Chapter 3

To ease my suspicions, he answered it directly on the car speaker.

"Austin! Where are you? I told you we needed to leave early today. Why aren't you here yet?"

Hearing Chloe's voice, Austin slammed on the brakes.

The sudden jolt threw me forward, my stomach slamming into the front seat. I screamed in pain.

"Oh, is Aurora in the car too? Aurora, sorry, but I have to borrow Austin first. The partners are rushing us, and I have no choice. I'll make it up to you next time!"

I curled up on the floor of the backseat, throbbing with pain, unable to make a sound.

But Austin merely gave Chloe a brief reply: "Wait for me at the curb. I'll be there in five."

I clutched Austin's sleeve from behind, gasping out, "Can you... please drop me off at the emergency room first?"

Austin answered me with his actions. He pried my fingers off his sleeve, one by one.

Then, he dragged me out of the car and left me on the roadside. "Chloe is pregnant too, and she's not half as dramatic as you are! If you try to use this baby to control me one more time, we are through!"

The car door slammed shut, and he sped away, leaving me in a cloud of dust.

Clutching my stomach, I dragged myself along the asphalt. I had to crawl almost two miles before a kind stranger finally spotted me and drove me to the hospital.

The doctor’s face was grim. "Mrs. Miller, you cannot afford any more emotional distress. The quality of your embryo is already highly unstable. Any more stress will lead to an immediate miscarriage!"

I froze, my body turning ice-cold. Shaking, I dialed Austin's number.

It took five calls before he finally picked up, his voice dripping with annoyance. "What now? I told you I'm busy!"

"Austin... the doctor said there's a problem with the baby. Can you please come..."

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a harsh, impatient shout.

"Aurora! I warned you not to use the baby to guilt-trip me! Especially when you know I'm working!"

The line went dead. Listening to the busy tone, my heart sank into a frozen abyss.

I forced a weak smile at the doctor.

"I understand. Please... do not share my medical records with anyone else."

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the hospital bedsheets, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I had gone through IVF in this exact hospital. Back then, Austin had stayed by my bedside for months, catering to my every whim.

But now that the baby was finally here, he couldn't care less. I was the only one fighting to protect it. Was it even worth it?

While I was lost in thought, Austin suddenly rushed into the room, casually glancing at my IV drip.

"The meeting is done. I dropped Chloe off at her place and ran straight here."

"Is the baby okay?"

I gave a cold, indifferent nod. His sudden, rushed appearance caught the attention of the patients in the neighboring beds.

"Isn't that the famous streamer? Oh, that must be his wife. Look at him, he's dripping with sweat from running around for her. I'm so jealous of their love!"

"Oh, I remember! When his wife was doing IVF, he stayed up for three days and three nights straight without closing his eyes!"

"Wow, some men really can have a successful career and still be a perfect husband!"

In the past, these compliments would have filled me with pride. Now, they felt like hot needles piercing my heart.

"Austin, about the company accounts..."

I was about to confront him about the wire transfer when his phone rang again.

It was a whiny, coquettish voice. Unsurprisingly, it was Chloe.

"Austin... why haven't you bought my medicine yet? My ankle hurts so bad!"

Austin immediately grabbed his jacket to leave. I reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Does she not have a husband of her own?!"

He yanked his arm back with force, ripping the IV needle straight out of my hand. Droplets of blood splattered across the back of my hand.

"Stop acting up! If you're fine, just rest. Right now, Chloe needs me more than you do!"

I watched his retreating back without saying a word. This time, I didn't shed a single tear.

A few minutes after he left, a tall, elegantly dressed man pushed the door open.

He teased, "I thought I'd have to wait out there longer. I didn't expect him to leave so fast."

He tossed a thick folder onto my bed. I stared at his long, pale fingers for a moment before opening it.

It was the DNA comparison report between me and the amniotic fluid from my pregnancy.

The result: I was not the biological mother of the child in my womb.

Though I had prepared myself for the worst, seeing the 0% match rate still made my chest tighten with a suffocating pain.

"I told you already, the child isn't yours. You just didn't want to believe me," Tristan said softly.

I let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "Tristan, who would believe this? A mother carrying a baby in her own womb, but the child has absolutely no genetic relation to her..."

I flipped to the back of the report. There was another match page.

Match rate: 99.99%.

The name on the profile was Chloe.

My pupils dilated in shock.

"It really is her!"