Chapter 2

Only then did I see that the blood running from between my legs had soaked the floor.

People rushed to lift me off the ground, shouting to get me to a hospital.

But the moment we stepped out of the courthouse, the car was swarmed by reporters.

"Ms. Mendler, can you tell us anything about this divorce case?"

"How did your client end up walking away with nothing? You're a star divorce attorney with nearly eight hundred cases in twelve years and not a single loss."

"Did your client do something wrong?"

Faced with their barrage of questions, I didn't have the strength left to say a word.

The blood beneath me kept flowing faster. The court officers began pushing back the crowd. "Make way! We have an emergency here!"

The car slowly squeezed its way through and finally got me to the hospital.

The staff began trying to reach my family.

They called Benjamin, who was listed as my emergency contact.

He declined the call again and again.

I'd assumed he wouldn't answer at all, but to my surprise, he showed up in front of me with Melanie.

"Chelsea, that guy only hit you a few times. It can't be that serious, can it? You even got rushed to the ER.

"Those trending stories online. Did you pay to put them there?"

I clutched the hem of my shirt. I had no idea what he was talking about.

It was the doctor who pushed him aside. "This patient had a miscarriage that caused a massive hemorrhage. We need to treat her immediately. I don't care who you are. Don't get in the way of her treatment."

Benjamin grabbed hold of the gurney. The worry on his face didn't look fake. "What did you say? A miscarriage?"

Melanie's eyes welled with tears. "Benjamin, didn't you tell me Chelsea couldn't get pregnant? So how could she have a miscarriage?"

The first time I got pregnant with Benjamin's child, our law firm had just gotten off the ground, and we'd take on any case that came our way.

He handled criminal cases exclusively, defending the most heinous murderers that no one else would touch.

When a victim's relative showed up in our underground parking garage with a knife, shouting that he was going to rid the world of evil, I was the one who pushed Benjamin out of the way and took the stab for him.

I survived, but the baby, six months along, died in my womb, and I had no choice but to have labor induced.

After that surgery, I developed adhesions in my uterine lining. The doctor said it would be extremely difficult for me to ever get pregnant again.

I still remember how he held me and cried back then, "It's all my fault. I owe you and our baby a life.

"Don't worry. Even if we never have children, I'll still be good to you. I'll never let you be in danger again."

But now, fate had given me a second child.

And because he'd run off to protect another woman, I had to feel the heart-wrenching pain of losing a child all over again.

Melanie gave me a pointed look. "She wouldn't have gotten everyone to put on this whole act just to get attention because she hates me, would she?

"Just look at the news. The story about me becoming a mistress and having a love child has spread all over the internet. Everyone's calling me a slut.

"If she plays the victim in front of the cameras on top of that, how are my son and I supposed to go on living?"

All Melanie had to do was dab at her tears, and Benjamin was convinced I was putting on a show.

Every trace of worry vanished from his face.

"Chelsea, stop faking it. We agreed from the start that, to protect Melanie's privacy, this case wouldn't be made public. But you called in all those reporters. What's the meaning of this?

"Then you had yourself carried out half-dead in front of the cameras. Now everyone online has their own theory, and they're all saying Melanie made you so angry you collapsed. They won't stop cursing her out.

"Shouldn't you come forward and explain yourself?"

He held his phone up in front of me.

Only then did I learn that people had more or less figured out what happened.

The top post, the one with the most likes, claimed that Melanie had given birth to Benjamin's child while she was still married to another man, and that I'd been so furious I collapsed.

But what could I possibly explain to everyone? That it was true, and the case I'd spent three months preparing was for my husband's mistress?

Or that they'd gotten it wrong, and I hadn't collapsed from anger but lost my baby after Melanie's ex-husband attacked me?

Either way, I had no strength left.

My head was spinning, and the air around me felt thin.

It was as if I might leave this world at any second.

The doctor noticed something was wrong and hurried to wheel me into the emergency room,

"Excuse us. Whatever this is can wait."

Melanie looked at him, the picture of wounded innocence.

"If Chelsea doesn't want to explain, I understand. It's just that my son and I will probably end up hated by everyone."

Benjamin lost his temper. He grabbed my wrist. "Chelsea, I said stop acting."

To save my own life, I asked him, "What exactly do you want? I'll do whatever you say."