other contact I had in my phone was Aaron's.

Dustin called Aaron without further thought. Aaron picked up in three seconds.

"I'm getting married today, Viola Goodwin. If you're telling me that you attended the ceremony today after all, I hope you'll behave yourself and not make a fuss about anything."

Dustin thought that he'd gotten the wrong number. He checked the contact name on my phone again and asked in a hoarse voice, "Is this Aaron Olsen?

"If you are, come collect her body at the hospital as soon as possible!"