Chapter 4

Diana stood up. One hand on her belly, she walked carefully over to Edward and grabbed hold of his arm.

Her voice was soft, dripping with fake kindness. "Mr. Stone, please don't say that. The baby was an accident."

She turned to me. "I never meant to tear your family apart, Olivia. If you need to blame someone, blame me, okay? Don't blame Mr. Stone."

And as she spoke, tears started rolling down her delicate face.

She lifted her hand to wipe them away, the thin gold Cartier bracelet on her wrist flashing sharply in the sunlight.

I remembered that bracelet. Last Christmas, Edward told me the gift he'd ordered for me was delayed. And it never arrived. Turned out, it was on Diana's wrist.

I watched her cry, and Edward wiped her face carefully and gently. Suddenly, the whole scene felt utterly absurd.

Diana cradled her pregnant belly, weeping prettily, saying she didn't want to ruin my family. But everything about her screamed, "I won."

I stood there, pale and empty-eyed, like a specimen with everything inside scraped out.

"Mommy?" Lila's voice came from behind me.

I spun my head sharply around.

Lila had run over from the hallway without me noticing. She had probably grown tired of waiting since I had been gone for so long.

She stood a few steps behind me, her small face upturned, her blue eyes filled with confusion and unease.

Then her gaze drifted past me and landed on Edward. As she was about to call out "Dad," she spotted the pregnant Diana with tear‑streaked cheeks next to him. Confusion deepened in her blue eyes.

"Where's Grandma Margaret?" I asked, instinctively stepping in front of Lila to shield her from Diana.

"She's in the back with the nurse," Lila replied, tugging at the hem of my shirt. "Mom, why is that woman crying? Why is her belly so big?"

I crouched down and pulled her into my arms.

Her small, warm body pressed against my chest, her heartbeat steady and peaceful.

I rested my chin on top of her head, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

Then I stood up and turned to face Edward and Diana.

"Edward," I said, "Let's get a divorce."

His eyes widened slightly. "Olivia, don't be impulsive."

"I'm not being impulsive," I said, locking eyes with him. "I'm completely calm.

"You've been cheating on me for a year and got another woman pregnant. You forced me to abort my child, because you didn't want my baby.

"Every single thing that has happened tells me this marriage is already dead. I will not go on living with something that is gone."

"Get a hold of yourself. Divorce? Do you know what that means? Lila's custody, dividing our assets, and..."

"My lawyer will talk to you about all that," I cut him off. "As for Lila, she's my daughter. The day you got Diana pregnant, you lost your right to be Lila's dad."

Just then, Diana spoke up, her voice so gentle as if she feared shattering something fragile. "Olivia, please don't be like this. Lila is always Mr. Stone's daughter. I won't interfere with their relationship."

She sounded so sincere, every word piercing right into the softest part of me.

I looked at her and managed a smile, even though my lips were trembling.

"Diana Price, listen up," I said coldly. "You stand here pregnant beside Edward and say you won't ruin his bond with Lila. Yet this whole situation is already the greatest harm of all.

"You have no right to make any decisions for Lila, and you have no right to tell me to forgive or calm down. Your kindness disgusts me."

Diana's face went pale, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Edward frowned, pulled Diana behind him protectively and said to me in a low, stern voice, "Olivia, have you said enough? Do you have to make everything ugly?"

"Ugly?" I met his gaze. "Aren't the things you've done far uglier?"

The tension between Edward and me was like a live wire, ready to snap at any second.

Just then, my mom's voice echoed from the hallway. "Olivia? Lila? Where are you?"

I took a deep breath, forcing all my swirling emotions back down into my chest.

I turned around and saw my mom being helped by a nurse as she came around the corner. Her face was still pale, and her gray eyes, the same shade as mine, were scanning the room anxiously.

Her gaze found me, flicked past to Edward behind me, and locked on Diana last.

She stopped, staring at Diana's baby bump, at Edward's hand protectively resting on her shoulder, and at the tears still glistening on Diana's face.

Her lips parted slightly, and the pale look from her illness was overshadowed by a deeper, more heart-wrenching despair.

"Edward," my mom said softly, "who is this?"

Edward opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Diana shot Edward a glance, then lowered her head and whispered, "Hello, I'm Diana Price, Mr. Stone's colleague."

Colleague again.