Chapter 4

I'd had a miscarriage even before learning that I was pregnant.

Nick sat by my bed, his face twisted into a guilty expression.

"Lena, now really isn't a good time for a baby anyway. Once your illness is a little more stable, we can try for another baby."

I stared at him numbly, noticing the faintly relieved look lurking deep in his eyes.

This was actually the second child we had lost.

Three years ago, after finding out that I was pregnant, Natalie had moved in to take care of me. That was also when she met Nick for the first time.

As time went on, Nick began to return home less and less at night. Then, on the night that Natalie also stayed out, I slipped on the bathroom floor and fell, causing me to hemorrhage heavily and lose the baby.

It was only after that incident that I discovered evidence of Nick cheating on me, which ended with me on the rooftop.

What a cruel joke it was that my two babies and I ultimately became sacrifices for their so-called great love.

It was obvious that Nick had also remembered our first child, for he couldn't bring himself to meet my gaze any longer. Standing up, he excused himself by saying that he needed to pay the bill, then he practically fled from the room.

Beside my pillow, my phone rang.

"Do you really think your miscarriage is simply from him kicking you to the floor? All these years, birth control pills have been mixed in with your medications. Even though you still accidentally got pregnant, you wouldn't have been able to keep the baby.

"Yelena, just show yourself some mercy. The more you try to stop them, the stronger their relationship becomes. Only your death can condemn them to a lifetime of guilt and shame."

I calmly ended the call, not bothering with hysterics.

After being discharged from the hospital, I made sure to be docile and obedient, unnervingly so. I no longer checked in on Nick at work, nor did I constantly suspect things and confront him about them.

However, the more I was like this, the more uneasy they felt.

At last, Nick couldn't take it anymore and told me, "The company has an urgent matter that requires me to be out of town for a week."

With that said, he looked at me closely, as though steeling himself in preparation for the temper tantrum he was expecting me to throw.

Yet, I simply responded with a calm, "Okay."

Then, I turned to look at Natalie. "Nat, you've run yourself ragged taking care of me, so why don't you take a break this week too? I can look out for myself."

The two of them froze on the spot, clearly not expecting that I would agree so easily. All the excuses they had prepared died in their throats.

Nick probed carefully, "Lena, that day in the hospital… Did you happen to see something?"

"See what?" I replied.

At my denial, he breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze gentling.

"Once I return from my work trip, I'll take you to see the snowy mountains of Purlentia, okay?"

In the past three years, I had mentioned wanting to go to Purlentia countless times, only for him to refuse every single time. He had claimed that it was too far away and that my depression was too severe, so I would only be a burden if we went. He had then promised that he would bring me there once I was cured.

Just like that, I had been waiting for three years to go.

I answered softly, "Okay."

That night, the guest bedroom door wasn't shut properly, so the sound of Natalie's weeping reached my ears.

"Nick, isn't it terrible of us to do this to Lena? After all, she just had a miscarriage…"

Nick answered in a firm tone, "What I'm doing is saving us all. If she remains here, she's going to drive us crazy, sooner or later. Sending her to a private psychiatric clinic in Purlentia is what's best for everyone."

Ah, so that was it.

It turned out that he wasn't actually bringing me there to fulfill my dream or to make it up to me out of guilt; it was so that he could keep me trapped there in another country forever, thereby removing any obstacles to their love.

I laughed silently. There really was no need to go to all that trouble.

Spinning on my heel, I returned to our bedroom and headed for the bathroom. After filling the bathtub with water, I slipped inside.

With two quick slashes across my wrists, ribbons of crimson began trailing into the water.

As my blood slowly stained the water red, a sense of freedom like never before swept through me.

…

Third-person POV

The next morning, Nick finished packing his luggage before knocking on the master bedroom door.

"Lena, we're leaving. Take good care of yourself, okay?"

Yet, only dead silence responded to his words.

In the past, the moment he spoke up, Yelena would immediately run out with bare feet to hug him.

However, there was nothing today.

An inexplicable terror crept into his heart.

His hand darted out to grab the door handle, and he gave it a tug, only to freeze on the spot.