Chapter 6: Miscarriage

Regina slowly opened her heavy eyelids. She looked at the white ceiling and heard the buzzing of electronics near her ears. Regina felt something pressing against her face and wanted to lift her hand to remove it. One of her arms suddenly felt sore and there was no strength left. Regina decided to raise the other arm. Then she saw that her hand was entwined with strings. The door was opened when she was not understanding what was going on. 

"Doctor, the patient is awake," said a girl's voice, accompanied by pounding footsteps. 

Humans in white immediately surrounded Regina's bed. At this point, she suddenly realized that she was in the hospital. She fell from the top of the stairs. One of her arms and legs was broken. The head was also injured. Regina's gaze suddenly turned wild and stared at the doctor who was checking on her condition. 

The doctor noticed Regina's gaze, so he sighed and lowered his face in regret, "Sorry, we did our best to keep your baby..." 

Regina was shocked. She felt pain under her body. The wet feeling of falling down the stairs was still vivid in her mind. Regina suddenly had a frenzied convulsion that caused the doctors and nurses to hold her tight and take her again to the emergency room. 

Regina woke up again the next morning. Her strength had not yet fully recovered. The nurse came in and checked on Regina's condition. To the nurse's words, Regina had been at the hospital for four days since she fell down the stairs. The nurse took notes and cheered her on then left the room. Regina followed the nurse's figure and gradually depicted the situation of that day. She only remembers that after discovering Stella and Audrey were cheating, she argued and got into a fight with Audrey then slipped and fell down the stairs. However, Regina could feel a push on her back. Perhaps for a moment, Regina still didn't believe that Stella could be so heartless. 

While closing her eyes and reminiscing, Regina heard the door of the hospital room open again. She slowly opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the sound. Regina's pupils suddenly contracted. Her whole body tensed and her breathing began to quicken. The one who just walked in was Stella with a flower basket in her hand. 

Stella took off her sunglasses and smiled brightly as she approached Regina's bed, "Sister, I'm here to visit you." 

Stella ignored Regina's agitated mood and placed the flower basket on the table next to Regina's bed. Stella sat down on the chair and lovingly adjusted Regina's blanket. 

“Looks like you're still alive and well,” Stella said in a gentle voice but the words were like a challenge to Regina. 

Regina was still using oxygen to support her breathing after her severe injuries, so she didn't have the strength to respond to Stella. Regina could only look at Stella with hateful eyes. 

"Don't look at me like that," Stella said, but with a sudden change of heart, "because what I'm going to show you might make you angrier than that." 

Stella took the TV remote and turned it on. Above the screen, Audrey was sitting in front of all the reporters of famous articles. He was holding a press conference and was in the presence of Regina's father and stepmother. Through the screen, Regina could clearly see Anthony’s dark circles under his eyes and his wretchedness including his stubble of unshaven beard. If the time were to go back to about a month ago, Regina would surely be heartbroken to see this scene and wholeheartedly take care of Audrey. However, now there was only disgust in her heart. 

“What do you do with your press conference today, Mr. Collins,” a reporter quickly asked about the purpose of the press conference. 

“…” Audrey was silent for a moment, then said in a hoarse voice, “Today, I officially announce my wife's situation.” 

The sentence just ended, causing the lights of the camera to blink continuously. Everyone wants to catch the latest news. 

“Everybody knows Regina slipped and fell down the stairs. Her head hit the ground hard, so she was seriously injured. Right now, her situation is extremely critical. The doctor said she might not wake up for the rest of her life,” Audrey said, shaking so much that everyone there felt pity. 

However, this information is not what reporters want. They need something more shocking because the secrets behind the glamorous layers of celebrities are always what attracts others. 

“We received word that Mrs. Collins has just become pregnant. Is the pregnancy still there?” a reporter spoke up after receiving news from people inside the hospital. 

“Unfortunately we couldn't keep the baby,” Audrey choked, then said, “Sorry, I need to get my emotions under control for a moment.”

Those watching the live news were moved by the image of this man who had just lost a child. A large number of cheering and comforting comments quickly appeared. However, some people did not want to give others a peaceful life. A few comments quickly surfaced.

