Chapter 4

My words were the final straw.

Lily broke down completely. She covered her face and ran out crying.

“Emma, if you have a problem, take it up with me!”

“Lily and I are only food buddies. We just eat together sometimes. At most, we feed each other a few bites. We’ve never done anything inappropriate in private.”

“Can’t you just pretend not to see some things? How many couples don’t live like that? Why are you being so picky?”

“You had to make such an unreasonable scene. You had to bring it to the office and humiliate both me and Lily.”

“Do you feel better now?”

Ethan finished speaking and chased after Lily.

Before leaving, he even shot me a vicious glare.

There was undisguised disgust and hatred in his eyes.

I froze under that look.

Then I sank into the chair and sat there for a long time without moving.

Weren’t we lovers?

Why was he looking at me with such hatred?

Why wouldn’t he even give me an explanation?

Why was he protecting another woman with everything he had?

Why had he emotionally cheated on me?

I looked at the curious eyes surrounding me and felt like a clown on display.

I knew I wouldn’t get anything out of coming here.

But I had still come.

I wanted to see what kind of magic this “food buddy” possessed that had made Ethan cheat.

But all I saw was the two of them exchanging tender looks and refusing to let go of each other.

I watched Ethan protect her with such care.

Then he looked at me with hatred.

In that moment, our seven years together rotted away completely.

I finally gave up.

“Honestly, what’s the point?”

My voice melted into the air, barely audible.

I lowered my head and roughly wiped the tears from my face.

My gaze fell to my slightly rounded stomach.

My heart twisting with pain, I whispered, “I’m sorry, baby. Mommy doesn’t want you to be born into a family like this.”

“Good baby, please don’t blame Mommy.”

I slowly stood up, picked up the thermal container, and walked away.

Once you realize you’ve entered a dead-end alley, you have to turn around before it’s too late.

I didn’t hesitate again.

That afternoon, I went to the hospital and terminated the pregnancy.

The pain of my body sinking downward tore through me. I forced myself to endure the discomfort and moved out of the apartment we had prepared for our wedding that same night.

Ethan didn’t come home.

There was no explanation.

No apology.

When my parents came to pick me up, the physical and emotional pain was so overwhelming that I felt like I wanted to die.

But I was still alive.

My baby had saved my life.

I touched my flat stomach and sobbed in my mother’s arms.

Ethan had followed Lily for a few steps before slowing down hesitantly.

As his anger gradually cooled, he thought it over and turned back toward me.

I was already gone, the thermal container in my hand.

Ethan comforted himself with a sense of certainty.

“Seven years together. We have a child, and we’re getting married at the end of the month.”

“Emma won’t really break up with me over something like this.”

He let out a long sigh.

In the end, he still went after Lily.

But he couldn’t find her.

She didn’t answer her phone, and that afternoon she took the day off work.

Ethan was a mess. He didn’t want to go home. He had no idea how to clean up the disaster he had created, so he checked into a hotel and tried to calm down.

The truth was, Ethan had been far too confident.

After seven years together, he believed the weight of all those years—and all the time and emotion we had invested—meant I would forgive him no matter what.

The next morning, Ethan stared at our message thread and sighed.

He decided to make peace.

He ordered flowers, chose a gift, and spent ages typing and deleting an apology.

【Emma, I’m sorry. I…】

“Manager Carter, you have a same-day delivery. It’s urgent.”

“The sender’s name is Emma Brooks.”

The receptionist suddenly appeared and interrupted him.

Ethan froze when he heard my name.

Full of confusion, he accepted the package and tore open the envelope.

Clink.

The wedding ring struck the desk with a crisp sound.

Before Ethan could understand what was happening, a thin sheet of paper drifted out.

Only one line of bold black print caught his eye:

【Pregnancy Termination Report】