Chapter 5

The moment I spoke, everyone present fell silent.

I numbly watched Julian's expression turn utterly astonished, his eyes filled with panic.

Julian was about to speak, but was immediately interrupted by a sob.

"Sister-in-law, I didn't mean to wear your dress by mistake! Please don't be angry over such a small thing!"

Chloe cried dramatically, feigning to take off the gown.

Julian seemed to snap back to reality. "Aubrey, I'm so disappointed in you."

"It's just a dress. Are you really that petty, making our family a laughingstock in front of everyone at an event like this?"

As he spoke, he took off the matching suit jacket I had designed for him and draped it over the other woman.

My heart twinged uncontrollably, like a thousand needles pricking me.

Did he not see how I toiled tirelessly, like a mother nurturing a child, to create that design?

Did he not see my ten fingers constantly pricked as I stitched every single thread?

No, he saw it all. He just didn't care.

"Julian, whose family *are* you anyway?"

I looked at Julian, deeply hurt, my voice tinged with rare accusation.

Julian, as if exposed, grew enraged.

"Aubrey, I think you've lost your mind. Someone take her away to calm down!"

The surrounding scorn and ridicule intensified, but I couldn't hear it anymore.

My body was ice cold, all strength drained from me.

Taken away by security again, this time I didn't resist.

After that gala ended,

Chloe provocatively sent the two utterly ruined outfits back to me.

Looking at the two garments, almost unrecognizable from their original form, my heart felt just as broken.

Crying all night, clutching the clothes, my heart gradually grew numb.

But not long after, good news came from my belly.

The child we had waited for so many years had finally arrived.

Julian held my waist, his ear pressed against my still-flat belly.

"Aubrey, after all these years, we finally have our child!"

I had never seen him so happy.

"Julian, with this child, I don't care how much hardship or suffering I've endured before."

We embraced, our faces filled with joyful smiles.

I felt like I was in heaven at that moment.

But less than four months later, it became hell.

Julian, his face filled with urgency, knelt before me: "Aubrey! Only you can save Chloe! I beg you, abort the child!"

I felt as if plunged into an ice cellar: "What are you saying?"

Julian, still kneeling, gripped my arm as if afraid I'd run away, his hold impossibly tight.

"Chloe has leukemia, and only your bone marrow is a match."

"The doctor said for the donation to go smoothly, you must abort the child. Please, I'm begging you!"

"Our family owes Chloe's family a life! You can't just stand by and watch her die!!"

The man before me, in his frantic state, terrified me.

"Julian, are you insane?! This child came after how many hormone shots?! How many years have we waited for this, have you forgotten!?"

My voice grew sharp, filled with disbelief.

Julian, as if he hadn't expected me to refuse,

His face twisted, anger overriding his desperation.

"Can't you have another child?! What could be more important than Chloe?!"

His words were followed by a harsh slap.

I clutched my red, swollen cheek, completely stunned.

By the time I reacted, I couldn't catch my breath and passed out.

When I woke again, my slightly swollen belly was flat.

Learning I had lost the child, I felt as if my soul had been ripped from my body, all vitality gone.

Compared to the lifelessness in my hospital room,

Chloe's bed, just a wall away, was surrounded by people.

Everyone was celebrating Chloe's recovery from danger;

My husband happily held her hand, his eyes full of affection: "Chloe, I told you I'd cure you no matter the cost."

Chloe was moved to tears: "Julian, I always believed in you."

Everyone present praised their bond, saying it was closer than blood.

Just a wall away, I lay shattered on the bed, like a rag doll from whom all utility had been extracted.

I don't know how much time passed.

When I regained consciousness, it had been a week.

The nurse, seeing me finally regain some autonomy, said with a hint of fear:

"Ms. Aubrey, you wouldn't believe it, but for that entire week, you had no basic will to live. You were sustained only by IV drips. Otherwise, I'm afraid…"

The nurse didn't finish her sentence.

I didn't care about my emaciated body, nor did I care about anyone anymore.

I was no different from a corpse.

Having lost my child, I finally dialed the number I thought I'd never call in my life.

Back then…

He insisted I take his contact information, saying it was his private number.

No matter when I called, he would answer immediately.

The phone connected, and a deep, magnetic voice came through: "You finally called."