Chapter 3

Yes, Michael had been undeniably good to her.

When she mentioned craving pastries from a bakery across town, he drove an hour at three in the morning to buy them and brought them back piping hot.

When she was afraid of the dark, he made sure to video call her every night at ten while away on business trips, whispering gently until she fell asleep.

On her birthday, he rented out a rooftop restaurant.

He pulled out a ring under the night sky, and said softly, "Chloe, for the rest of my life, I only want to cherish you."

That devotion had been so real, so impossible to doubt. Now, every memory carved into her like a scalpel.

Michael looked at her, his expression softening for a fraction of a second. His voice dropped low.

"Chloe, stop making a scene. If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to keep things balanced."

He sighed, reaching down to help her up. "Can't we just keep things the way they are?"

She didn't want his twisted version of balance. All she had ever asked for was honesty and a life built for two.

A sudden baby's cry shattered the tense silence.

Chloe raised her eyes.

She looked past the gathering crowd, her gaze landing on the small bundle wrapped in blankets.

She walked toward it, step by step.

Everyone watched her with guarded eyes, terrified she might snap.

But she just stared at the infant.

The child's eyes and the bridge of his nose looked just like Michael's.

An agonizing ache crushed her heart.

She remembered her lost pregnancy two years ago.

She had been six months along.

On countless nights, she had traced the baby's ultrasound pictures, leaning into Michael's chest, asking sweetly, "Look, doesn't the baby look just like you?"

Michael's expression had turned unreadable then.

He looked away in silence. "The baby is still so small. How can you tell? Get some rest."

She had felt a flicker of disappointment, but quickly reasoned it away.

Maybe Michael just isn't used to being a father yet...

The next day, Michael brought her a slice of cake containing almonds.

She ate it, her heart full of warmth, only to be met with unbearable abdominal agony hours later.

The tiny life she had cherished for months thrashed frantically inside her.

The kicks and flutters grew weaker and weaker, until there was only dead silence.

Sarah had wept beside her bed, telling her they hadn't been able to remove the baby intact because the pregnancy was already so advanced.

She never even got to see her baby's face.

The pain back then was so severe she couldn't even scream.

They claimed Michael grew to care for her, but how could a man who loved her be so utterly ruthless?!

---

In the crib, the infant stopped crying. He stared up at Chloe, parting his toothless mouth into a tiny smile.

Chloe closed her eyes, hot tears spilling over her lashes.

She reached out, wanting to touch the child, but her right hand suddenly spasmed violently out of control.

Michael's face changed instantly.

He stepped forward and grabbed her hand, using his thumb to expertly massage the cramped muscle between her thumb and index finger.

"Don't get worked up. Just relax."

Chloe looked down at her hand.

Once, this hand held a scalpel with absolute precision, repairing nerve fibers finer than a strand of hair.

She and Sarah had been top stars in medical school, dubbed the finest young surgeons of their class.

That year, a prestigious surgical fellowship abroad had offered just one place to applicants from her country.

Competition was fierce.

Chloe slept three hours a night and performed over a hundred simulated surgeries to win that spot.

The day the acceptance letter arrived, she ran home overjoyed. "Michael, I got it! The fellowship offer!"

Michael pulled her into his arms, letting out a long sigh.

"Chloe, give the spot to Sarah."

The smile froze on her face. "Why?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Michael stroked her cheek softly.

"If you leave, what about me? Coming home after work to an empty house, without you here to talk to me?

"Chloe, you love me so much. Would you really leave me all alone?"

She couldn't sleep that night.

Her mind was a battleground.

One side screaming to pursue her career, the other sobbing that she couldn't abandon Michael.

The next morning, with bloodshot eyes, she was about to tell him, "Michael, I've decided... I'm giving up the offer. Sarah can have it."

Before she could speak, a swerving motorcycle slammed into her, running over her right hand and crushing the bones.

Michael stayed by her hospital bed for three days and nights, his eyes filled with agonizing guilt.

"Chloe, I'm so sorry. I failed to protect you."

Her hand never recovered enough to hold a scalpel again. Naturally, the fellowship spot went to Sarah.

Ever since then, whenever Chloe got too emotional, her right hand would tremble violently.

And every single time, Michael would hold it in his palm just like this, massaging it with endless gentleness.