Chapter 4

Sharp bleeding startled Nina awake in the dead of early morning hours.

She had noticed her period was two weeks late, but hadn't paid much attention, thinking it was a side effect of her recent illness.

It wasn't until she saw the bright red stain on the sheets that she realized she might be pregnant.

The thought sent chills down her spine. She trembled as she pulled out her phone, wanting to call Jayden, but stopped before dialing.

What was the point? Would he even care?

Nina called a taxi and went to the nearest hospital. The emergency room was empty at three in the morning. She sat on a bench, watching the doctors and nurses walking back and forth, and suddenly felt overwhelming loneliness.

"Nina Evans?" the nurse called her name.

She walked into the consultation room. The doctor, a middle-aged woman, frowned after looking at her test results. "You're five weeks pregnant, and you have a threatened miscarriage. Have you been overworked or had big mood swings lately?"

Nina nodded numbly.

"We'll try to save the baby first. Where's your family? We need a signature," the doctor said, writing in her medical record.

"I'll sign it myself," Nina said.

The doctor looked up at her, her gaze a mix of pity and numbness. After all, she had seen too many women come to the emergency room alone in this city.

Nina lay on the hospital bed while the nurse gave her a progesterone shot. The needle stung as it went into her muscle, but she bit her lip and said nothing.

Suddenly, her phone rang. It was Jayden.

"Where are you?" His voice was thick with sleep; clearly, he was woken up by a call.

"At the hospital," Nina answered.

There was a brief silence on the other end, then his voice snapped to attention. "Which hospital? What happened?"

"It's nothing. Just a stomach issue. I'm on an IV drip," Nina said, staring up at the ceiling.

She could not explain why she lied. Fear lingered that he might demand an abortion outright, force her to carry the child for the family name, or simply feel nothing at all for her suffering.

"I'm coming over right away," Jayden insisted.

"No need. Go back to sleep. I'll head home tomorrow," Nina whispered tiredly.

The call ended fast. Nina buried her face in the pillow, breathing in strong antiseptic fumes.

Memories surfaced of two years prior, when she stitched her wounded wrist alone in this exact ward, listening to other patients receive warm care from their loved ones nonstop.

Back then, she fooled herself into hope. Jayden did not know her pain; he would rush to her side once informed.

Truth finally sank in now. Knowledge changed nothing for him. Claire always ranked first in his heart, and Nina would forever be last on his list.

At dawn, Nina called Sophie.

Sophie rushed to the hospital within thirty minutes, teary-eyed the second she saw Nina's frail state. "That cold-hearted bastard! Where is he now?"

"I never told him a word," Nina said calmly.

"Are you out of your mind?" Sophie grew furious but softened fast, afraid of upsetting Nina further. "What do you plan to do next?"

Nina rested a gentle hand on her flat belly. A tiny, fragile life grew inside her, unplanned, yet the only real family she had left in the world.

"I want to keep this baby. Jayden will never find out," she said quietly.

"Seriously? Do you understand how hard single motherhood truly is?" Sophie was shocked.

"I know every hardship ahead." Nina gazed at sunlight spilling through the ward windows onto her pale skin. "But growing up here with an unloving father and a broken, low-spirited mother would hurt this child far worse than life with just me alone."

Sophie fell quiet and squeezed Nina's trembling hand tight.

Then she said, "I'm with you no matter what choice you make."

Finally, Nina broke down. For the first time since last night, she let herself cry like a child with no one left to lean on.

She cried for her naive love over the years, for this hopeless marriage, and for the unborn baby who might be lost before its father knew it existed.

The doctor stepped in for daily rounds and sighed softly, seeing her tears, "Expectant mothers can't let emotions run wild. Family needs to keep her calm."

"Doctor, can my baby survive?" Nina grabbed her coat anxiously.

The doctor replied honestly, "We'll try our absolute hardest. Strict bed rest and steady moods are critical from now on. Still..." She paused gently. "You really should tell the baby's father. Big choices need two parents to decide together."

"He has no father," Nina shook her head firmly.

The doctor paused, then said no more on the topic.

Nina stayed hospitalized for three full days. Jayden called over a dozen times without pause, all ignored completely. His final message read cold and blunt: [Come home once you finish your tantrum.]

A bitter smile crossed Nina's face.

To Jayden, everything she did was just her "tantrum." A fever? Just a tantrum. Hospitalized? Still a tantrum. Even when her life was on the line, he'd call it nothing but drama.

Sophie picked her up on discharge day. Right outside the main doors, Jayden's luxury car waited parked curbside.

Leaning against the vehicle in a black windbreaker with a cigarette between his fingers, he put it out instantly at her arrival and walked over quickly.

"Why did you turn off your phone?" Jayden asked, his voice laced with restrained anger.

"My phone died," Nina replied.

"Your phone was dead for three days?" Jayden pressed.

Nina stayed silent. She looked at the man she had loved for seven years, feeling nothing but strange distance now.

"Jayden, let's get a divorce," she said.

This was her second request for separation. Fever delirium might have clouded her mind the first time; every word rang clear and rational now.

Jayden's face darkened at once.

He grabbed her wrist, his grip so tight it hurt. "Nina, say it again."

Nina replied, meeting his gaze and enunciating every word, "I said, let's get a divorce. I'm tired. I don't want to be Mrs. Landon anymore. You're free. Go ahead, marry Claire if you want, you can—"

"Shut up!" Jayden growled, forcing her into the car and slamming the door.

Claire tried to rush forward, but Jayden's bodyguards blocked her path.

Inside the car, Nina huddled in the corner, staring at Jayden's tense profile. He was furious, but she couldn't figure out what he was angry at.

"Why? Is it because I didn't go to the hospital? I had an emergency meeting that day, I—" Jayden asked, his voice hoarse.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Jayden, none of it matters anymore," Nina said.

She stroked her belly softly, determined to protect this small life alone, with no father by its side.

"What were you really doing at the hospital?" Jayden suddenly asked. "Was your stomach acting up, or—"

"I went for a check-up. To see if I could have kids," Nina replied.

Jayden paused, then his frown eased. "Did Mom pressure you? Don't worry about the whole baby thing—"

"The results said I can't." Nina cut him off. "I can't have kids. Jayden, let's get a divorce. You can find someone who can."

This lie alone could sever their last fragile tie for good.

Jayden froze solid, staring at her with tangled, unreadable emotion swirling in his eyes. "What are you saying?"

"I cannot bear children. Let us set each other free," Nina said flatly.

Silence filled the car for a long moment.

It was so long that Nina started to think he'd finally agree, sign the divorce papers with relief, and run straight to his Claire.

Instead, Jayden started the engine slowly, his tone unyielding. "We're going home."

"Jayden..."

"I said, go home," Jayden repeated, his tone unyielding.

His knuckles whitened, gripping the steering wheel tight. "No matter if you can have kids or not, you are still Mrs. Landon. Nothing will ever change that fact."

Scenery blurred past the windows as endless tiredness crashed over Nina.

She never understood Jayden's twisted mind. He loved her not a single bit, yet refused to let her walk away, trapping her with the title forever.

Too worn out to argue further, Nina closed her eyes, her hand resting gently on her belly.

In the silence, a quiet thought formed: she asked forgiveness for her lie, vowing silently to the tiny life within that she would guard it with everything she had, even if it meant walking this hard road alone.