Chapter 3 Miscarriage

Zachary wasn't loud, but his voice was imperious. I kept my fingers clenched on the pull handle. "They're my personal belongings. We've signed a contract, Zachary."

Zachary sneered. "Getting too much into the broke, divorced wife character that you're stealing sewing supplies?" He tilted his head, and a pair of bodyguards shoved me away unceremoniously.

My suitcase was snatched from me and placed on the glass-covered steps. A bodyguard pried open the suitcase's lock with his metal bar, and the zip was yanked down. My top-secret sketch slipped out and scattered everywhere.

Rebirth, the half-finished gown that I was going to complete for the international contest in Lutecia, rolled out of the suitcase as well.

Its pure-white silk billowed in the air, and the embroidery on the lining gleamed like shimmering lines.

A black van came to a stop at the roadside. A group of servants carefully helped Wendy out of the car. She deliberately swayed her hips as she approached Zachary and held his arm.

"I couldn't find my iPad. Maybe I left it in the shop." Then, her eyes fell upon Rebirth, and they lit up. Wendy let go of Zachary and trotted over to Rebirth only to kick its hem.

"Oh, this one's much better than what I've tried on, Zack. And it's looser on the waist. I can show off my baby bump in this."

Zachary didn't even miss a beat as he bent over and picked up the very work that symbolized my rebirth. He dusted it off and draped it over Wendy.

Wendy had a larger build than I did. Rebirth was designed according to my build, and it was half-finished. Fitting Wendy was out of the question. Zachary tried to pull it down, but the fabric went taut and threatened to rip. He frowned with scorn.

"What an unsophisticated dress. It can't even fit over your belly." He gripped the hem of Rebirth and pulled it to the sides as hard as he could.

The cries of Rebirth as it was torn apart stabbed my ears. The silk hem of Rebirth, the thing I'd sewn completely by hand, was torn into two.

The moment it was torn, Zachary's hands froze. His eyes fell on the letters embroidered on the inside of the collar. They were stamped with my initials, NS.

Wendy said cutely, "You ruined it. Can't use it for anything other than padding now."

Zachary shot her an icy look and threw the torn gown onto the ground. "You deserve better than this cheap fabric."

I stared at the destroyed dress, my mind was filled with nothing but white noise. That was the very thing I was submitting for the competition. He promised he would wear the crown of champion on my head himself.

And now the work I'd spent so much effort on was trampled like it was worthless. I pounced at the top-secret sketches like a woman possessed. I had to protect them. I had to.

Alas, he grabbed my shoulder and flung me away like I was just some ragdoll, just as my fingers had managed to touch the edges of my sketches. "What is wrong with you?"

My limbs flailed wildly as I lost my balance, falling backward. My back fell to the ground, while my belly smashed into the corner of the cracked coffee table.

A wave of pain tore through me from my lower belly. I crashed into the pile of glass, sucking in air as much as I could.

Warm blood was trickling down between my legs and drenched the hem of my light-colored dress red. It spread across the white tiles like a pool.

The mockery on Zachary's face froze right then and there. His eyes couldn't look away from the crimson liquid pooling underneath my feet.