Chapter 3

Tara's POV

When I woke, my fever had broken.

Ethan sat by the hospital bed. Seeing me open my eyes, he reached out to feel my forehead, but I turned my head away.

His hand hung awkwardly in midair before slowly withdrawing.

"Tara," he sighed, somewhat wearily.

"Selene has less than three months before giving birth. For my sake, for this family's sake, just endure a bit longer. Stop fighting with her, okay?"

Seeing my silence, he coaxed gently, "Once the baby's born, everything will return to normal. I promise."

Return to normal?

I laughed coldly inside.

I knew he was lying to me.

Once the baby was born, he would just keep Selene abroad, enjoying happiness.

I closed my eyes, my voice hoarse. "I'm tired. Get out."

Just then, a man in a black suit with a white flower pinned to his chest walked in and bowed to me.

"Ms. Tara, we've handled everything according to your requirements. Have you confirmed the time for the funeral?"

The air instantly froze.

Ethan turned his head, his sharp gaze shooting straight at me. "Funeral? What funeral? Who died?"

My heart raced wildly.

This was a funeral home employee. He was handling my mother's arrangements.

I couldn't reveal my hand now.

If Ethan realized he no longer had anything to hold over me, he'd surely be on guard.

I casually lied, "A family member."

Ethan wanted to press further, but urgent footsteps sounded outside the room. The butler appeared breathlessly at the door, his face full of anxiety.

"You must come quickly! The lady woke up extremely agitated, crying and calling for your brother's name. No one can calm her down, and the doctor says it's very bad for the fetus!"

Ethan stood up almost instantly, completely forgetting about me and the suspicious farewell ceremony, striding out after the butler.

For most of the rest of the day, I lay alone in the hospital bed, listening to the gossip in the corridor.

"That Mrs. Lancaster in the VIP room is so blessed. Mr. Lancaster has been watching over her the whole time."

"I heard Mr. Lancaster even contacted a top nutritionist to create a custom pregnancy plan for her. He treasures her like she'll melt in his palm."

"Different people, different fates. Look at that room. That woman passed out from fever, and not a single person came to check on her..."

These voices were like fine needles, piercing me full of holes.

I remembered five years ago when I was alone in Europe, had an appendicitis attack, and passed out from pain.

When I woke, Ethan's eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, holding my hand and calling my name.

Later I learned that Ethan had flown over overnight, not sleeping for more than ten hours.

Back then I thought that I want to be with this man for a lifetime, never to part.

But lifetime was still so far away. How had everything changed?

I stared at the stark white ceiling as the last bit of warmth in my chest dissipated...

As night fell, a nurse walked in. "Ms. Tara, there's one more test. Please come with me."

I didn't think much of it and followed the nurse through the corridor, turned several corners, and stopped outside a hospital room.

"Wait a moment. I need to get something."

The nurse said this, then turned and quickly walked away.

I was left there alone.

The door was ajar, and from inside came the faint sound of a woman acting coquettish and a man's low, suppressed breathing.