Chapter 4

Her tone was vicious to the extreme, as she said through gritted teeth,

"Lily, do you know why your daddy doesn't want you? Because you're a burden! Your daddy said once my baby is born, he'll send you to an orphanage! You know what an orphanage is? It's where kids with no parents go. That's where you'll live from now on!"

Fortunately, Lily didn't understand.

But she still sensed the malice and began hitting herself on the head with her fists, screaming in pain.

"Don't touch my daughter!!"

I rushed forward and blocked Lily.

Then I grabbed Vivian by the throat and pressed her face against the wall.

"What are you doing! Let go of me!"

The woman screamed desperately, her manicured nails scratching several bloody marks on my face.

But I felt no pain at all.

I grabbed her hair tightly and shoved her away hard.

"Get out!"

Vivian, wearing four-inch heels, couldn't steady herself, and tumbled down the stairs, her face smashed and bloody.

"Ahh--help!"

She clutched her stomach, curled up in agony.

The next second, Ethan rushed out from the stairwell.

When he saw Vivian lying on the ground, his eyes instantly became violent and fierce.

"What did you do?!"

The man looked up and questioned me harshly.

I clenched my fists, not having time to speak.

He pointed at me and cursed.

"Don't you know she's pregnant?! If anything happens to Vivian, I will never forgive you!"

After speaking, Ethan picked up the woman and left, his departing back resolute.

He didn't glance once at our daughter, still trembling in the corner.

Nor did he ask why my face was covered in bloody scratches.

That night, Ethan didn't come home.

The next morning, he returned.

The man's hair was disheveled, his eye sockets sunken, his face pale, as if he'd kept vigil at the hospital all night.

He slowly walked up to me and suddenly dropped to his knees.

"Clara, I'm sorry. I was too impulsive yesterday. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Ethan covered his face in repentance, his voice heavy with sobs.

"I'll be honest with you. Vivian and I do have some relationship, but it's not what you think. She was my college classmate.

Her family had a crisis, and I helped her. Later she kept clinging to me, and one time when I was drunk, things happened..."

The man grabbed my hand and placed it on his chest.

He said with apparent sincerity,

"But the person I've loved from beginning to end has always been you!"

The man's tone was earnest, yet nauseating.

"The doctor said Vivian's body is very weak. It's a miracle she could get pregnant. So I want to discuss with you--let her give birth to the baby safely.

Then Vivian will disappear completely, and you can be the child's mother. From now on, the four of us will live well together."

Seeing my silence, he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his embrace.

Whispering tenderly,

"Clara, as long as you agree, I'll listen to you in everything from now on. I won't let you suffer any grievance."

I took a sharp breath and pushed Ethan away forcefully.

He staggered back, looking at me in great surprise.

My eyes were sharp. My lips moved. My throat forced out a few words.

It was my first utterance in seven years.

"Let's... get divorced."

Ethan was clearly stunned. His pupils dilated suddenly, his face full of disbelief.

"You... you can speak?!"