Chapter 3

The moment I reached the door of my hospital room, I collapsed, unable to stand.

The nurses at the reception desk panicked, scrambling to lift me onto a gurney and rushing me to the emergency room.

Half-awake, half-dreaming, I felt my soul floating in the air.

In a haze, I saw myself at thirteen, joining the Hayes family with my mother. The clothes my mother and I wore combined couldn't buy Liam’s little bowtie.

Liam's mother had passed away years ago from an illness.

To make up for the motherly love Liam had missed, my mother cared for and accompanied him with utmost dedication.

Longevity noodles on his birthday, reward gifts after exams, a lucky charm she personally sought out for his special days…

Liam’s attitude toward my mother and me had always been polite.

He would respectfully call my mother "Eleanor," and he’d stand up for me when anyone bullied me at school.

I once believed Liam, like his father, Mr. Hayes, was one of the kindest and best people in the world.

But I never imagined his heart harbored so much resentment.

So much hatred that he wished we would disappear from his world forever.

But Liam, if you hated me so much, why did you actively pursue me?

What did I do wrong to make you go to such great lengths to get revenge on me?

Dreaming of the past in my unconscious state, two lines of tears involuntarily streamed down my face.

A large hand gently touched my cheek, wiping away my tears.

I opened my eyes and saw Liam's face by my bedside!

He was dressed in a black trench coat, staring at me with an unreadable, profound gaze.

Standing beside Liam was an elegant and dignified woman.

In her hand, she held the purple plushie I had run forty kilometers to get.

This must be Chloe Walsh, the heiress Liam had pursued since middle school.

As I stared blankly at the perfectly matched pair, the doctor standing on the other side of the room adjusted his glasses and spoke:

"Harper, I'm so sorry. Because you participated in extreme sports before your postpartum body had fully recovered, you experienced severe hemorrhage. We couldn't save your uterus…"

"…What does that mean? It means I can never have children again?" I was stunned, my already pale face turning ashen.

Liam suddenly gripped my cold hand, his voice filled with an unspeakable sorrow.

"Harper, don't be too sad. It's okay even if you can't have children. I'll take care of you, sis."

Chloe Walsh also spoke gently,

"That's right, sister. Don't worry. Even though your biological father was a gambling addict, and your birth mother was a gold-digging homewrecker, and now you've been messing around and ruined your uterus, so it'll probably be hard for any man to want to marry you…"

"But it's okay. Regardless, you're Liam’s sister by name. Even if you never find anyone, we'll naturally take care of you for life."

My gaze involuntarily followed Chloe's hand protectively placed on her abdomen, noticing her slightly bulging belly:

"Ms. Walsh… you're not here just to see me, are you?"

Chloe smiled sweetly, linking her arm through Liam’s, and nodded,

"I'm pregnant with Liam's baby. Just over three weeks along. He insisted on coming to the hospital with me for a check-up, saying I'm precious and he's worried about me and the baby."

"Speaking of which, it's a good thing Liam and I had already set the wedding date. Otherwise, this baby would have really messed up our plans."