Chapter 4

The surgery was quick. By the time I was settled in the hospital room, my phone was still ringing non-stop.

I simply put it on silent.

My lower abdomen still had a slight curve, but only I knew the child was gone.

I touched my belly, feeling incredibly sad.

When Lucas found me, he was extremely anxious. Seeing me touch my belly, he let out a sigh of relief.

He instinctively reached out to touch my abdomen, like a caring father.

The pain below felt like a knife cutting through me. I avoided his touch: "The baby is gone."

The relieved smile on Lucas's face froze, which seemed particularly ironic to me.

He rushed into the doctor's office, questioning and angry, then returned dejected.

"I'm sorry," he said.

I saw his eyes were slightly red, but I only admired his acting skills.

It was too real, real enough to fool even himself.

After he left, I called my grandfather to tell him about the miscarriage and my plans for divorce.

Grandfather was silent for a while, but finally agreed to my request for a leave of absence from work.

As soon as I hung up, Mrs. Lee entered the hospital room and slapped me across the face: "You bring bad luck! Why don't you just die!"

"It's fortunate Lucas and Chloe are okay, or you'd have to pay with your life!"

My already weak body felt even worse. I gritted my teeth and sat up, glaring at her angrily.

Mrs. Lee was about to strike again, but Lucas rushed in and stopped her raised hand, scolding her: "Mom! What are you doing?"

"The baby is gone. It's all my fault!" he exclaimed.

His protection and acting were like needles to me. Each time it happened, another needle stabbed me.

The pain made it hard to breathe.

Mrs. Lee grabbed him and berated him outside: "She was your brother's woman. I've tolerated her for too long!"

"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with her?"

Lucas, reminded of his brother, immediately filled with hatred: "Of course not. Once I get the Gray family's assets, I'll divorce her!"

After acting for so long, he seemed a bit reluctant to leave now.

No, that's not it.

Lucas said he was working overtime at the company for several days in a row, but he was actually taking care of Chloe.

She was completely unharmed, yet she clung to Lucas, asking him to push her wheelchair around the hospital garden.

She would look towards the window of my hospital room, and sometimes I could catch her challenging gaze.

Chloe had provoked me several times without getting a response. Just before I was to be discharged, she couldn't resist coming to find me: "Some people can even tolerate their husband's infidelity."

Who could tolerate that?

I sneered, not responding.

Should I still try to fight for him?

The pain below and my body full of wounds were the answer.

"Stella Gray, you think you're so great just because you have some money? Just you wait!" Chloe huffed as she left.

I received a notification of a credit card charge - a $200,000 jewelry purchase. Only then did I remember I was still supporting my mother-in-law.

I informed the bank and had the card reported lost and replaced.

Coincidentally, the lawyer told me that the analysis of our respective assets was complete, and the divorce agreement could be given to me within three days.

Three days. Alright, just three more days.

I was just feeling happy about leaving soon when Mrs. Lee's text message made me feel like I'd fallen into an ice pit.

"We're hosting Chloe's birthday party at home tomorrow. As her sister-in-law, you can't be absent."

"It's not too much to ask you to contribute some money as her sister-in-law, right? $500,000. Remember to transfer it to me."

"Be there at 5 PM sharp. You wouldn't want tomorrow's guests to know you brought bad luck to your husband and then married his brother, would you?"

Mrs. Lee had been holding this over me for three years.

Marcus's death was already a wound in my heart. The deceased are gone, and I didn't want to discuss it further with his family.