Chapter 3

After I called the other pinned contact in my phone, I finally let myself rest and recover.

Nathan didn't reach out again. But on the day I was discharged, Chloe was waiting at the hospital entrance.

"I know you're still waiting for Nathan, so I saved you a seat!"

Chloe handed me a crystal wedding invitation, her eyes brimming with contempt.

"My husband is spending over thirty million dollars on this wedding. You might as well come see how the other half lives."

Even though I'd already made up my mind to leave, the sight of that invitation still cut deep.

"Nathan and I are over."

I took a deep breath and turned to go, but the bodyguards behind Chloe seized me and forced me to my knees.

"I hear you were raised by your grandmother. An old woman, home alone at night, suddenly taken ill and passing away... things like that happen, don't they?"

Chloe held the phone up to my face, showing me the live security feed. Her voice was chillingly casual.

My whole body stiffened. I stared at her in disbelief.

Nathan knew my grandmother was the person I worried about most after moving abroad, so he'd had security cameras installed for her.

Now those same cameras had become a blade at my throat.

"Oh, and I have some good news. I'm pregnant with Nathan's baby."

Chloe stroked her belly, her face glowing with saccharine sweetness.

The bodyguard roughly shoved the wedding invitation into my arms, then escorted Chloe away.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in my knees, I called my grandmother with trembling hands.

When I heard her weathered voice on the other end, the knot in my chest loosened just a little.

"I'm getting old, sweetheart. Once you marry Nathan and give me a great-grandchild, I can go in peace."

My nose stung. I remembered how excited I'd been when I brought Nathan home to meet her.

Now I never wanted to think about that sweet nightmare again.

Three days later, I arrived at the lavish wedding right on time.

Before I could take my seat, Chloe's bodyguards escorted me to the dressing room.

Chloe stood in a gleaming satin wedding gown. The moment she saw me, a grin split her face.

"I waited here just for you. There's something you deserve to know."

"We have nothing to talk about."

I glanced at the festive decorations and felt nothing but exhaustion.

Chloe stepped closer, gently caressing her belly.

"Actually, you and Nathan had a baby once too.

"All I had to do was pout, and he had someone get rid of yours behind your back."

It hit me all at once. In the weeks before I left the country, my body had been devastatingly weak.

Nathan assured me it was just exhaustion.

I didn't think much of it and kept working, saving for the wedding.

But after that, my health was never the same.

It turned out I'd never gotten any recovery care after the abortion they'd hidden from me, and the damage had stayed with me ever since.

I closed my eyes in despair, hollowed out, as if someone had ripped the soul from my body.

Chloe grabbed my wrist, her voice dripping with venom.

"You couldn't take my place as the Ashford heiress, and you don't deserve to have a child either!"

My chest felt as though a dull knife were twisting inside it, the pain almost unbearable.

I looked at Chloe's twisted face and felt nothing but revulsion and rage.

"You killed my baby! You murderer!"

I wrenched free of Chloe's grip and lunged for the door, desperate to confront Nathan.

But the next second, Chloe collapsed to the floor. Bright red blood seeped from beneath her white gown.

Nathan appeared out of nowhere and backhanded me so hard I hit the ground.

"Stella, you're despicable. The baby is innocent!"

His voice brimmed with disgust and fury. He looked at me like I was trash.

Chloe had used the exact same trick, and I'd fallen for it twice.