Chapter 2

When I woke up again, I found myself in a world of pure white.

The strong scent of disinfectant filled my nose, cold, sterile, and lifeless.

I wiggled my fingers and saw an IV in the back of my hand, icy fluid dripping slowly into my veins.

"She's awake," a young nurse exclaimed, her voice full of surprise and relief.

Soon, an older doctor walked in. He looked at me, his eyes filled with obvious sympathy and regret. "Mrs. Vernon, you're awake. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Sorry for my loss.

How heartless it sounded.

I stared at him, calm, without tears or questions.

Because I already knew the answer.

The familiar, heavy sensation in my abdomen vanished, replaced by an emptiness that felt like something had been ripped out of me.

My baby, the little life that had grown for seven months, always kicking and squirming inside my belly, was gone.

The doctor hesitated, surprised by my calmness, and then continued softly, "He was a healthy, beautiful baby boy, perfectly formed. But sadly, you were brought in too late. Mr. Vernon has already handled everything. Please focus on resting and getting better."

With a sigh, he left the room with the nurse.

I was alone in the hospital room. My only companion was the gloomy sky outside the window.

I didn't shed a single tear.

Nothing hurt more than a dead heart. When your heart was nothing but scorched earth, even your tears ran dry.

I had no idea how much time had passed when the door to the hospital room was pushed open.

Leroy walked in, dressed in a flawless gray custom-tailored suit, not a hair out of place. He brought with him the crisp scent of the outside air, and beneath it, a barely-there whiff of Olivia's cloyingly sweet perfume.

He'd probably just finished soothing his precious, "traumatized" sister at home, only now remembering that his wife was here in the hospital, having just lost our baby.

He sat down on the sofa three steps away and crossed his legs with practiced elegance. It looked like he was attending a business negotiation, not facing his wife, who had just miscarried.

"The doctor told me you're awake," Leroy remarked, his voice so casual as if he was talking about the weather.

I didn't reply, just looked at him with a cold, indifferent gaze.

My silence clearly rubbed him the wrong way. A trace of irritation flickered across his usually composed face.

"Charlotte, I know you're hurting. But what's happened is already over. You need to look ahead," he said.

He paused, then took out a checkbook and a Montblanc pen from his suit pocket. "I talked to Olivia about the whole stair thing and checked the cameras at home. You missed a step, and she tried to grab you, but couldn't."

He lied without blinking, as if he were the one who had actually experienced everything. "I know you've always been prejudiced against Olivia. But she's just an innocent girl.

"She was scared out of her mind, and she's been a mess these past few days, crying and apologizing to you nonstop.

"So, this doesn't happen again, and for your own sake, I think it's time we figure something out between us."

He finally got to the point.

I looked at him, the man I'd once loved enough to give up everything for. Now, his face was all calculating shrewdness and a cold eagerness to wash his hands of the trouble.

He picked up the pen, quickly filled out the check, tore it off, and slid it across to me. "Here's three million dollars. Think of it as... compensation for losing the baby."

Three million dollars.

In his eyes, my baby was only worth three million dollars.

I looked at that flimsy piece of paper and suddenly felt an urge to laugh.

I looked past the check and met his gaze. "Leroy, do you think my baby is only worth this much?"

He seemed caught off guard by my question, pausing for a moment before that familiar look of contempt and disdain spread across his handsome face.

"Charlotte, don't push your luck," he said coldly. "You married me for money, didn't you? Now I'm giving it to you, so don't act all righteous now."

Yeah, everyone thought that as an orphan, I married Leroy, the golden boy of the Vernon family, for all their money.

Even he believed it.

Suddenly, I felt it was all meaningless.

Trying to convince a man who had already decided I was a gold digger that I actually loved him? It was ridiculous and utterly pointless.

I slowly drew my gaze away from the check, met his eyes without flinching, and spoke with calm composure, "Not enough."

Leroy's eyes narrowed abruptly.

"How much do you want?" he asked, his tone turning icy, a dangerous anger simmering beneath the surface.

I held out my hand, sticking out my two fingers. "2 hundred million."

I could see his face go rigid in an instant, fury blazing in his eyes.

2 hundred million might be pocket change for the Vernon Group, but for him personally, coughing up that much cash would really make him feel the pain.

I wanted him to feel the pain.

If his heart couldn't ache for me, then I'd make him ache for his money.

He stared at me so hard that it was like he was trying to drill a hole right through my face.

After a long, tense silence, he finally forced out a single word through clenched teeth. "Fine."

I bet, in his eyes, I was nothing but a greedy, ruthless woman, someone so cold-blooded that I'd even use my baby's death as a bargaining chip.

Perfect. That was exactly what I wanted him to think.

"And one more thing," I said, locking eyes with him, enunciating every word. "I want a divorce.

"I want the divorce papers and a lawyer here by tomorrow morning. Aside from the 2 hundred million, I won't take a single penny more from the Vernon family."

This time, Leroy was genuinely caught off guard.

The fury in his eyes faded, replaced by a mix of shock and scrutiny. Above all, a resigned clarity, as if everything he'd suspected about me had finally been confirmed.

It was like he was saying, "See? I knew it. You really are that kind of woman."

He stood up, looking down at me from above, and gave a cold, indifferent smile.

"As you wish." With that, he turned and walked out of the hospital room without looking back.

As the door clicked shut behind him, I finally forced a smile, one so twisted that it was uglier than crying.

Leroy, from the moment you decided to put a price on my baby's life, all that was left between us was business.

And I, Charlotte, never made a losing deal.