2
The next day, Nina’s condition finally started
to improve.
I held my tiny, soft Nina in my arms.
From the next room, separated by a curtain, I
could hear happy laughter — a family of three,
their joy a stark contrast to my desolation.
That curtain felt like a barrier between two
completely different worlds.
After packing our things, I carried Nina out of
the room, only to bump right into Landon
Forrester, hand–in–hand with Vivian Calloway,
heading into a consultation room.
Some strange impulse made me stop by that
door.
“Doctor, is my girlfriend okay? She woke up
this morning complaining of stomach pain,
and there was some bleeding. What do the
tests say?” Landon’s anxious voice drifted
out.
I was a little surprised.
He’d always been so calm and collected
Even when my water broke at home and I was
about to give birth, he hadn’t shown a shred
of panic.
Now, he was a mess just because Vivian had
a stomach ache.
The doctor spoke calmly, “Her HCG levels
indicate early pregnancy. Congratulations, Mr.
Forrester, Ms. Calloway is pregnant. As for
the pain and spotting, it might have been
caused by some… exertion. The first
trimester is a delicate time; you’ll need to be
careful with intimacy.”
Vivian was pregnant?
The news exploded in my head.
Landon’s ecstatic voice immediately followed.
Vivian blushed, then turned her head, her eyes
meeting my stunned expression.
I watched a slow, triumphant smirk spread
across her face, her eyes glinting with
undisguised arrogance.
く
Back at the Forrester mansion.
After putting Nina to sleep, I looked at myself
in the mirror.
My once–fine features were now pale and
bloodless, the dark circles under my eyes
alarmingly black.
Exhausted, I went downstairs, my stomach
aching with hunger.
I wanted to ask the housekeeper, Mrs.
Peterson, to make me some porridge, but she
was nowhere to be found.
I called her phone; it rang several times
before she answered.
The background was noisy, full of chatter. I
had to shout her name a few times before I
heard her voice.
“Don’t you have hands or feet? The kitchen’s
full of food! So you had a baby, big deal! Why
are you so damn dramatic? Do you still think
you’re Mrs. Forrester? You shameless
<
homewrecker! I bet that baby isn’t even his!”
The tirade of abuse grew uglier.
Furious, I hung up.
Something felt terribly wrong. I went online,
and there it was…
The top celebrity gossip site had just broken
a story: a certain starlet, who mysteriously
vanished from showbiz three years ago, had
forced a loving couple apart to marry into a
wealthy family, leaving the heartbroken
girlfriend to flee overseas.
The paparazzi hadn’t named names, but all
the comments, full of hints and speculation,
were pointing straight at me.
And the netizens, without a care for truth or
fairness, were flinging the vilest insults my
way.
At the same time, the Forrester Corporation’s
PR department released a statement.
The cold, heartless words were like a knife,
L
each one drawing blood as I read.
The hand holding my phone trembled.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
A harsh voice suddenly came from behind me.
Landon stood there, Vivian clinging to his
arm.
When he saw what was on my phone screen,
an unnatural look flickered in his eyes.
“Stella Miller, you’ve seen the news, haven’t
you? Because of your personal drama, you’ve
dragged the Forrester name through the mud.
Tell me, do you admit you were wrong?”
“Wrong?” I couldn’t help but sneer.
Landon paused, then said coldly, “You really
think you’ve done nothing wrong? If my
mother hadn’t forced me, do you think I would
have ever married someone like you?”
It was true. Compared to Landon’s wealthy,
established family, I, an orphan, had no right
to stand by his side.
Seeing my bitter expression, Landon
hesitated, about to say more, but Vivian
pulled at his arm.
Vivian smiled and walked over, taking my
wrist.
“Landon, really. Stella just had a baby, she’s
emotional, a bit impulsive. Give her a break.”
Landon snorted dismissively.
“What’s there to break? Vivian, you’re just too
kind. She’s not fragile like you. Remember
when she was five months pregnant and had
that miscarriage after falling off a horse? She
was up and running around the next day like
nothing happened.”
