Semua Bab Loved in the Shadow: Bab 1 - Bab 9

All I got in response was my mother slapping me across the face. She didn't pull her punches at all. The side of my face swelled instantly, and the burning pain was so sharp that my vision blurred. "Your sister is raising a child all by herself!” she snapped. "How can you be so heartless? Do you really want Kayden to grow up without a father?” I stared at her in disbelief. "What about me?” My voice cracked. "What makes it so that my child is unworthy to be born into this world?” I had been married to Nolan for five years, and I had gotten pregnant three times. He would sigh dramatically every single time, pull me into his arms, and tell me he still wasn't ready to be a father. He would tell me over and over that he wasn't done enjoying life yet. So, I had abortion after abortion. Each time I lay on that cold surgical table with tears running down my face, I wondered if Nolan would eventually change his mind and grant me the family I yearned for. And now, he wanted me to

Irene didn't get angry. Instead, she touched her swollen cheek and laughed. Then, she lifted her phone and shoved the screen in front of my face. "Look how excited you were that night," she mocked. "And now you're acting as if I hurt you?" The video on her phone was of me. I was blindfolded, tied to the bed with rope, while Nolan forced himself on me. Tears streamed down my face. My heart felt like it was about to stop, and my whole body was shaking in fear. I begged Nolan to stop, but he only leaned close and coaxed me softly, "It's our wedding night. Try something new with me, okay?" I had told him before that I was terrified of the dark and of being tied up. Years ago, Irene had hired a group of men to kidnap me and lock me inside an abandoned warehouse for three whole days after I scored higher than Irene on my college entrance exams. Nolan knew all of that. He knew every scar she left behind, yet he still followed Irene's instructions and humiliated me in the cru

In Nolan's eyes, I was barely clinging to life. After all, my skin was being taken from my body and grafted onto Irene piece by piece. Just then, he remembered the text he had just received, and regret crashed over him all at once. "Open the door!" he shouted. "Stop the surgery! Stop it now!" He kicked the operating room door open like a madman, his whole body shaking. His eyes were bloodshot as he ordered the doctors to stop the graft immediately and stabilize me first. His tears fell onto my face. "Thank God," he muttered. "The surgery has just started. There's still time." I didn't know why he had suddenly changed his mind. All I knew was that the doctor hadn't given me enough anesthesia to keep me under, just to keep the skin viable. The raw wound on my inner thigh felt like liquid fire. Even the small act of curling my lips into a mocking smile hurt so much I could barely breathe. The surgical lights blurred above me. Soon, my consciousness began to slip away aga

Nolan's eyes turned cold, his voice sharp with impatience. "Kayden was born at this hospital, wasn't he?" he asked. "I looked up his birth certificate when they checked our blood types earlier." His jaw tightened. "He's type B. Irene, and I am both type A. So tell me, how exactly could he be mine?" Nolan promptly threw my parents out of the room and shut the door in their faces. Then, he turned back to me, his expression almost pleading. "Mallory, babe, I was so wrong before. I'm sorry. I was a fool to trust Irene. I'll change, okay?" He started to panic when I didn't answer. I had barely said a word ever since my parents barged in here. I only sat there like a doll. I was so calm that it frightened him. "Mallory, I'll do anything you want as long as you recover. Don't do this. You're scaring me." Only then did I finally look at him. His eyes were drowning with regret. Honestly, I didn't know whether he regretted hurting me or whether he was behaving this way becaus

Nolan looked genuinely happy to see me. After all, this was the first time I had contacted him since I disappeared on him half a month ago. I blocked every way he could contact me the day I left the hospital. I refused to answer his calls even after he changed his number. The Nolan who was sitting across from me looked exhausted and hollowed out. "Mallory..." His voice shook slightly. "You're finally willing to see me?" I asked, "Did you read the agreement? Since you cheated, you'll leave the marriage without a single penny. I'm not going to sue, but we can resolve this amicably if you sign the papers now." Tears filled his eyes. "I won't sign it. Mallory, please don't do this," he begged, desperation in his voice. "I know nothing I say can change things now, but I was genuinely deceived by Irene. I had no idea that she lied to me." I took a slow breath and sent all the evidence to his phone. "If you insist on dragging this out, then we'll settle it in court." Nolan f