Chapter 3

Our eyes met.

After a long silence, Vincent asked, "Does it still hurt?"

I shook my head. "It won't hurt anymore."

He seemed to catch the hidden meaning in my words. His brow furrowed, then he stroked my arm gently.

"Don't worry. I'll get the best doctor for you. You won't have any scars."

After saying this, he got up and locked the door, then brought another spoonful of soup to his lips and blew on it.

I swung my hand out. The hot soup splashed onto the back of his hand, and his skin immediately turned red.

Vincent froze for a moment. The next second, he violently pinned my wrist to the headboard and brought his face close to mine. I could feel his breath on me.

"Honey, stop this." His voice was husky and seductive.

Vincent bit down hard on my lip, his tongue invading my mouth skillfully.

I struggled violently, but the more I resisted, the tighter he pressed me down. His kiss grew more aggressive and demanding, as if he wanted to devour me whole.

I did not know how long it lasted before he finally released me. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth where I had bitten him.

"Eloise, you know I don't like being refused. Don't let it happen again."

I gasped for air, feeling nothing but revulsion.

Just then, his phone rang. This time, Vincent moved to silence it.

I pressed my hand over his and said softly, "Go ahead. I won't make a scene anymore."

Vincent paused, then picked up his phone and left. Halfway to the door, he turned back and tucked the blanket around me.

"I'll have someone bring your mother over to keep you company later."

After saying this, he finally left. The room fell silent once more.

I had never felt so exhausted before.

My mother? Vincent, I no longer had a mother.

However, I still had a father.

Looking at my flight's departure time, the weight on my chest finally began to lift.

That evening, Vincent sent me a message.

[Madison's pregnancy is unstable. I need to stay with her tonight. Rest well with your mom. I'll come see you tomorrow.]

He had not sent me such a long message in ages. Our previous messages were nothing but my personal monologue.

[When are you coming home?]

[Are you still coming back today?]

[When exactly will you come back?]

The woman who once smiled so easily had become someone bitter and half-crazed.

I thought that Vincent and I had drifted apart not only because Madison was pregnant. Perhaps it was also because I had changed.

All of this would end soon. I would no longer cling to him and refuse to let go.

As long as I got through tonight and tomorrow, none of this would concern me anymore. However, Madison had no intention of letting me have my way. In the middle of the night, she kicked open my door.

"I can't believe you're pregnant, you bitch! If this hospital wasn't full of my people, Mr. Hartwell would've found out."

The room was dark, but it could not hide the viciousness on her face.

I immediately pressed the call button and grabbed the fruit knife from the bedside table, but Madison was faster. She snatched it away and pointed the blade at my stomach.

Just as she was about to plunge it in, Vincent's footsteps echoed from down the hall.

Madison's expression changed. I immediately bolted toward the door, but she tripped me.

When I turned my head, I saw Madison flash me a triumphant smile. Then, she drove the knife deep into her own abdomen.

The moment the lights came on, blood had stained her white dress crimson.

Vincent reached the doorway and froze instantly. Then, he rushed toward her.

He pressed his hands desperately against the wound, his voice shaking badly.

"Doctor! Get a doctor now!"

The scene descended into chaos. I was stunned too. I had not expected Madison to be so ruthless with herself.

Madison's voice was choked with tears, looking pitiful and fragile. "I only came to check on Mrs. Hartwell because I heard she was ill. Why would she do this to me?

"Mr. Hartwell, I'm sorry. I failed to protect our child. I'm so sorry."

After Madison was carried away, Vincent grabbed me by the collar and lifted me before I could even speak.

His eyes were bloodshot. I rarely saw him this emotional.

The last time he looked like this was when I had been kidnapped by a rival family. When he saw the wounds on my body, he nearly beat the kidnappers to death with his bare hands.

"Eloise!" He roared my name.

His grip was so strong that my feet lifted off the ground. I could barely breathe.

Just as I was about to pass out, he released me abruptly. I fell hard to the floor.

Immediately, a tearing pain shot through my abdomen. Blood flowed slowly from between my legs, mixing with Madison's blood on the floor.

I grabbed at Vincent's pant leg and begged with every ounce of strength I had left, "Call a doctor. I really am pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Vincent laughed coldly and looked down at me from above. "Eloise, I think you've gone insane from how badly you want a child."

He yanked my hand away and gripped my chin roughly. "You think this is how it ends?

"Eloise, if this child dies, I'll keep sleeping with her or other women until an heir is finally born."

He did not punish me that day. He only left me with those words, which hurt a hundred times more than being locked in the garden.

All the doctors were pulled away to care for Madison. Only after news came that Madison's baby was safe did anyone come to help me up.

I clutched the nurse's sleeve and pointed at my stomach. My voice was barely audible.

"Is the baby still alive?"