Chapter 4

Iris POV

Tears slid down my cheeks. I raised my hand to roughly wipe them away.

Crying was the most useless thing.

But just then, a sharp, plunging pain suddenly tore through my lower abdomen, as if someone were viciously twisting a knife inside.

That pain didn't ease. Instead, it grew more intense. Cold sweat instantly soaked my back.

Trembling, I dialed Rowan's number.

Rowan was my best friend and the only doctor who knew I was pregnant.

"Rowan, my stomach hurts so much..." My voice shook with fear. "Save the baby. Please help me save the baby."

An anxious voice immediately came through. "Don't be scared. Get to the hospital now. I'll arrange tests right away!"

Half an hour later, I arrived alone at the private hospital.

Because of the pain, my face was deathly pale. I wore an oversized coat with sunglasses and a hat, barely supporting myself against the wall as I walked.

However, at the corner of the VIP corridor in obstetrics, taking a shortcut to find Rowan, I unexpectedly ran into the person I least wanted to see.

Adrian.

He was carefully protecting Luna, one arm circling her waist, the other shielding her from passersby.

That cherishing look was identical to how he used to protect me.

The overwhelming irony made my abdominal pain intensify instantly. I froze in place, clutching my belly desperately, watching helplessly as they walked past not far away.

"The specialist here is so hard to book. I shouldn't have made you wait so long." Adrian frowned in complaint, his tone full of concern.

Luna leaned against him, speaking softly, her humble posture perfectly calibrated. "Adrian, it's okay. I'm just the housekeeper's daughter. I don't want to waste your money. Being able to carry your child, I'm already very satisfied."

Hearing this, Adrian's eyes filled with even deeper tenderness. He lowered his head to kiss the top of her hair. "You're just too considerate."

He paused, then shifted tone with a trace of indulgence. "Not like Iris, always demanding this and that from me. If only she were half as considerate as you."

Yes, I wasn't considerate.

In that moment, my blood surged violently. I felt a warm liquid flowing uncontrollably from my body.

I heard him say again, "That blue diamond from the auction-once I get it, I'll have it made into a wedding ring for you. Consider it my makeup gift to you."

That diamond he once said reminded him of my eyes was meant for another woman.

"By the way," Luna added casually, "that brooch you gave Iris last time, did she like it? I spent so long picking it out. I really hope she'll be kind to me, since I'm carrying this child for her."

Carrying the child for her?

I heard Adrian's low chuckle. "Silly girl, of course she'll like it. I told her that once you give birth, we'll give the baby straight to her. That's the only way our child can become the rightful heir. Don't worry, she'll treat you like the baby's real mother."

So, on the assumption that I was infertile, he'd already mapped out my entire future.

Having me raise his illegitimate child with another woman.

Enormous rage and desolation crashed against my heart. The plunging pain in my abdomen reached its peak. My legs gave way, and I could barely stand.

I couldn't listen anymore. I turned, wanting to escape to the emergency room to find Rowan.

After just a few steps, my phone rang. It was Adrian.

"Where are you? I had breakfast and roses prepared for you. Why aren't you home?" His tone was like coaxing a difficult child.

I leaned against the cold wall, the warm sensation below making me desperate, my heart like dead ash.

"Are you overthinking again?" He soothed gently. "Don't worry. If you really want a child that much, we'll adopt one in a while. Let you be a mother, okay?"

Adopt one?

When my child was losing its life, he was talking to me about adoption?

"No need..."

I spoke softly, my voice so weak it seemed to come from another world. "The child... is already gone."

After speaking, the phone slipped from my fingers and crashed heavily to the ground.

Before darkness claimed me, I saw a shocking red spreading across the floor tiles.

Adrian, you personally killed this child.