Chapter 2

"No, Vanessa, how am I supposed to eat enough on four dollars?"

"Those are Mr. Preston's instructions."

"What?"

On the other end, Vanessa Croft gave a cold little laugh.

"You stole thirty million dollars from Mr. Preston, and he's still willing to give you an allowance. What more could you possibly want?"

I froze.

To Adrian, spending thirty dollars was really that big of a deal?

"He doesn't even bring you to important functions anymore. You still haven't figured out why?"

"If you hadn't let yourself gain so much weight, do you think the business partners would have laughed at Mr. Preston for marrying a pig?"

"I'm begging you. For the sake of the Preston family's reputation, could you at least watch your figure?"

My voice caught for a moment.

"But I'm pregnant. It's impossible not to gain weight—"

"Just eat less."

And with that, she hung up.

I called back several times.

Vanessa rejected every one.

I called Adrian.

No one answered that either.

The TV cut to a news segment.

Adrian Preston attended a partnership summit with his secretary by his side.

Vanessa in a custom couture gown.

Around her neck hung a three-million-dollar necklace, the latest masterpiece auctioned by Zurich's prestigious auction house.

Smiling, poised, right beside him.

The trending topics suddenly exploded.

[Mr. Preston's Secretary Makes a Stunning Appearance]

[Preston Group CEO's Secretary Steals the Spotlight at Business Summit]

[Mr. Preston and Miss. Croft: a Perfect Match]

The comment section blew up too.

[That figure is unreal. The waist, the curves... I work out every day and still can't get anywhere close!]

[How can someone be naturally this perfect? Oh my God, that's so unfair.]

[She's literally a goddess, and I'm over here looking like a pig.]

The word "pig" burned into my mind.

My hand shook before I could stop it.

I placed my trembling hand over my belly.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my face pale and gaunt.

"Baby... what are we going to do..."

Did I really have to give up on this baby?

Before making that decision, I decided to give Adrian one last chance.

But I called ten times in a row.

No one answered.

In the end, it was Vanessa who called me.

"Mr. Preston is in a meeting with a business partner. Mrs. Preston, could you please be reasonable and stop calling him over every little thing?"

"Put him on, right now!"

"Mrs. Preston, I told you, Mr. Preston is in a meeting."

"Then have him call back when it's over!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Preston. I'm Mr. Preston's secretary. It's my duty to keep irrelevant matters from disturbing him."

I gripped the phone tight.

"Who are you to decide what happens between a husband and wife?"

"Mrs. Preston, if you keep causing scenes like this, Mr. Preston really will divorce you."

And then she hung up.

I called again and again.

But she never answered.

I leaned my back against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor.

My bank account showed a balance of only $1.80.

An abortion cost two thousand.

My parents were both working construction jobs, earning only eighty dollars a day.

A week ago, they had just given me $1,000 to help me take care of myself.

But after one prenatal checkup and a few medications later, there were less than two hundred left.

My parents were already struggling to make ends meet. How could I bring myself to ask them for more?

Sitting in the dark, I covered my eyes and let out a long breath.

In the three years I'd known Adrian, aside from the gifts he'd given me while we were dating and the expenses during the time we were trying to conceive and when I was pregnant, I had rarely ever asked him for money.

Even my parents refused their son-in-law's help, insisting on standing on their own.

I thought that if I kept my distance from his money, he'd never have a reason to doubt me.

And yet, it still came to this...

The phone buzzed.