Chapter 1

“What did you say?”

The woman’s words rang in her ears like a crackle of thunder.

Seeing how shocked Christina Williams was, the woman curled her lips into a smirk as she repeated herself slowly. “I’m pregnant with Michael Larson’s child.”

“Impossible!” Christina said in disbelief.

“Hah!” The woman scoffed as she threw over a piece of paper to Christina. “See for yourself. I’m already three months pregnant.”

Her eyes scanned through the medical report and Christina’s heart ached as she felt an unexplainable hollowness in it.

She recognized the signature next to the report. It was Michael’s handwriting.

Christina’s whole world came crashing down that instance. She could not hear what was going on around her as fury flashed underneath her eyes.

Losing control herself, Christina gave the woman a big slap across the face. “You shameless b*itch! You’re just the same as your mom, aren’t you? I’m going to kill you!”

“Stop! What are you trying to do Christina? ” Heather Sunderland, her mother-in-law, had somehow made her way to the living room.

“What do you think I’m doing? Your son cheated on me and got this b*tch pregnant. I’m going to kill her!” Christina yelled as she went berserk.

Glaring at her in rage, Heather ran over to prevent Christina from hurting the woman any further. ”I told you to back off, not yell back! Are you trying to rebel against me?”

Filled with hatred, Christina ignored what her mother-in-law said and gave the woman another hard smack.

Losing her balance, the pregnant woman fell and landed on the floor.

“Blood… Help!”

A pool of blood trickled from the woman’s legs. Realizing what Christina had done, Heather could not contain her anger and struck her back in revenge. “You wh*re! Don’t take it out on her! It’s not her fault that you’re infertile! ”

A look overcame Christina’s face as she understood everything before her. Her complexion turned ghastly as her vision blurred. Swaying lightly on her feet, she took a step back, hitting her body against a table as pain shook up her core.

Had her life been a false illusion all along?

The pain became unbearable as she shifted her body uncomfortably. She placed her hands on the edge of the table to prevent herself from collapsing.

A man with a tall, bulk figure pushed open the door. His cold gaze swept through the scene as he asked, “What’s going on?”

Heather raised a finger and pointed at Christina. “This woman wants to kill my grandchildren, Michael! Quickly, we have to send Serena to the hospital now!”

Michael’s eyes instantly darkened when he noticed the bloodstains on the floor. He rushed over to Serena Garcia and lifted her into his arms. Walking past her, he did not cast Christina a glance as he carried the woman out of the house.

Despair hit her as a shiver ran down her spine.

Gripping the table, Christina tried to stand up as she felt a warm and fuzzy substance flow underneath her skirt.

She reached her hands out to touch the substance, only to realize that her hands were tainted in red. It was blood.

====

A huge downpour roared in the night as Christina woke up with a start. Her hands instinctively slid into space next to her. A cold feeling trailed up her fingers and she realized that the bed was empty.

Christina gave herself a chuckle of mockery as she stared into the dark bedroom. The bedroom stared back at her as its emptiness heaved against her heart.

At this moment, the blare of a car’s horn could be heard. Barefooted, Christina got out of bed and she walked towards the window. Pulling the shades aside, she looked down and realized that a car had driven past the gates of the villa.

He was back.

A bad feeling overcame her as she dreaded what would happen next.

Umbrella in hand, a servant rushed out to receive the person from the car. As the car door swung open, a man got down. He glanced at the window of the bedroom on the second floor, like he knew that she was standing there.

Even though the window and the pouring rain stood between them, it was still not enough to hide the man’s cold, piercing gaze.

Letting out a bitter laugh, she walked out of the bedroom in her pajamas. Barefooted, her hair was scattered in every direction and she looked lifeless, like a ghost.

She found Michael waiting for her in the living room. He sat on the sofa with a man standing next to him. Something about him told her that he was a lawyer.

Seeing how pathetic Christina looked, Michael furrowed his brows, a slight crease forming across his forehead as he clenched his fist around the sofa’s armrest.

Christina walked over quietly and sat down on the sofa next to Michael.

The lawyer gave a faint cough. “Nice to meet you, Madam Larson. I’m Mr. Larson’s lawyer. The divorce agreement has been drafted according to my client’s instructions and I would like you to go through the papers placed in front of you.”

She anxiously flipped through the first few pages of the agreement and finally set her eyes on the financial provision clause.

There was no matrimonial property as all pieces of property had been obtained solely by the husband before marriage. According to the law, these types of property could not be divided amongst the couple in the event of a divorce.

A dull feeling throbbed at the back of her eyes. She fluttered her eyelids shut, only to open them again after a while. The tears that came proved to be a surprising relief that seemed to temporarily wash away the pain.

The lawyer started to lose his patience. “Madam Larson, please sign the papers after you’ve read them.”

With that being said, he immediately placed a pen on the table. Christina lifted her head and looked at Michael. He had not spoken a word from the beginning, and his facial expression suggested that he was unbothered about this.

Her hands shaking, Christina took the pen as she signed her name on the last page of the agreement.

The lawyer took a sigh of relief. As she placed the pen back on the table, the lawyer hastily gathered the document and stored it carefully into his briefcase.

The atmosphere surrounding the three people was rather gloomy. Without a word being uttered, Christina headed back to the bedroom upstairs.

Before she could reach the bottom of the stairways, the lawyer’s voice boomed behind her. “You’re no longer Madam Larson from this moment, Miss Williams. Please pack up and leave by the next day.”

Christina stopped dead in her tracks, her voice flat as she replied, “Okay.”

She barely walked up the stairs when the lawyer’s voice was raised again. “Miss Williams, as you did not have a stable job during the marriage, Mr. Larson has been the one who has provided for you instead. As compensation for that, you are required to return all your jewelry before you leave.”

She could not believe her ears. Did Michael Larson really mean it?

From the agreement, the divorce was obviously a clean break and they would not owe each other anything anymore the moment she left the villa. She would not sustain anything from the divorce and those pieces of jewelry were the only things she could rely on to support herself after this.

“Fine!” She growled as she walked up the stairs without a second thought.

Michael was quite shocked at how calm she remained. He had expected her to put up a fight, yet Christina signed the papers without any sign of reluctance or resistance.

Staring at the back of her figure, Michael suddenly felt restless as his heart slumped into dejection.

Her back still facing him, she stopped midway in the stairways and said, “I’ll return everything you’ve given me. I hope you’ll do the same for me.”

Upon saying this, she made her way back into the room and shut the door with a loud bang.

The lawyer looked at Michael in confusion, only to find him staring at the door of the bedroom with a look of annoyance plastered across his face.