Chapter 3

When I opened my eyes again, Samuel was staring directly at me.

He seemed pleasantly surprised. Without warning, he pulled me into his arms.

"Regina, we're having a baby!"

I froze. For a moment, I even forgot to push him away.

After all, I'd gone through thirty rounds of IVF without ever getting pregnant. I'd long since given up hope.

My heart stirred. Just as I was about to speak, he continued.

"Jessie has always wanted a child. Have the baby and let her raise it."

My body instantly felt numb.

"What did you just say?"

Samuel frowned. He seemed unhappy with my reaction.

"Jessie hates pain. You know that. She loves kids, so just do her a favor."

As he spoke, he casually transferred 50 thousand dollars into my account and kissed me. "Be good. Do as I say."

I pushed him away. My voice trembled with disbelief. "Samuel! What do you take me for?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he simply frowned at me as if he couldn't understand why I was making such a fuss.

Only after he left to answer another phone call did I place a trembling hand over my stomach. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

The baby was innocent. The doctor had once warned me that if I lost this baby, I would never be able to conceive again.

I had to protect my child, I had to cure my mother's illness, and I had to get them both away from this place.

The thought had barely crossed my mind when the door was kicked open.

Jessie stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. Five or six large men stood behind her.

Every hair on my body stood on end. I backed away in terror. "What are you doing–"

Before I could finish my sentence, someone grabbed my hair from behind and threw me back onto the bed.

They covered my mouth before I could scream. I felt a sharp pain from the waist down. A warm liquid trickled down my legs.

The men's laughter blended with Jessie's applause.

By the time silence returned, I was lying in a pool of blood lifelessly.

I heard Jessie's soft voice close to my ear. "How about we make a bet too? We'll bet on who Samuel chooses to believe."

With that, she smiled and suddenly slapped herself hard across the face.

Her eyes welled up with tears. She ran to the door and crashed directly into Samuel's arms as he entered.

"Samuel! Regina said she'd rather die than have this baby and give it to me. The second you left, she brought a bunch of men here and–"

Tears streamed down her face as she held up her phone.

"She said you cheated on her, so she was going to cheat on you too. That way it'd be fair.

"Look. I recorded everything. I tried to stop her, and she slapped me."

The moment Samuel saw what was on the screen, he went completely still.

His eyes widened. He pushed Jessie aside and stormed to the bed. He hauled me upright with bloodshot eyes.

"Regina! Have you lost your mind?"

I opened my mouth, but I couldn't make a sound.

The sight of me seemed to enrage him even further.

"Fine. Fine! Do you really hate me that much? Is this how you're getting back at me? Congratulations. You win!"

His voice kept rising, and my vision kept fading.

The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Jessie's triumphant smile.