“I heard that before marrying sir Audrey, Miss Regina sold herself.”

This comment was quickly buried by other mournful comments, but many people saw it.

“The person above is not wrong. Regina did indeed dedicate herself to someone from prestigious family background to save the company.”

The sympathetic comments gradually disappeared. In turn, those people were eager to find the truth of this horrifying story.

"I even saw Regina getting intimate with an elderly man in the mall, even though Feline's family said Regina was studying abroad during that time."

Other sources of information began to emerge. Viewers did not know what was right and what was wrong. They just wanted to satisfy their curious nature instead of thinking this was someone else's private matter.

“You all know Regina's younger sister, the famous singer and model Stella Feline. I've seen Mr. Audrey and Miss Stella holding hands and walking together."

“I am a fan of Stella. They look so beautiful together. When I saw the news that Audrey was married to Regina, I was shocked.”

"So, did the older sister steal her sister's lover?"

The comments kept jumping up and down about the love triangle. Some people who had taken pictures of Stella happy to be fed by Audrey have posted them online. At this time, the direction of public opinion was gradually pushed back to the story of Regina stealing Audrey from Stella. They gossiped and even cursed Regina for having no shame.

“I heard that Audrey and Regina met and then got married. Time is very short. I wonder with Regina's past like that if her pregnancy…”

Public opinion once again moved from one incident to another. This statement raised doubts about Regina's pregnancy. They no longer believed in Regina's dignity even though a minute earlier they were praising her jewelry designs and mourning a woman's tragic fate.

“Someone said that Mrs. Collins is not pregnant with your child. What are your thoughts on this matter? Is this the truth?” Reporters could not ignore this breaking news. They quickly pushed the controversial issue to insiders.

“This…” Audrey hesitated for a few seconds, then said with a steady gaze, “Whatever he or she is, he or she will always be my child and Regina's. I have already said all that needs to be said. Thank you to everyone who attended.”

Audrey quickly got up and left. The bodyguards stood in a horizontal line to separate Audrey and the reporters. After seeing that he could not get any more information, the reporter smiled happily and quickly reported back to the office. This much news was enough to cause an explosion in public opinion.

Online viewers were equally astounded. Audrey's words built their confidence even more.

On the other side, Regina stared blankly at the screen. Tears streamed down her face. Originally, Regina had known Audrey since she was very young. The two were destined to get married when they grew up. The time spent together was not enough for Regina to understand the character and the inherent ambition of Audrey. She thought he would always be a gentle and warm boy, but she was wrong. 

The screen went off so that Regina could see her pathetic form through it. Being immersed in the pain of being betrayed made her forget that the person who caused all the sins in the first place had intended to admire this expression on her face.

“After a long time, I finally saw your not-so-noble appearance. You better stop holding out hope with Audrey. He is mine from now on. He agreed to marry you just to take the shares in your hands for our future,” Stella whispered into Regina's ear. Every whisper wanted to drag Regina down to the abyss of pain. However, Stella has no intention of stopping.

“You think I want to play the role of a small and kind sister? It's all because you're so stupid and so trusting of people like your poor mother," Stella said gleefully, "You can stay here with peace of mind. We took care of everything outside.”

Regina lost her composure when Stella mentioned her mother. Regina rose to her feet and grabbed Stella's hair and pushed her down on the bed. Regina's sudden action caused Stella to scream.

The screams caught the attention of those outside and ran inside. They immediately separated Regina and Stella. No one knew how violent Regina's hand was, however, Regina's hand held a lot of hair that had been pulled from Stella's head and Stella's neck had several very deep scratches.

"I'm begging you to calm down," Stella hid in the crowd, then said in a pitiful voice, "Doctor, please save my sister. Maybe after the trauma, she went crazy.”

Everyone there looked at Regina in horror. Her eyes were red with brutality and contained only Stella. Regina wanted to get up from the crowd so she could tear Stella to pieces. A few seconds later, the doctor rushed over and injected Regina with a sedative that made her pass out. Tears were still falling from the corners of her eyes.

"Damn it!"

A curse and the sound of things being smashed on the floor resounded in the dark room. Anthony clenched his fists in front of the screen during today's press conference. He absolutely would not let these people rest in peace.