Chapter 1
On the day I gave birth, Brian Norton's mother sent people to take the baby away.
Within hours, the trending lists exploded. I became the biggest joke on the internet.
[Amy thought she could secure her place with the child. Turns out it's "keep the baby, dump the mother".]
[A wannabe influencer thinking she could marry into the Norton family after having their child. What a delusion.]
Brian lounged lazily on the sofa, a cigarette between his fingers.
After scrolling through the comments for a while, he read a few aloud to me in a detached tone.
When I didn't respond, he said casually, "Still bothered by that? It's better for the child to stay with my family, you know that."
The next second, his expression froze when he noticed the entertainment magazine in my hand.
On the cover, he wore that unruly smile of his, his arm around a young woman who looked very much like me.
Brian stood up slowly and walked to my bedside. "It's just for show," he said.
In the past, I probably would have smashed everything within reach until he came over to hug me and say a few soft words.
But now, the tearing pain of my wound and the swelling ache in my chest made it hard to breathe.
I looked up at the man I had been with since I was eighteen.
Then I looked down at the magazine cover of him holding someone else.
Suddenly, I didn't even feel like arguing anymore.
What was the point of being hurt and crying over someone like him?
It really wasn't worth it.
*****
The anesthesia had just worn off, and I was lying in the hospital bed.
I stared up at the blinding hospital lights, not really seeing anything.
Maybe it was the postpartum hormones, or maybe the pain from the incision.
Tears slipped out before I could try to stop them.
Brian didn't notice my mood at all.
He looked down, the tip of his cigarette glowing and fading as he took slow drags.
He looked completely at ease.
[Amy thought she could secure her place with the child. Turns out it's "keep the baby, dump the mother".]
[The Nortons are as ruthless as ever.]
[A wannabe influencer thinking she could marry into the Norton family after having their child. What a delusion.]
Brian read out the trending comments with a detached amusement, like none of it had anything to do with him.
When the baby was taken away, I never even saw her face clearly.
I only heard a soft cry before she disappeared.
I rasped, "Can you bring the baby back for a bit? Maybe we could take a family photo together."
Brian glanced up at me, sizing me up like I was some damaged goods. "What's there to take a picture of? You're in no shape for photos right now."
The doctor walked in to check on me.
He pulled open my hospital gown and pressed on my chest, which was swollen and painfully hard.
The doctor said, "Where's the baby? The mom's got blocked milk ducts. She needs to breastfeed right away."
I looked at Brian.
He flicked the ash off his cigarette. The smoke curled around his face, blurring his features.
"The baby's drinking formula," Brian replied.
The doctor paused, as if something clicked when he saw Brian.
He sighed softly and asked the nurse to get meds to stop my milk.
Leaning back against the pillows, I reached for the entertainment magazine on the nightstand.
The tabloid guy who was always tailing Brian had mailed it to me.
There was a card tucked inside.
On it, he'd scrawled: [No amount of advice can save someone hell-bent on self-destruction.]
I'd contacted him several times to handle Brian's scandals with the tabloids.
After all that back and forth, we'd gotten to know each other a little.
I knew he didn't mean any harm.
The front cover showed Brian at a nightclub, his arm wrapped around a girl as they flirted up close, faces nearly touching.
The headline was so big and bold, it left me dazed.
It read: [Mr. Norton of Arkton City: New Baby, New Nightlife—Caught with a Club Hottie in His Arms.]
The girl in the magazine bore a striking resemblance to me.
Her makeup was flawless, and her outfit was sexy.
Fumbling with the IV line, I finally got my makeup bag open.
The compact mirror reflected a pale, worn-out face I barely recognized.
I grabbed the powder puff, trying to hide the traces that childbirth had carved into me.
But the sudden sting from the IV as blood rushed back jolted me awake.
I'd been with Brian since I was eighteen.
Seven years... Just like that, gone in a blur.
I lifted my head, feeling lost, tears streaming down my face.
Brian said carelessly, "Do you really care about what people say online?
"The baby's better off with my family. You know that, right?"
The moment Brian spotted the entertainment magazine in my hand, his expression froze.
He got up unhurriedly and walked over to the hospital bed.
"It was just an act," Brian said.
He couldn't even be bothered to add anything else.
Back then, I would've thrown whatever I could get my hands on out of anger.
I wouldn't stop until he came over, pulled me into his arms, and said something soft to calm me down.
But now, the tearing pain from my wound and the ache in my chest were suffocating.
I glanced at the magazine, at the photo where he was holding another woman close.
Then I looked at the handsome yet unfamiliar man standing in front of me.
Suddenly, I stopped caring.
My wound was healing slowly, and I was barely able to move around.
But the hospital was crawling with reporters.
They were probably still hoping to snap some more juicy photos of the Norton family.
Brian said it was best for me to leave now.