Chapter 2

Carter dragged me over to a quiet corner. His grip on my wrist hurt so bad that I had to yank myself free with all my strength.

He shot an anxious glance back at the two waiting in the distance, his voice laced with mild blame.

"I kept it from you because I didn't want you spiraling. Back in college, I made an anonymous sperm donation... years later, Vivian tracked me down."

So, this woman's name was Vivian. She owned a little boutique coffee shop.

And that little boy in her arms, glaring at me like I was an intruder, was their biological child.

Noticing me staring at the boy, Vivian deliberately nudged him forward.

"Mason, say hello to Auntie."

The moment that name hit my ears, the blood in my veins turned to ice.

"Ma... Mason? Carter, how dare you?!"

That was the exact name Carter and I had chosen for the baby in my belly years ago. Carter had smiled so tenderly, writing it out on a notepad, telling me, "Mason—our little rock, born out of our vows to weather every storm together."

Yet my three angel babies never got the chance to see this world, let alone carry that name.

Did he really have to carve out my heart like this?

Carter clearly remembered that day too. He cast his eyes downward, unable to look me in the face.

"Nora, I didn't think too deeply about it."

"Vivian only reached out because Mason got sick. She just needed my help getting specialist treatment."

A bone-chilling cold spread upward through my limbs.

Doing the math, all of this had been secretly orchestrated behind my back while I was still lying in the ICU after my hysterectomy.

"No wonder you had to go on that 'business trip' for a whole month every single year."

He sighed heavily. "I only spend one month a year with them. Are you really going to make a scene over that?"

I reached out to grab his phone, but he jerked back, avoiding my reach in alarm.

Just moments ago, when he looked down to check the time,

I clearly saw his lock screen wallpaper. Our wedding portrait had been replaced by a family photo of the three of them.

The blood rushed straight to my head.

Without a second thought, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

"Daddy!"

Little Mason screamed and charged forward, swinging his tiny fists to hit me and defend his father.

Before he even touched me, he tripped and hit the floor hard.

Blood began trickling from the corner of Mason's mouth, flowing faster and faster.

Vivian let out an exaggerated, blood-curdling shriek.

The very next second, a violent shove sent me sprawling onto the ground.

Carter scooped Mason tightly into his arms and barked at me furiously,

"Nora! How can you be so vicious?! He's just a child!"

"He has leukemia! Any open wound could kill him!"

Without waiting another second, Carter and Vivian hailed a cab in a frenzy, carrying the boy away.

I was left abandoned on the cold airport floor, enduring the self-righteous whispers and pointing fingers of the gathering crowd.