Chapter 4

The water was so cold I quickly lost strength, sinking slowly toward the ocean floor.

Just as I thought I'd lost the bet, someone gasped and dove into the water.

I forced my eyes open.

The last thing I saw was Liam's panicked face—a look I'd never seen on him before.

When I came to in the hospital, my whole body felt icy cold to the bone.

I heard the doctor scolding Liam beside me.

"Do you realize she's pregnant? And you took her to a place like that! What kind of boyfriend are you?"

"Thankfully the baby's okay, but she's severely malnourished. If you want this child, you need to take better care of her!"

Liam didn't argue.

He turned to look at my unconscious form, his expression complicated:

"Chloe, do you really love me that much? You'd risk your life to save mine?"

And just then, I opened my eyes.

Our eyes met for two seconds before I quickly looked away.

My voice was weak but steady:

"Doctor, I want to terminate the pregnancy."

Liam's eyes sharpened: "What did you say?"

I turned my head away: "This baby shouldn't be born. I'm getting rid of it."

"Your eyes have been fine for a long time. Why did you lie to me? Since you don't need me anymore, I'll leave on my own."

"If you don't want me, just say so. I'm not the type to beg."

Liam opened his mouth: "That's not what I meant."

He stared at my pale face like he was making up his mind.

"Chloe, have the baby. We'll get married."

"I'm not marrying you."

I sniffled and looked away, my voice dropping with disappointment.

"Besides, we can't even afford to raise a baby right now. Why bring a child into this to suffer with us?"

After a few seconds of silence, my phone pinged with a text.

Bank account deposit: $5,000,000.

Liam walked over and put his hand on my stomach.

"I promise he won't want for anything."

I pretended to be shocked as he told me everything.

No one saw my hand under the blanket, shaking slightly with excitement.

I won the bet!

I moved into Liam's mansion.

Liam was even richer than I imagined—even the decorations were worth more than I'd make in a lifetime.

With the staff taking such good care of me, I had a healthy baby boy a few months later.

Liam's parents were hesitant about me at first, but their attitude changed completely when they saw their chubby little grandson smiling at them.

They gave me $100 million just for pocket money.

Our son had multiple properties in his name from birth, all managed by me.

I checked my bank balance and smiled—this was better than I could have dreamed.

When our son was seven months old, I went back to my old house to sort through some things.

As I walked out, someone suddenly grabbed my hair and slapped me hard across the face.

"Where the hell have you been! Do you know how long we've been looking for you?!"

It was my mother. Her hair was a mess, her face dirty, and she was glaring at me like I was her enemy.

Behind her were Maya and my father, both looking just as disheveled and pathetic.

Maya checked me out from head to toe, shock and jealousy written all over her face.

She suddenly stepped forward, linking her arm through mine with a fake smile:

"Chloe, did you land yourself a rich boyfriend?"

"You got lucky, unlike me—always stuck with poor, blind losers. Good thing I dumped that one ages ago."

"Now that we've survived this whole mess, why don't you introduce us to your new man?"

She ran her hand over my expensive designer bag, practically drooling.

I knew exactly what she was up to—she wanted to steal from me again.

That's how it had always been, ever since we were kids.

My cheek burned from the slap. I looked past them.

Liam had just parked the car and was walking over—he'd heard every word.

I smirked:

"No need. He's right here."