Chapter 3

I woke up to find myself in the hospital.

My baby was gone.

The doctor was doing a D&C.

I could feel that pain, sharp and clear.

I gritted my teeth, warning myself that this was what happened when you fell for someone like Charles.

Outside the operating room, Charles was pacing restlessly, his white shirt and his hands smeared with blood.

Lucas and Jack followed him here.

When they found out I'd lost the twins, there was mostly pity in their eyes.

When the nurse wheeled me out, Charles held my hand and tried to comfort me, "Don't be sad. We'll have kids of our own one day."

I closed my eyes, unable to bear looking at him.

For the first time, Charles looked regretful. He was about to say something, but the doctor interrupted.

The doctor asked, "Has she always been in poor health? Getting pregnant this time was already a miracle. She might never be able to have children again."

Charles stood there, shell-shocked, unable to process what he'd heard.

Even after the doctor left, Charles stood there, lost in a daze.

That same day, he went ahead and booked a vasectomy.

In the hospital room, I sat there, tears streaming down my face in silence.

Charles hesitated at the doorway for what felt like forever before stepping inside.

I wiped away my tears and turned to look out the window at the tree, its branches nearly stripped bare.

He settled on the edge of the bed and murmured, "I'm sorry."

That apology almost made me lose it.

I kept it together, reminding myself not to get angry. It'd only make things worse for me.

"Even if we never have kids, I'll love you for the rest of my life," he said.

He thought that was all it took to make me feel better.

I turned to him and said, "I want twenty percent of Warren Group's shares."

This was rightfully mine.

He didn't answer my question. Instead, he said, "I've already scheduled a vasectomy. Even if we never have kids, no one will ever gossip about you. We'll live our lives together from now on."

Watching him dodge the issue, I remembered all those days I hustled for him, running around to build the company from scratch.

When things took off, he put my name on the paperwork as the owner, but never gave me a single share. He always called it our empire.

That word "our" fooled me. In the end, I had neither power nor money.

Staring straight into his eyes, I repeated, "I want twenty percent of Warren Group's shares."

He froze for a second and shot back, "So if you get the shares, you're going to leave me, aren't you?"

Honestly, his logic was ridiculous.

Funny how he could stab me in the back, but I wasn't supposed to walk away.

Deep down, he only cared about himself.

I closed my eyes and said nothing more.

He gripped my hand, his voice trembling with emotion as he pleaded, "Please don't leave me. I lost my head for a moment. I can't live without you."

I didn't want to argue anymore. It was pointless.

He stayed with me for about an hour, until his phone rang. Something on the other end rattled him. After he hung up, he told me there was an emergency at the company and that he'd visit me another time.

What I needed to do now was focus on getting my strength back. Only with a healthy body could I fight to reclaim everything that belonged to me.

So, I turned a blind eye to whatever he did.

The next day, news of my miscarriage and the possibility that I might never have children again spread like wildfire.

Even my closest friend, Lily Carter, who was overseas, heard about it and immediately caught a flight home to be by my side.

The moment I saw her, it felt like I finally had someone to rely on. I sobbed uncontrollably, letting out all my pent-up grief.

She was shaking with rage, ready to tear into Charles and his side chick.

Before I could stop her, a whole crowd suddenly burst into the room.

Leading the way were Charles's parents, Emma Warren and Leo Warren.

Olivia was cowering at the very back of the group, looking all meek and anxious.