Chapter 0001

"Miss Miller, I'm afraid you're showing signs of a possible miscarriage. We need to admit you to the hospital right away to try and preserve the pregnancy. Is there a family member you can call to help with the admission process?"

Selina Miller clutched her prenatal report, the doctor's words echoing in her ears.

She had come to the hospital due to unbearable menstrual-like pain, only to discover she was pregnant. What she thought was her period was actually signs of a miscarriage.

She'd been feeling nauseous lately, but since she and her husband David Wilson had been using contraception, and David hadn't been home for over forty days, pregnancy hadn't crossed her mind. She'd assumed it was just an upset stomach.

Taking a deep breath, Selina took out her phone and dialed the familiar number. As usual, there was no answer until it went to voicemail.

Selina stared at her phone screen, the joy of discovering her pregnancy and the anxiety of a potential miscarriage all turning into bitterness.

Nearby, another girl who had just found out she was pregnant was crying tears of joy in her boyfriend's arms.

Suddenly, a trending topic popped up on Selina's phone screen. She clicked on it instinctively.

#The Robinsons, leading family of the Big Four, finally have a lead on their long-lost daughter#

Selina scrolled past the top trending topic. Among the top ten, besides the Robinsons' search for their daughter, three were about David.

#Famous pianist Amanda Lewis rekindles old flame with Horizon Global CEO#

#David Wilson and Amanda Lewis rumored to be tying the knot soon#

#David Wilson and Amanda Lewis caught in a passionate embrace, spending the night together#

Selina felt a lump in her throat. As she was about to lock her screen, a message from her mother-in-law, Jennifer Moore, came through:

[Listen here, Selina. You were never in David's league, and this sham of a marriage should never have happened. Amanda is the one David's meant to be with - his soulmate. If you have any shred of decency left, you'll step aside and stop clinging to a man who doesn't want you.]

Two photos followed. The first was a prenatal checkup form. The second, more devastating image showed David and Amanda with a doctor. David's arm was wrapped protectively around Amanda, his usually stoic face softened by a tender gaze as he looked at her. Amanda, tucked comfortably against his side, had both hands resting gently on her still-flat stomach. Her face glowed with a mixture of shyness and pure joy.

Selina's thumb swiped back and forth between the photos, her vision blurring as tears welled up. With each pass, the images seemed to burn themselves deeper into her mind. Her eyes, rimmed with red, hardened with resolve. Without a word, she stood up, squared her shoulders, and headed for the stairs.

The prenatal form was just released from this hospital's VIP floor, so David and Amanda should still be there.

She never thought the first time she'd use David's black card would be to confront him.

At the entrance of the examination room, David was listening to the doctor's instructions with Amanda. They looked like a perfect couple.

Selina squeezed the report in her bag, took a deep breath, and strode towards David.

Selina's sudden appearance startled everyone present.

Amanda instinctively sensed hostility and buried her head in David's chest.

David felt a moment of panic when he saw Selina, but his face clouded over when he saw her aggressive expression.

He unconsciously shielded Amanda and asked with a frown, "What are you doing here?"

Selina tried to calm her anger, pointed at Amanda, and asked instead of answering, "So, Amanda's pregnant. Is that your handiwork?"

David glanced irritably at the gossiping doctors and nurses nearby, his face darkening further. He said impatiently to Selina, "My business is none of your concern!"

Selina felt heartbroken, her voice uncontrollably tinged with tears: "All those times you made me pop birth control pills, all those times you shut down any talk of having a baby... It wasn't about not wanting kids. You just didn't want them with me, did you?"

She had known this fact for a while, but facing it now, Selina felt like her heart was being torn apart, the pain almost suffocating her.

David, recalling unpleasant memories of being manipulated by Selina, his dark eyes became difficult to read. He spoke coldly, "If that's the story you've cooked up in your head, be my guest. I'm done trying to change your mind."

Selina's eyes filled with tears. Seeing David about to leave with Amanda, she hastily reached out to grab him, but he shook her off disgustedly as soon as she touched his sleeve. Watching them leave without looking back, Selina's tears finally fell.

"Is that Selina? David, should we explain about the baby?" Amanda looked back, seeing Selina standing there crying heartbrokenly. A smile tugged at her lips, but she pretended to be concerned as she asked.

David frowned deeply, his peripheral vision catching Selina. He felt inexplicably annoyed. Rubbing his forehead, he said in a low voice, "There's no need. The fewer people who know about this, the better!"

In their three years of marriage, he'd had some rumors about affairs, but Selina never asked, and he never bothered to explain.

This time, Amanda's reputation was at stake. For her sake, and because he was indeed at fault, he felt obligated to protect Amanda!

A despondent Selina returned to the obstetrics department. David didn't want her to have children, so why would he sign her hospitalization papers? Without a family member's signature, the hospital refused to admit her, only prescribing medication for pregnancy preservation.

"Please let me have this baby, I really love you!"

"You're trying to trap me with a kid? No way! Get rid of it, and I'll pay you."

Near the abortion room, a crowd had gathered to watch a couple arguing bitterly.

The man was burly, with a large gold chain around his neck, looking quite imposing.

The girl had delicate features and a slender figure, outwardly superior to the man, yet she was begging him with no dignity.

"Girls these days, they'd do anything for money!"

"That's how gold diggers climb the social ladder, using children."

...

The girl was eventually dragged into the abortion room, and the spectators dispersed, still gossiping.

Selina stood there in a daze, unconsciously placing her hand over her belly. David probably thought she was trying to trap him too, using the baby to extort money from him. This marriage was never what he wanted anyway.

Three years ago, she had accidentally saved Rachel - David's grandmother. When Rachel learned that Selina was about to be sold by her adoptive father to a 50-year-old widower in a neighboring village, she brought Selina home and even threatened to refuse treatment to force David to marry her. David, raised by Rachel, couldn't refuse and had to marry Selina.

They had originally agreed to keep the marriage secret and divorce once his grandmother's condition stabilized. But on their wedding night, there were drugs in the food, and they ended up in bed together in a haze. David suspected she had colluded with his grandmother and became even colder and more resentful towards her.

Six months ago, Rachel's condition worsened. Knowing that her grandmother's greatest wish was to hold a great-grandchild, and not wanting Rachel to have any regrets, she tried to discuss it with David. But he just mocked her about their wedding night again.

Angered by years of false accusations, she decided to actually drug him. This infuriated David completely. For the next four months, he made love to her every night like a man possessed, only to force her to take contraceptives afterward. After Rachel passed away and the funeral was over, he never came home again. He'd rather let his grandmother die with regrets than let her get pregnant - that's how much he despised her! Now that she was pregnant, would he drag her to get an abortion like that man just now?

Looking at the cold doors of the abortion room, Selina couldn't help but shudder.

The hand protecting her belly gradually clenched into a fist. She bit her lip hard, finally making a tough decision.

[David, let's get a divorce!]

On her way home, after much editing, she finally sent David a message.

Staring at the sent message, Selina got complex emotions.

After all, he was the first man she had truly fallen in love with. But to protect her child, she had no choice but to do this!

She hadn't expected David to reply, but surprisingly, a response came back within a minute.

[Okay]

No questions asked, just a swift and decisive agreement, as if he had been waiting for her to say this all along. The blunt response hit Selina like a punch to the gut. She swallowed hard, fighting back tears as she turned to look out the car window at the passing scenery.