Chapter 3

The moment my parents arrived, they found Aiden and me surrounded by a crowd. Without any exchange of words, they knew something had happened.

Mom rushed to shield me in her arms, but the instant she touched me, I flinched.

Kind Samaritans quickly explained what had just taken place.

Dad lifted his hand, ready to slap Aiden across the face. But before he could, Aiden raised the prenatal report high.

"Dad, don’t look!" I cried, lunging to grab it.

It was too late.

He caught it first, his eyes flicking over the page. A tremor rippled through him.

I whispered tentatively, "Dad…"

When his gaze snapped back to me, his eyes were bloodshot. His raised hand swung down, not at Aiden, but across my cheek.

"Wretch! Aiden told you to abort it for your own good!"

I shattered inside. Still, I gritted my teeth, forcing out, "But the doctor said the baby is healthy!"

"I’m an OB-GYN too! How dare you argue with me!" His fist drew back, aiming for my belly, until my mother threw herself in front of me.

"You’ve lost your mind! Your daughter is pregnant!" she roared.

Instead of reacting in fury, my father sneered. "You pity her? This slut doesn’t deserve to be our daughter!"

Gasps rippled through the onlookers, and they condemned him. What kind of father would say such things?

My mother was so furious she could barely breathe. However, she knew my father was normally gentle, so the report had to contain something dire for him to react so violently.

"Let me see that report!" she demanded.

I rushed forward, blocking her path, as desperation flooded my eyes.

"Mom, Dr. Cole already said the baby is healthy. Please, don’t read it. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her yourself!"

I knew that once she read it, she would turn against me, too.

She pulled me into her arms, soothing me. "Don’t worry. Your father and Aiden are fools. I used to be the head of the OB-GYN department. Trust me, I know what I’m doing."

I shook my head wildly. "No! Please, Mom, don’t read it. I trust you, but I beg you, don’t look!"

The more I resisted, the stronger her curiosity burned. As she reached for it, I dropped to my knees.

"Mom, if you look at that report, you’ll stop loving me. Just like they did."

Her warm eyes softened. "That’s impossible, Clara. I’ve worked for decades. I’ve seen every kind of report. And even if the baby isn’t Aiden’s, I’ll still stand by you. You are the one I love most in this world."

Her gaze was so gentle it almost made me believe her.

In the end, I couldn’t stop her.

The moment her eyes scanned the report, her warmth vanished. A shadow flickered across her face, and her expression turned cold and venomous.

Fear coursed through me.

Her face went ashen. She forced a bitter smile at me. Unlike Dad and Aiden, she didn’t explode with rage. That quiet control made her all the more terrifying. Her voice was icy. "It’s fine, Clara. The baby’s fine. Get up. Let’s go home."

Nevertheless, the hand she stretched toward me trembled violently. She was suppressing something deep inside.

"No, I’m not going home." I backed away into the crowd.

Her brow furrowed, her eyes dark and sharp. "Clara, what are you doing? You’re pregnant. What if something happens out here?"

They advanced, ready to seize me.

I clutched two strangers by the sleeves, dropping to my knees. "Please! Help me! I can’t go with them. They’ll kill my baby!"

The strangers hesitated. I was clearly a pregnant woman in distress, but the others were my family. They didn’t know who to believe.

Thankfully, someone spoke up, "She’s pregnant. Her emotions are unstable. Don’t push her like this."

"Exactly. What if the baby gets hurt?"

Nonetheless, my parents acted like they couldn’t hear them, and their faces twisted as they closed in.

"Clara, are you paranoid? Come home with us. Stop causing a scene in the hospital!"

They grabbed for me. A kind bystander stepped between us. "She’s pregnant and clearly distressed. She needs a doctor to check if the baby’s alright."

"We’re OB-GYNs!" Dad snapped. "She doesn’t need another doctor!"

The bystander faltered. Aiden seized the chance, dragging me away, my body scraping against the floor.

No matter how sympathetic the crowd was, they didn’t dare wrestle me from my own family.

All of a sudden, a firm hand blocked Aiden’s path.

"Who gave you the right to drag a pregnant woman like that?"

A police officer’s sharp voice cut through. Aiden released me instantly.

My parents hurried to explain. "Officer, she’s our daughter. She has some mental issues. We need to take her home."

Suspicion flickered in the officer’s eyes. I shook my head frantically. "No! They’re trying to kill my perfectly healthy baby!"

The three of them froze, their expressions stiff, but smug smiles crept across their faces.

I pressed on. "If you don’t believe me, check the hospital’s surveillance. You’ll see, they all want my baby dead!"

The officers called for the footage.

After watching it, a female officer, Officer Dana Rivers, stepped in front of me, shielding me. She glared at them. "Why are you trying to destroy a healthy child?"

My parents scoffed. Aiden only looked at me with cold detachment.

"Forcing a pregnant woman into an abortion is illegal," Officer Rivers snapped.

Still, Aiden didn’t flinch.

I clutched her hand. "Please, let me see my report."

Every single one of them had turned only after reading it. Whatever it contained was the truth.

Under police pressure, Aiden reluctantly handed it over.

When my eyes landed on the page again, I finally understood why they all wanted my baby gone.