Chapter 2

Just then, Liam, having heard the commotion, burst in.

He saw the scene and roared, "Aria Sterling!"

The next second, my vision went black, and I completely passed out.

When I woke up again, Liam was gone. I tried to sit up, but my whole body ached as if it were falling apart.

I decided then and there that I had to leave this place, go somewhere Liam Hayes could never find me.

I needed money, and I needed to leave fast.

Dragging my body, which felt like it was about to fall apart, I found a job at an upscale club.

Carrying a tray of drinks, I pushed open the VIP room door and saw Chloe with her friends.

I turned to leave, but Chloe called out to me.

"Isn't this the former heiress of Sterling Enterprises?" she sneered. "Look how low she's fallen, reduced to selling drinks and faking smiles here."

The others instantly surrounded me.

Chloe continued, "You just won't go away, will you? Are you still trying to cling to Liam?"

"Chloe, I'm just here to earn some money. Once I have enough, I'll leave."

She pointed to the drinks on the table. "Alright then, drink all of these, and I'll give you fifty thousand dollars."

Fifty thousand dollars. Enough to leave this place.

I grabbed a bottle and chugged it down.

One bottle after another. Finally, I couldn't drink anymore, and I threw up everything.

The bottle in my hand dropped to the floor, shattering into pieces.

Chloe picked up a bottle and smashed it against her own head, then shrieked, "Liam! Aria's gone mad with drink! She said I stole you from her and tried to smash this bottle over my head!"

I struggled to lift my head and saw Liam standing in the doorway. He must have arrived without me noticing.

He kicked me to the ground, then brought the bottle straight down on my head. *CRACK!* My head exploded with searing pain, blood gushed out instantly, blurring my vision.

Chloe's friends screamed and ran away.

Liam looked down at me. "Aria Sterling, you dare threaten Chloe? You're asking to die!"

Chloe hid in Liam's arms, crying. "Aria, I truly love Liam. I can't live without him. Please, please don't fight me for him."

Liam kicked me again, hard, then comforted Chloe in his arms. "Don't be scared, I'm here. She won't hurt you again. I'll take you to the hospital first."

After Liam and Chloe left, a kind stranger helped me get to the hospital.

Eventually, with no money for treatment, I snuck back home.

Groggy and disoriented, I woke up, unsure how long I'd slept, only to discover I couldn't see out of my right eye.

I wasn't scared. Instead, I smiled. It was better this way. At least I wouldn't have to see Liam anymore.

I gave up on the idea of earning money; all I wanted was to leave this place quickly.

I pleaded with my landlady to give me back the remaining rent.

The landlady grumbled and cursed, saying she'd never seen someone so young be so petty, asking for a few hundred bucks back.

I knelt and begged for a long time before she finally agreed to refund the money.

With the cash, I bought a ticket for the next available train. Anywhere to get away from here would be fine.

At the station, I sat quietly in the waiting area.

The announcement for boarding came on, and I happily stood up, only to find my path blocked.

Without a word, they grabbed me and started dragging me outside.

I struggled in fear. "Who are you? Let go of me!"

They acted as if they didn't hear me.

I bit down hard on one of their wrists.

The man cried out in pain and let go, then kicked me hard in the stomach.

I was thrown to the ground, the pain in my stomach making me curl into a fetal position.

I felt a gush of warmth between my legs, followed by a pool of blood spreading on the ground.

One of them panicked. "How are we going to explain this to CEO Hayes?"

The other said, "CEO Hayes said to get her there by any means necessary.

In a daze, they dragged me into a car.

After a long time, I was brought to a hospital.

They took me into a blood drawing room.

The nurse saw my condition and gasped in horror. "She's bleeding! Get her to the emergency room immediately!"

"No!" one of them barked. "CEO Hayes said Miss Chloe needs a transfusion, so draw from her. If there's any delay, none of us can afford the consequences."

The nurse had no choice but to take out the equipment and start drawing my blood.

The moment the needle pierced my skin, I couldn't feel the pain anymore.

I watched my blood drain away, little by little.

Liam, if this is what you want, then I have nothing left to say. This is probably all I have left to give.

My vision gradually blurred, and in the last instant before consciousness faded, I saw Liam rush in.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed, Liam sitting beside me.

Seeing that I was awake, he spoke coldly. "You're pregnant."

I froze. Could it have been that one time, when he forcibly took me despite my desperate cries, that I conceived his child...?

I hadn't even fully processed that news before his next words pushed me straight into hell.

"You dared to sleep with another man? Typical Aria Sterling! But the baby's gone now. The doctor said your uterus was severely damaged, and you'll never be able to have children again."

The baby was gone... I could never have children again...

I sat up, pounding on him with my fists like a madwoman.

"Liam, what do you want from me? What have I ever done to you that you treat me like this?!"

Liam raised his hand and slapped me. "Because of what you did to Chloe back then, dying a thousand times wouldn't be enough to atone. But why would I let you off that easy? Making your life a living hell—now *that's* interesting."

Seeing my pain, he actually smiled. "You'll never be as good as Chloe. Only your suffering can atone for the mistakes you made back then."

With that, he turned and left without looking back.

I was tired. Living was truly exhausting. I just wanted to sleep, peacefully, forever.

After leaving the hospital, I arranged to meet Liam on the bridge where we first met.

When he saw me, his face was grim. His first words were a warning. "Aria Sterling, don't even think about getting any ideas."

I smiled, just like the day we first met.

"Liam, I once loved you very much, so much that I lost myself. Later, I realized your heart only belonged to Chloe, so I broke up with you. I didn't hire those people to hurt Chloe. You didn't believe me, and there was nothing I could do. You sent me to prison, indirectly caused my father's death, and stripped me of my right to be a mother. I can't take revenge for any of that. Now, all I want to tell you is that falling in love with you was the biggest regret of my life. If there's another life, I pray I never meet you again."

With those words, I turned and jumped into the sea.

"No!" Liam's voice came from behind me, laced with a rare panic.

Tears streamed from my eyes. Finally, I could get some real sleep.

Liam fumbled for his phone to call for help, but his hands shook so violently he kept entering the wrong password.

In a fit of rage, he threw his phone, screaming my name over and over again...

Liam suddenly fell ill and was hospitalized for a long time.

Chloe stayed by his side every day, never leaving.

Liam looked at Chloe, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions. He remembered the things I had said. Could it be that those thugs really had nothing to do with me?

But Chloe's every word implied I was involved.

Chloe pouted. "Liam, you haven't really talked to me for days. Didn't you hate Aria the most? Didn't you want her to die? Now that she's really gone, you should be happy."

Liam frowned. "Who said I wanted her dead? I just wanted to punish her."

Chloe asked, her voice tearful, "Are you... are you falling for her?"

Liam said impatiently, "How could I?"

Even so, Liam secretly sent out search parties, again and again, to the area where I had jumped, but all came back empty-handed.

Chloe sensed Liam was growing increasingly distant.

One day, she suddenly fainted. Liam rushed her to the hospital.

The doctor told him Chloe was pregnant.

When Chloe woke up, she clutched Liam's hand, overjoyed. "Liam, this is wonderful! We're having a baby! I'm going to be a mother!"

Liam froze, then murmured to himself, "She was going to be a mother too... but because of me, she can never be a mother again."

Chloe gently shook his hand. "Liam, what's wrong? You're going to be a father. Aren't you happy?"

Liam smiled, but as he smiled, tears streamed down his face.

"I'm going to be a father..."