Chapter 3

A week before delivery, my body became so heavy I could barely get out of bed.

I was admitted to the Blackwood family's private hospital.

That afternoon, the hospital room door opened.

It wasn't a nurse who entered, but a beautiful stranger.

She wore exquisite makeup and walked to my bedside in high heels.

The moment our eyes met, I knew who she was.

She was Alice.

Her gaze remained fixed on my belly, her eyes glowing.

No jealousy, not even hostility—like she was looking at a rare treasure.

Her stare made my skin crawl.

"Elliott." She opened with a smile.

"That hundred million Tobias transferred to you earlier—you received it, right? That hundred million was my idea. I told him to give it to you."

I couldn't help but look surprised.

Seeing my expression, her red lips curved upward.

"You must be wondering why I'd have him transfer money to my rival?"

She lowered her head, her gaze returning to my belly, a trace of bitterness at the corner of her mouth.

"Because there are some things I can't do."

"Do you know why the Blackwood family won't let me in?"

I shook my head.

"I can't have children..."

When Alice said this, her knuckles had already turned white from clenching.

"I see..." I murmured.

She took a deep breath, her composure returning.

"So, you just need to give birth to the child, then leave on your own. The child will be raised by Tobias and me from now on."

"Not only that, I'll have Tobias give you another hundred million as compensation. That way, you'll have the money to go far away and live the life you want.

"And I'll have solved the problem of not being able to have children. With Tobias ensuring the bloodline continues, I can marry him legitimately, and his parents won't have much to object to.

"We never thought of this solution before. Your appearance, for me, was unexpected but also a pleasant surprise."

She spread her hands with a bright smile.

"Everyone wins. You're happy, I'm happy, everyone's happy."

What she said was indeed very logical. From a rational standpoint, this was the perfect solution.

She got the child and marriage, Tobias preserved his bloodline and could answer to his family while also getting love, and I walked away with two hundred million.

But... for me, an indescribable sense of humiliation pierced my heart like a needle.

I carried the baby for ten months, enduring pain and nausea for so long.

In the end, I was just a tool for bearing someone else's child.

The child was in my belly, but never belonged to me.

And besides, this child...

I lowered my head, not daring to let her see my expression.

This child wasn't even Tobias's.

So, facing her questioning gaze, I could only respond with silence.

Gradually, displeasure flickered across her brow.

In her eyes, I probably seemed rather ungrateful.

"Ding..." Her phone rang with an incoming message.

Alice glanced down at it, her expression changing slightly, and immediately stood up.

"I should go. Think it over carefully. After all, you know in your heart that Tobias doesn't care about you. Staying in the Blackwood family is meaningless for you."

The door closed softly. I slumped back against the headboard, my eyes full of confusion.