Chapter 4

Then she pretended to just notice Julian, sobbing as she spoke on my behalf:

“Julian, don’t mind me. Go check on Alice quickly. She accidentally fell.”

Julian’s eyes flicked to the faint red marks exposed on Scarlett’s skin, and a flicker of guilt crossed his face. He quickly took off his jacket and covered her.

“Scarlett, are you hurt anywhere? I’ll take you to the hospital!”

“I’m fine, just my leg hurts a bit. Alice looks more serious…”

He shot me a cold look, then scooped up Scarlett, yelling at me, “Don’t think I didn’t hear you! Scarlett was only trying to help you out of kindness. How could I not know you were so ungrateful?!”

I lay on the floor, feeling my eyelids about to close. My lips trembled as I tried to explain:

“No, I didn’t, it was her who pushed—”

“Don’t you dare play the victim here! Still trying to frame Scarlett? You don't even bother to make your lies believable! She's so delicate, she can barely open a jar lid. Do you honestly think she could push you? Besides, Scarlett is kind-hearted. Why would she push you? Alice, when did you become like this?!”

With that, he carried Scarlett downstairs. As he passed me, he contemptuously kicked me.

“If you like lying there so much, then lie there a while longer! But don’t block the way!”

Scarlett twisted her head, flashing a triumphant smile at me.

The sound of the car engine sped away downstairs. My vision was fading fast.

But I couldn't fall asleep. My stomach pain was abnormal. Julian wouldn't come back for me; I had to take care of myself.

After a long while, I gathered enough strength to pull myself up by the handrail.

Worried about bleeding on the way, I didn’t dare call a taxi. I could only walk to the hospital.

The night emergency nurse saw me, bloody below the waist and in abdominal pain, and quickly helped me register.

The doctor looked at my daytime medical records and sighed with regret. “My dear, who does an amniocentesis at just three weeks? The pregnancy was still so fragile! Your uterus was stimulated and contracted, and then you fell down the stairs. The baby probably won’t make it.”

After the examination, the doctor scolded me urgently, “You can really endure pain! You had a major hemorrhage and waited this long. Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

I, on the other hand, let out a long sigh of relief and even laughed. “Doctor, please proceed directly with the abortion.”

From the moment I learned the truth, every second, I felt an intense disgust towards the yet-unresponsive fetus in my belly.

Gone, it was for the best.

This child's arrival was like a dream. Now that I was awake, it was all over.

I returned home a day later. As expected, Julian hadn't come back after carrying Scarlett away.

The floor and bed were still covered with their 'masterpieces'.

I stepped around the stains and rushed into the bathroom, scrubbing myself dozens of times.

I kept feeling like I smelled, and whenever it was quiet, the smell would amplify.

The smell of men, the smell of a dead child—it seemed like no amount of washing could get rid of it!

I broke down, smashing things to the floor, and buried my face in the bathtub, crying.

As the feeling of suffocation crept in, I suddenly thought of my parents.

When I first learned I was marrying Julian, I was overjoyed. I picked out every piece of my dowry, and my parents paid for it. Only the file envelope at the very bottom was given to me directly by them.

I remembered the day I left home, my mother handed me the envelope:

“Alice, even though this is a marriage with a purpose, your father and I still wish you happiness. If one day you no longer feel happy, remember that your parents will always be your fallback.”

“If possible, we hope you never have to open it.”