Chapter 2

Pregnancy. The third wheel. Those words kept swirling in my mind, causing my eyes to fill with tears.

I kept gulping down glass after glass of liquor, thinking maybe I could gather the courage to march up to them and throw it in their faces.

But my body wouldn't listen. I remained frozen on the spot, trembling with hurt, and my voice was stuck in my throat.

The people at the next table, tipsy from their drinks, suddenly started calling out to Adrian.

"Mr. Johnson, are you too scared to tell Colleen? Don't worry, we've got your back. We'll tell her about it. Just don't let Rosie and the kid suffer for it."

Adrian's hands, which had been holding Rosalind, fell away all of a sudden. Rosalind's face turned ashen as she shot a sharp, accusing look at the friend who had spoken.

Adrian stood up, calmly adjusted his clothes, and walked over. Then, he punched the friend in the face.

His voice was cold when he spoke.

"If you dare tell my wife about this, you'll pay for it dearly."

Then, he sidestepped Rosalind, who was trying to cling to him, his gaze clear.

"That's enough for today. I've got to get home to Colleen."

With that, he turned and walked out of the bar.

Rosalind, filled with resentment, collapsed onto the table, sobbing uncontrollably.

I watched it all with a bitter smile, the calm slowly settling in my chest.

My father's reply came quickly.

"What's going on? Is Adrian coming too? Did you tell him about the island we're buying?"

I responded with another message.

"No, it'll just be me."

He typed for a long while before sending the message.

"Got it! Wait for me. In three days, I'll come get you, my princess!"

When I got home, a warm meal was already set on the table.

Adrian, wearing an apron, knelt to take off my shoes for me, then carefully carried me and placed me by the dining table. He even had wet wipes ready for me to clean my hands.

He had changed into comfortable home clothes, and the kiss marks on his body from before had disappeared. His freshly washed shirt was hanging by the window.

Everything was just like it always was. I couldn't find a single sign of his affair.

He cared for me like a good husband should, except when it came to sex.

I still remembered that not long after the kidnapping incident, Adrian had gotten drunk and pinned me to the bed. But before he took off my clothes, he had covered his mouth and rushed to the bathroom.

When he came out, he leaned against the wall, weakly speaking.

"Darling, I drank too much and couldn't hold it in. Let's save our first night for when we get the marriage certificate."

He turned and went to the study, and it had remained this way for three years.

For three years, the love I thought was real was nothing but a lie.

It turned out that he wasn't drunk at all. He just found me disgusting and was afraid of getting tainted by me.

But now, Adrian was picking up food and eagerly feeding me.

I stared at him blankly, and suddenly a wave of nausea hit my throat. I rushed to the bathroom, throwing up uncontrollably.

Adrian hurried over, looking extremely anxious.

"Darling, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

I replied coldly, "Oh, it's nothing. I had too much to drink just now while dining with my coworkers."

But what he didn't know was that now, he disgusted me.

The next day, I collected my thoughts and decided to resign from my nursing job at the hospital.

It wasn't a big deal. I was just an ordinary nurse, and a large hospital like that could do without me.

While I was carrying my things out of the hospital, Adrian came rushing in with Rosalind, his voice full of concern.

"Doctor, will you check on her? Please make sure my girlfriend and the baby are okay!"

He was in such a rush that he bumped into me. Upon seeing it was me, his face drained of color, and he forgot completely about Rosalind, who was being led away by the doctor and nurses.

"Colleen, please don't get the wrong idea. That's the wife of one of my friends. He's not here, and in my haste, I said she's my girlfriend without thinking," he explained quickly.

"Got it," I said quietly as I picked up my things from the floor.

He noticed the things I was taking with me and frowned.

"Darling, you're quitting?" he asked.

I didn't respond. He helped me carry the heavier things, then said to me, "It's fine, I can support you. From now on, you can stay at home and live a good life."