Chapter 11

That man’s heartlessness had reached a truly appalling level.

Josh desperately wanted to take Audrey to France while she was still unconscious, but he didn’t. He loved Audrey, and because of that, even though it hurt him deeply, he respected her choices.

On the third day, Audrey woke up in the hospital. She struggled to get out of bed, but Josh wouldn’t let her. The moment she felt a little better, she sneaked out of the hospital.

Heather was too busy cozying up with the Duncan family to come after Audrey. However, she still managed to dig up last year’s scandal and put it before the media again.

Audrey became a public disgrace, a target of ridicule wherever she went.

Then, on the eve of Duncan and Heather’s wedding, Janet Baker, Duncan’s mother, came to see her.

Without a word, Janet slapped her across the face. “You shameless woman! You already have another man, so why are you still clinging to my son?”

Even though Janet was in her forties, she took great care of herself and looked like she was in her thirties. But when she was angry, she was terrifying.

“Janet, I’m not clinging to Duncan. You’ve misunderstood. What happened a year ago wasn’t what you think. I didn’t run away with another man. I went to France for medical treatment. I didn’t betray my relationship with Duncan.”

“I don’t want to hear a single word of your explanation. We’ve all seen the explicit video of you in bed with that other man. The only reason we didn’t release it to the media is that we showed mercy. But if you don’t leave my son alone, I can’t guarantee you won’t be the headline news tomorrow, Audrey!”

Janet’s eyes were wide with rage, her face full of disgust.

“Trying to come back and throw yourself at my son again? Do you even deserve him?”

Audrey held her cheek, staring blankly as Janet stormed off after her harsh words. It was already a done deal—Duncan was destined to marry Heather. What more could she say?

As she watched Janet’s figure disappear from sight, it finally hit Audrey. Janet mentioned the video, which meant Duncan must have seen it too.

But she hadn’t done anything to betray him. So how could such a video even exist?

Suddenly, she felt a faint pain in her stomach. It was only then that she remembered—it had been over a month since her last period.

But she knew her body. There was no way she could be pregnant! She was a dying woman—how could she possibly be carrying a child?

Uneasy, she went to a pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test. When the results came back positive, she was forced to confront the worst possible reality—she was pregnant!

The night before Duncan was set to marry another woman, while her own days were numbered, Audrey had discovered she was pregnant!

It was as if fate was playing the cruelest joke on her. As if having a terminal illness wasn’t enough, God had given her, a woman who was about to lose both her life and the man she loved, a child.

What was she supposed to do about this baby? Could she even live long enough to give birth?

Was it really possible?

Just then, a blurry figure approached her. Audrey thought the person seemed familiar but wasn’t sure, not until the figure grabbed her.

“Audrey, why did you sneak out of the hospital again? How many times have you run off this past month? Are you trying to kill yourself?” Josh asked anxiously.

Seeing Audrey so out of it, Josh was both frustrated and worried, but he couldn’t bring himself to raise his voice at her.

“You’re Josh.” It was only when she heard his voice that Audrey confirmed the man in front of her was Josh.

Sensing something was off, Josh waved his hand in front of her eyes, but she brushed him away.

“I’m not blind. It’s just more blurry than before.”

What kind of world was this, where all the suffering and misfortune seemed to fall on her?

Josh watched as Audrey leaned weakly against the wall. “Let’s go. Maybe there’s still hope,” he said.