Chapter 2

The next day at noon, Joshua and Olivia went to the Peterson residence for lunch.

Olivia's mother, Patricia Lloyd, had never liked Joshua. She hadn't even shown up to their wedding.

Since then, the couple only visited her once at the end of every month.

"Honey, no matter what my mom says later, just ignore her. I'm always on your side. We'll leave right after we finish eating," Olivia said, holding Joshua's hand.

The moment they stepped inside, Joshua heard Patricia's lighthearted laughter. "Look at how tiny the baby is. It just melts your heart."

Joshua's face went pale, his feet glued to the floor.

Standing right next to Patricia was the very man from the intimate photo.

"This is my friend's son, Damien Novak," Patricia introduced smoothly. "He returned home earlier this year and stopped by to see me. He just shared some wonderful news. His girlfriend is pregnant. She's almost three months along now."

Patricia handed the ultrasound photo to Olivia, her gaze loaded with meaning. "Take a look. Would you say the baby looks more like the dad or the mom?"

A flicker of panic crossed Olivia's eyes. Her voice carried a sharp edge of warning as she said, "Mom, stop joking around. How would I know? Today is the first time I've ever met Damien, and I've never even seen his girlfriend."

Patricia cast a dismissive glance at Joshua and nudged Damien forward. "Then let me introduce you properly. Damien, this is Olivia."

Damien flushed slightly. "Hi, Olivia."

Olivia nodded and took Joshua's arm. "And this is my husband, Joshua."

"Hi, Joshua."

Joshua felt a cold chill run all the way down his spine. His hands hanging at his sides trembled uncontrollably.

It turned out that the entire Peterson family knew about Damien all along. He was the only one kept in the dark.

"What's wrong?" Olivia asked immediately, her tension spiking. "Is your blood sugar dropping again?"

She quickly fished out a piece of candy from her bag, unwrapped it, and held it to his lips.

Joshua opened his mouth like a robot.

It was supposed to be sweet, yet it tasted entirely of bitterness.

Olivia instructed the maids to serve lunch and pulled him over to sit down. "You barely touched your breakfast. Make sure you eat more later."

When Joshua reached silently for his water glass, Olivia quickly swapped it with a glass of warm water. "Your stomach is sensitive. You can't have cold drinks. You'll suffer if your gastritis flares up again. The prawns are really fresh today. Let me peel some for you."

Throughout the meal, Olivia barely took two bites herself, while Joshua's plate was never empty.

"Olivia, you treat your husband so well. I really envy you, Joshua," Damien chimed in out of nowhere.

"I love prawns too. Olivia, could you peel a few for me?"

Olivia completely ignored the plate Damien pushed toward her. "If you want some, peel them yourself. I only peel prawns for my husband."

Joshua took a sip of warm water to swallow down the overwhelming urge to vomit. "Just give them to him. I don't want any."

Olivia froze for a moment before pouting childishly. "Then I'll eat them myself. Honey, how could you give away the prawns I peeled for you?"

A mocking glint flickered in Joshua's eyes.

She had already slept with the man, yet here she was, putting on a whole act.

Patricia set down her utensils with a stern expression. "Joshua, you've been trying to fix your health for four years without giving us any good news. Since Damien's here, why don't you get a few pointers from him?"

"Mrs. Peterson, it's not like I have any special trick. My girlfriend and I got lucky on our very first try," Damien said with a chuckle. "It happened to be my birthday that day, so maybe good mood played a part."

"That makes sense. Joshua is ten years older than you, so he can hardly compete."

Patricia sneered passively. "Damien's place is still being renovated, and his family is abroad. I was thinking of having him stay with us for a while. It might bring us some good luck so we can finally have some kids in the house."

Before she could even finish, Olivia cut in with a hard refusal. "Absolutely not."

Patricia's glare at Joshua grew colder. "What? Just because some people are useless doesn't mean they can prevent others from—"

"Have you said enough?" Olivia's expression turned icy. "Mom, if you want me to never step foot in this house again, feel free to keep talking."

"I'm sorry. I think I should leave now." Damien's face turned slightly pale as he stood up and hurried out the door.

Olivia instinctively took a step forward to go after him, but realizing her lack of composure, she halted right in her tracks.

"I'm done eating." Joshua watched the whole farce with cold indifference, then got up and left.

As soon as he stepped outside the gates, his phone buzzed with a follow request from Damien, along with a message. "June 5th was my birthday, and it was our first time together. Olivia stayed in bed with me all day long."

June 5th was the day Joshua failed his seventh fertility exam.

He had locked himself in his room for a full day and night, unable to eat or drink.

When he finally pulled himself together and opened the door, he found Olivia standing outside with disheveled clothes and a tired face. He had felt so guilty that he ended up comforting her instead.

As it turned out, Olivia had just rushed back straight from Damien's bed.

How ridiculous and pathetic.

He hadn't felt pain through four years of countless injections, but now the pain in his chest was unbearable, leaving him struggling to breathe.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

Olivia rushed out after him. Seeing how pale he looked, she panicked, and her eyes reflexively darted toward his phone.