Chapter 4

Claire panicked. She couldn't hold back anymore and yelled at Edward, "Lily's got a fever! I'm taking her to the hospital right now."

Edward's eyes flickered with a hint of sympathy. But before he could say anything, Jessica suddenly burst out in a tearful voice, "Edward, she slapped me. My face hurts so bad."

Edward lowered his gaze, the sympathy in his eyes gone in a flash. He barked, "Ms. Wynn, your daughter's theft and your slap to my wife are both on you. Don't think about leaving until you apologize."

Claire felt as if her heart had been slashed open, the icy wind cutting straight through and making it ache all over.

Right after graduation, she accompanied Edward to a business dinner. One of the partners framed her for a problem with the proposal and tried to force her to apologize.

Edward didn't care about the sky-high penalty for breaking the deal. He took her hand and warned everyone at the table, "Claire did nothing wrong. She'll never have to apologize to anyone.

"With me around, nobody gets to insult her like that."

Time had changed everything. Now, Edward was degrading her, all for Jessica.

"Edward, how can you be so biased toward Jessica? You're still Lily's dad..." Claire barely got the words out before a bodyguard slammed his boot into her leg.

Clutching Lily tightly, Claire collapsed before Jessica. With Jessica watching, smug and triumphant, the bodyguard grabbed Claire's head and shoved it down to the floor.

Claire's lips wouldn't stop trembling. The humiliation was so intense that it almost suffocated her.

Edward didn't dare look at her. After what felt like forever, he finally lifted his hand, signaling the bodyguard to let her go.

Shivering, Claire clutched Lily and struggled to her feet, stumbling out in a mess to get Lily to the hospital.

The doctor shot her a scolding look. "What kind of mother are you? If you'd waited another half hour, your daughter could've ended up brain-damaged from the fever."

Lily slept restlessly, her tiny face all wrinkled up. She muttered in her sleep, "I didn't steal anything. Don't bully my mom."

Claire's heart hurt so much it felt like it was bleeding out.

The very next second, Edward called her.

Without a second thought, Claire kept rejecting his calls. When he texted, she left him on read.

Half an hour later, Edward's tall figure showed up at the hospital room door.

The first thing Edward saw was Claire sitting by the hospital bed, her back to him as she quietly peeled an apple.

Edward strode over and pulled her into a tight embrace, his voice deep and a little rough. "Why didn't you pick up? Are you mad at me?"

Claire's hand stilled for a moment as she peeled the apple, her lashes lowered to veil the icy look in her eyes.

She didn't ask how Edward found Lily's hospital room. She knew that with the kind of influence he had now, getting a room number was effortless.

When Claire didn't answer, Edward sighed and spoke in a gentle voice, "I know I was wrong to hide from you that Jessica and I have a son. But Claire, you have to remember, you're the only one I love.

"What happened at the kindergarten today was my fault. I shouldn't have given Lily and Tommy identical necklaces. That's what made Tommy and Jessica misunderstand.

"But I couldn't let Jessica know who you really are. She just lost her father, and I was afraid it would be too much for her."

"Edward, I understand. If there's nothing else, please leave," Claire said, her gaze indifferent.

Edward stared at Claire's thin cheeks, his eyes full of aching tenderness. Without realizing it, he held her tighter.

"Claire, I promised that I would compensate you doubly in the future for the grievances you are suffering now," he said. "Give me a little more time, and I'll come clean to Jessica. I'll tell her that you're my legal wife."

Claire finally turned to face him, her eyes locking onto his. She searched for a trace of shame for his lies, but there was nothing. She laughed in disbelief, anger simmering beneath the surface.

"Edward, how long are you going to pretend?" she said.

Edward stiffened for a moment, thinking Claire didn't believe he loved her. So he kept reassuring her, making promises and vows.

Claire sneered, refusing to look at him again. She kept her head down, peeling the apple.

Edward finally lost his patience. "Claire, if you hadn't been kidnapped by Jessica's father back then, I wouldn't have ended up with her to save you.

"And if I hadn't gone after him for your sake, Jessica's father wouldn't be dead.

"That's why I feel guilty toward Jessica. Can't you be a little more forgiving? How could you be mad at me? Everything I've done, it was all for you."

He really believed that everything he did was for Claire. He had no idea why she couldn't see things from his side.

Edward said all this as if he was firmly in the right.

Claire's hand tightened into a fist, and with a loud smack, she hurled the freshly peeled apple straight into a cup.

She said, "Edward, Jessica knew I was pregnant with your child, and she still went ahead and had her dad kidnap me.

"How long are you going to keep up this act? That marriage certificate you gave me was a fake."

Her last sentence was drowned out by the shrill ringing of Edward's phone.

Edward picked up the call, and with every word he heard, his expression grew stormier.

After hanging up, Edward clamped Claire's wrist tight, his grip so strong it felt like he was trying to crush her bones.

"How could you have someone hit my son with a car?" he barked. "Do you know he almost died?"