Chapter 3

After the wedding, I didn't dare to hope for Larry's love. After all, my feelings for him were one-sided.

Yet, he was gentle and considerate, attentive to every detail.

He even remembered my period schedule, surprising me with little gifts each time. When my parents passed away, he worked during the day and stayed with me at night, barely resting.

If it weren't for Elsie who occasionally asked him out, I might have believed he had fallen for me.

Three months ago, Elsie showed up at my doorstep after her divorce.

That was the first time Larry turned his back on me to sleep, tossing and turning all night.

I knew then that my happiness was slipping away.

Since then, he grew increasingly distant, not even bothering to make excuses when going out with Elsie.

He came home later and later, carrying the scent of Elsie's favorite perfume.

5

When I woke up from the floor, the house was empty. Perhaps hearing my movements, Mrs. Green came into the study.

"Oh madam, you didn't even drink a bite of the soup. And Mr. Stewart, he doesn't seem to care about you. Look at how thin you've become, sigh..."

I managed a bitter smile. Even Mrs. Green noticed my weight loss, yet my husband who slept beside me every night didn't.

As I leaned against the wall to rest, I barely took a few steps before everything went black, and I fainted.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital.

"What are you making trouble for again?" Larry's voice came through. "Do you know Elsie was alone at the hospital for her check-up because I had to pick you up? What if something happened?"

I regained my senses and saw Larry by the bed. Elsie stood at the foot of the bed, and a wave of bitterness washed over me.

So, Larry had left me to bring Elsie to the hospital. He worried about her being alone for a check-up but never considered that I might die alone at home.

"Larry, you can't talk to Scarlett like that. She cares about you too!" Elsie chimed in, but I couldn't be bothered to respond.

Knowing the truth, I had no more illusions about the man before me.

"Let's get a divorce," I said weakly, looking at the birds outside the window.

"Scarlett, do you have to compete with Elsie over everything? Do you even know that there were no beds available at the hospital? The bed you're on was given up by Elsie! When will you start being sensible?"

I struggled to sit up in bed.

"Doctor, I want to be discharged!"

"Scarlett!" Larry shouted angrily.

I stared blankly at the man whose neck veins bulged with rage.

He never used to yell at me like this. Even when I upset him, he'd touch my forehead and say, "Honey, you're being naughty again. You need to behave."

But now, with Elsie's arrival, all his tenderness was reserved for her, and I felt like a shameless woman clinging to false hopes.

"Yes! The hospital bed was given up by her, and I don't want it anymore. I'll give it back to her!"

"My husband was also given up by her, and now, I don't want him either! I'll give him back to her!"

"Is that enough?" I screamed with all the strength I had left.

The commotion in the ward brought Robert, who was doing his rounds. Seeing me, his frown deepened even more than it had that morning.

"You shouldn't get agitated right now. Your condition-"

"What condition? She's just pregnant. What condition could she possibly have?" Larry interrupted Robert.

And he glared at me. "Scarlett, you've really improved, huh? You used to lie about Elsie being materialistic, and now you're dragging the doctor into your lies to deceive me. Are you really that unloved?"

Yes, I was the unloved.

Years ago, to save his business, I pleaded with my parents for three days and nights, sacrificing ten million to save Larry's business. That ten million severed my last ties with my parents.

After they gave me the money, I devoted myself to being Larry's supportive wife, helping him rebuild his business.

Meanwhile, my parents, unable to withstand the pressure from investors after a sudden financial collapse, jumped to their deaths. By the time I arrived, all I saw were their cold bodies.

During the crisis, Larry's company was at a critical juncture. I didn't want to distract him, so he knew nothing of this. He only knew my parents had passed, and I handled their funeral alone.

Therefore, in this world, apart from the child in my belly, I had no other family.

Robert, angered by Larry's attitude, said sternly, "Her condition is very-"

Elsie's wail interrupted Robert's unfinished sentence.

"Ah-ah-doctor, my stomach hurts! Come quickly, is it because I just moved from the bed and disturbed the baby? Am I going to give birth?"

Larry strode towards Elsie, glaring at me. "If anything happens to Elsie, I won't forgive you!" With that, he carried her to the doctor's office.

Though I was disillusioned with the man before me, when I saw the father of my child abandon him for someone else's child, I still couldn't stop feeling painful.

As soon as Larry left, a warm sensation flowed down my legs.