Chapter 3

The next morning, Christian and Peyton were already having breakfast at the dining table by the time I woke up.

Christian blew on the omelet in front of him and fed it to Peyton.

Thinking I was still asleep, their actions were bolder than usual.

Peyton smiled coyly. "Mr. Clark, I think Shiloh is alright. When you have time, you should help her take care of the child. After all, Juniper is your daughter."

Christian's face lit up with a smug grin. "I don't care about that little brat. If I'm going to care about anyone, it's the precious little baby in your belly! That's our love child!"

Peyton's cheeks flushed red. "Oh, stop it... But you promised me, if it's a boy, you'll divorce her and marry me."

Christian nodded eagerly. "Of course, Peyton. When have I ever lied to you?"

I silently recorded the entire conversation and immediately sent the video to Adam. It turned out that this was why Christian had become so brazen—Peyton was pregnant with his child.

What angered me even more was how little Christian cared for our daughter. I risked my life to give birth to Juni, but she was worthless to him.

Christian was well-educated and always projected an image of intelligence, yet he exhibited such misogyny. It truly disgusted me.

I placed Juni in her stroller, planning to take her out for a walk.

When I entered the living room, Christian quickly stopped feeding Peyton and came over to talk to me. "Honey, come have some breakfast."

I glanced at the leftovers on the table and declined, "No thanks. The weather's nice today. I'll take Juni out to get some sun."

Despite everything, Juni was still just a child. When she saw Christian, she instinctively reached out her little hands for her father to hold her.

Yet before he could react, Peyton suddenly let out a loud groan. "Oh, my stomach hurts so much!"

Christian's expression changed instantly. He ignored Juni's outstretched arms and rushed over to Peyton. "Peyton, what's wrong?"

Peyton clung to Christian's arm dramatically. "I don't know. Please, Mr. Clark, help me back to the bedroom to rest."

Christian scooped her up and carried her straight into the bedroom without hesitation.

I then comforted a visibly disappointed Juni, put on a mask, and stepped out the door. I planned to cash in the lottery ticket today.

With Juni by my side, I went to the counter and redeemed the ticket, which amounted to a total of eight million dollars after taxes.

I donated a hundred thousand dollars to the Children's Welfare Fund, hoping to bring blessings to other children—and to Juni as well.

The rest of the money would be my foundation for leaving Christian and building an independent life for Juni and me.

Adam said the contract would take a few days to finalize. To avoid raising Christian's suspicions, I took Juni home after collecting the lottery winnings.

As soon as we got back, my boss called, saying I had left a work handover incomplete and needed to send her the report immediately.

Hearing this, Peyton walked over with one of Juni's toys in her hand. "Shiloh, let me watch Juni for you while you work."

I shook my head. "No need. Juni can play on her own."

I placed Juni inside the playpen and quickly went to the computer to find the files. It barely took me five minutes to locate and send the document when I heard Juni crying hysterically. I rushed out and found a glaring red mark on her arm.

Juni was my world. Whoever hurt her was messing with my life.

I grabbed Peyton by the hair and slapped her hard across the face without thinking. "How dare you touch my daughter?"

Peyton did not fight back but began crying loudly.

Her cries quickly brought Christian running into the room. He pulled me aside and shielded Peyton with his body.

"Shiloh Jackson! What are you doing?"

I held Juni tightly, trying to soothe her while she sobbed. "What am I doing? Didn't you see how she hurt your daughter? Look at this mark—she pinched her!"

Though Christian did not care much for Juni, she was still his flesh and blood. His brows furrowed as he turned to Peyton. "What's going on?"

Peyton wiped her tears, her voice trembling in an attempt to appear pitiful. "Mr. Clark, I didn't mean to. I was just trying to play with Juni, but she kept kicking my stomach. I didn't know what else to do, so I punished her a little."

I almost laughed out of anger. "Juni is barely over a year old. How could she possibly kick your stomach?"

Peyton's tears flowed even harder. "Mr. Clark, you have to believe me..."

Perhaps out of concern for the child Peyton was carrying, Christian chose to side with her again.

He held her close, comforting her gently. He then shot me a glare. "Shiloh, take the child to the bedroom. Stop embarrassing yourself."

That was the final straw. "Embarrassing myself? Christian, she pinched your child, and you're just going to let it slide?"

Christian grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the bedroom. Furious, I broke free and lunged at Peyton again, grabbing her hair once more.

Caught off guard, Peyton dropped her phone. In that split second, I caught a glimpse of a message notification on her screen.

My eyes widened in shock.