Chapter 2

3.

I huddled in the corner of the room, pulled the curtains shut, and hid alone in the darkness.

Was it truly my fault for faking a pregnancy back then?

That day, Leo kicked open the door of my room, reeking of alcohol.

Startled, I let out a scream, but he covered my mouth firmly. He pinned me down so tightly that I couldn't move an inch.

That night was the longest one that I had ever gone through.

My sister found out and immediately told our parents.

"Disgraceful!"

I still remember that day when my mother whipped me again and again with a whip, as if she was taking out her frustrations in life on me.

However, Leo shielded me under him, hissing softly, "Don't be afraid."

Later, when I went to the hospital for an examination, the doctor told me that I was pregnant.

I couldn't wait to share this news with Leo.

His hand holding the cigarette trembled for a moment, and then he regained his usual composure. "Pregnant? Then let's get married."

I was overjoyed and couldn't wait to share the news with the whole world.

After getting married, when I went to the hospital for a prenatal examination, the doctor told me that there had been a misdiagnosis before and that I wasn't pregnant at all.

Leo's face darkened, and he blurted out all the thoughts he had been suppressing: "I mean, it's okay that you're not as good-looking as your sister, but why do you keep telling so many lies?"

After that, we had a cold war for some time.

When he was short of money, he would shamelessly kneel in front of me, "Ava, please pay attention to me. I didn't mean what I said before."

He seemed to love me, yet it didn't seem that way.

I touched the scar on my brow, not knowing whether my choice had been right or not.

4.

The next morning, Leo finally came back.

He was surrounded by a familiar fragrance-the perfume that my sister loved most.

"Where did the cake come from?" Leo glanced at the cake that had been left on the table all night, his eyebrows knitting together.

It turned out that Leo had never remembered which day our anniversary was.

I rubbed my eyes, wiping the tears onto the back of my hand. "Happy first wedding anniversary."

Hearing this, Leo's eyes twitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. "Oh, I forgot."

I picked up my mobile phone and played the video sent by my sister in front of him.

For the first time, Leo looked flustered in front of me.

He frantically snatched at my phone, shouting, "Where did you get this video?!"

I put my phone away.

"Smack-" The sharp sound reverberated throughout the entire room.

I shook my stinging hand, biting my lip to hold back my whole body's trembling.

"Leo, didn't I tell you before we got married that if you didn't love me anymore, just tell me. Don't hide it, and don't deceive me."

Those words seemed to set off something inside him.

Leo went crazy, transforming into a snake, and hissed at me viciously.

The huge shadow of the snake almost swallowed me up in the darkness as he lunged at me like crazy, desperate to snatch the phone from my hand.

I lost my balance and my lower abdomen bumped hard against the coffee table beside me.

A piercing pain shot through me. I looked down and saw bright red blood continuously flowing out from under my skirt, just like a blooming red spider lily.

Beads of sweat kept pouring down as I clenched my lower lip tightly and let out a bitter laugh, "I forgot to tell you, Leo, I was actually pregnant."

5.

In the end, I couldn't hold onto the baby.

Every time I woke up, I would find Leo sitting by my hospital bed.

His eyes were sunken, vacant, filled with numbness and despair.

"Leave. I don't want to see you."

I turned around, with my back to him, and struggled to hold back the tears that were on the verge of spilling out.

"Ava, I really didn't know... I truly didn't expect it to turn out like this..."

Leo knitted his brows tightly. He wanted to say something, but it felt as if a huge boulder was weighing heavily on his chest, so he could only sob behind me.

In the past, even during our fiercest quarrels, he would just keep silent and sulk.

He wouldn't stay out all night, smell of someone else's perfume, or fight with me as if our lives depended on it.

After a long period of silence, I still drove Leo out.

He came to visit a few times later, but I always turned him away at the door.

In the end, he gave up.

My sister sent another video, seemingly to flaunt it in front of me.

In the video, they were naked, exchanging endless sweet whispers that kept grating on my nerves.

Once I had regained my health, I went home immediately.

The pregnancy notice still lay quietly in the trash, the cake untouched on the table.

It felt as if I was the only one struggling to hold this family together.

After my parents got divorced, I lost touch with them at an early stage.

My life seemed to revolve solely around Leo and my sister.

At first, we were dirt poor, living in a tiny apartment with just one bed.

I was understanding towards him, so we never even had a proper wedding ceremony.

At that time, he held my face in his hands, vowing earnestly, "Ava, one day we'll move into a big house and have a whole bunch of little snake babies!"

I had spoiled Leo. After he complained of being tired just two days into working outside, I agreed to let him stay at home and start his own business.

But before long, he wailed, "Everyone's too competitive. Starting a business just isn't for me."

After that, I worked both during the day and at night, and finally managed to save up a sum of money.

Now, we've moved into a small villa, but our hearts have grown further apart.

I packed up my belongings, and after putting my luggage together, I left a divorce agreement on the table.

As I walked out of the house, I felt much lighter.

6.

I moved away from our city, bidding farewell to the past.

My new job was located in another city, so I rented a loft apartment there.

Despite this, Leo didn't fade out of my life.

Every day, he bombarded me with hundreds of messages like a stalker.

"Ava, please come back. I miss you so much... Ava, life is miserable without you. Ava, you're the one I truly love. If you forgive me, I'll be devoted to you wholeheartedly..."

His hypocrisy made me feel sick to my stomach.

I blocked all of his social media accounts and finally got some peace.

I worked as the assistant to the CEO. The new CEO was good-looking, with an air of charming roguishness in his brows and eyes.

After putting the freshly brewed coffee in place, I lowered my eyes and said, "Sir, the coffee is ready. I'll take my leave now."

Just as I turned around, the sound of the coffee spilling reached my ears.

Looking back, I saw that the coffee had soaked Kevin Howe's entire desk.

But I hadn't touched it-why did it spill?

I quickly grabbed some tissues to deal with the mess on the desk. "I'm sorry, sir! It's my incompetence!"

But when I looked up, Kevin had a slight curve on his lips.

Before I could react, a powerful external force dragged me over.

I fell and sat in Kevin's lap, and the fragrance of sandalwood wafted into my nose.

"Sir... what are you doing?" I knitted my brows together, my body stiffening almost into a straight line.

Kevin rested his chin on my head, speaking unhurriedly, "Has anyone ever told you that your neckline is too low?" I glanced down.

I looked down. It was the height of the neckline stipulated by the company. Was it really too low?

As my mind was racing, I realized that the breathing above me was becoming heavier.