Chapter 3

When I looked at Adrian again, he deliberately avoided my gaze, his lips moving slightly: "Honey, you know my mother has always wanted a grandchild, but all these years... you've never gotten pregnant."

Just then, Vivian spoke up timidly: "Victoria, don't blame Adrian. It's all my fault. Last time I mixed up my birth control pills with my vitamins and accidentally got pregnant." "If you're disgusted, I'll go to the hospital right now and terminate the pregnancy..."

Her eyes reddened as she made to stand up.

My mother-in-law immediately flew into a rage.

She stormed up and slapped me hard across the face: "Victoria Harris, are you trying to make my son childless? Let me tell you, if anything happens to Vivian's baby, I'll never forgive you!"

From that slap, my ears rang.

I covered my face, unable to react for a long time.

Turning my head, I saw three place settings on the dining table.

Seeing this, my mother-in-law spoke matter-of-factly: "I didn't know you were coming back. I only prepared lunch for three!"

I understood her implication.

I bit my lip and turned to leave.

My mother-in-law slammed the door hard behind me.

But I could still hear her deliberately raised voice from inside: "Son, you're a billionaire CEO. You should have divorced that barren woman long ago." "She's the one beneath you now, wasting all these years of your life!"

With my back against the door, I suddenly laughed.

Years ago, to support Adrian's startup, I worked at the hospital during the day and washed dishes at the night market for extra money.

Every cent I earned went to him.

How ridiculous.

Adrian's mother had always put me down, and he'd never defended me once.

The stinging pain on my face hadn't faded, but my heart had gone numb.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled it out to see a message from a colleague: "Victoria, I got someone at the CDC to pull Vivian's medical records."

My brow furrowed as I quickly opened it.

Though I'd expected it, seeing the long string of data still left me stunned.

Vivian's late-stage AIDS combined with third-stage syphilis was what I'd basically confirmed already.

But I never imagined that besides those two, she carried over a dozen other infectious diseases.

Though these diseases were primarily transmitted through blood and sex, close contact in daily life, sharing towels and utensils, or even contact with broken skin could all pose infection risks.

Fortunately, this wasn't something I needed to worry about.

After all, the ones who'd suffer were someone else entirely.

I simply requested an extended leave from the hospital, collected myself, booked a flight, and headed to the seaside town I'd always wanted to visit.

On the twentieth day away from home, Adrian called: "Victoria, where have you been all this time? There's a limit to throwing a tantrum, you know."

When I didn't respond, his tone softened further: "Don't take what my mother said to heart."

He paused, seemingly weighing his words: "Honey, Vivian and I have already discussed it. After she gives birth, I'll give her a sum of money and send her abroad. She'll never come back." "You'll be the child's mother from then on, and we'll stay together."

I verbally agreed with Adrian's words, pretending to be moved to tears.

After hanging up, I immediately pulled up the home surveillance feed.

In the video, Adrian was holding Vivian, his voice full of smugness: "Don't worry, I've got Victoria handled." "Once you have the baby, I'll divorce her. A woman who can't have children has no right to compete with you."

My mother-in-law beamed beside them, handing Vivian a bowl of tonic soup: "My son is so clever! Keep that jinx stable for now so she doesn't make a scene and disturb your pregnancy." "Vivian, eat more. You must give birth to a baby boy!"

Watching this "heartwarming" scene, I laughed until my sides hurt.

With Vivian's wrecked body, they expected a healthy baby?

It would be a miracle if she even survived to delivery.

These two lived and ate with her without any precautions whatsoever.

They'd probably already been thoroughly marinated in viruses.