Chapter 5

Through the thin fabric of her pajamas, the heat from his hand shot straight through her skin.

Three seconds later, he jerked his hand back as if he'd been shocked, sprang to his feet, and stepped back.

"I... I'll go wash the dishes," he stammered.

He grabbed the dishes and practically bolted from the room.

I sat there, watching his flustered retreat, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

His ears were turning red.

The next morning, I was woken up by the noise downstairs.

There was an argument going on.

I dragged myself out of bed, holding my lower back as I went downstairs. When I reached the living room, there were a bunch of people standing around—Braden, Caroline, and some strangers in suits.

Natalya was there too.

She was standing next to Caroline, her eyes red, looking like she'd been crying and feeling sorry for herself.

As soon as I came downstairs, everyone turned to look at me.

"You're awake?" Caroline was the first to speak, her voice noticeably colder than yesterday. "Since you're up, we need to sort some things out."

I grabbed the banister and slowly made my way down the stairs.

"What is it?" I asked.

Caroline shot a glance at Natalya. Natalya kept her head down and murmured, "Caroline, let me explain..."

She raised her eyes to meet mine, tears welling up again.

She said, "Gabrielle, I'm not trying to make things difficult for you, it's just... There are some things I have to say. I have to speak up, for Rayden's sake, and for the Preston family too."

Internally, I scoffed, but kept my expression neutral. "Go on."

She took a deep breath, pulled a sheet of paper from her bag, and unfolded it.

It was a medical report.

"I got someone to check this for me," she said, her voice trembling, trying to sound as innocent as possible. "Gabrielle, you... you have a terminal illness. The AI says you won't live past a year."

The room erupted in an uproar.

She kept going, tears finally rolling down her cheeks. "I'm not accusing you of anything, Gabrielle, it's just... Rayden is a ascetic, and the Preston family has a reputation to protect.

"If all you want is to find someone to entrust your child to, we can help with that, but there's really no need to..."

She trailed off, lowering her head to wipe her tears.

Everyone's eyes were on me—some shocked, some suspicious, some even looked like they were here for the show.

Braden frowned. "Is what she said true?"

I let out a laugh, a little cold, a little amused.

So that was how they were playing it.

"Yeah, it's true." I owned up to it, totally unbothered.

Natalya looked up, a hint of smugness flickering in her eyes, but she quickly switched to a look of shock. "Gabrielle, how could you do something like this? Rayden is so pure, how could you..."

"How could I what?" I cut her off. "Sleep with him?"

Her cheeks turned crimson in an instant.

I took two steps forward, looked down at her from above.

I said, "Natalya, you really did your homework, huh? So, what else did you find out?"

She froze for a second.

"For example," I said slowly, "did you figure out why I ended up with a terminal illness?"

She opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

I smiled and turned to Braden and Caroline.

I said, "Braden, Caroline, it's true. The AI says I've got a terminal illness and I probably won't make it past a year. But..."

I pulled out my phone, pulled up something on the screen, and handed it to Braden.

Then I said, "This is my medical report from three months ago. Back then, all my test results were in the gutter. The doctors said I'd be lucky to last six months."

Braden took the phone and studied it carefully.

"But," I continued, "this is my medical report from last week."

I handed him another report.

Braden took it and compared the two, his frown deepening with every line he read.

"How... how is this possible?" he said, stunned.

I smiled.

Of course it was possible.

That damn system said as long as I got pregnant with the child of the man fate picked for me, I'd get to keep on living.

Five months into this pregnancy, my health had been improving every single day, and the cancer cells were fading away day by day.

"So," I said, fixing my gaze on Natalya, whose face had gone ghostly pale, "if you thought you could use this against me, you really picked the wrong target."

Natalya's face went pale.

But she was the queen of playing innocent. She quickly pulled herself together and forced a smile that was uglier than crying. "Wow... that's just great. Congrats, Gabrielle..."

"Don't rush to congratulate me," I cut her off. "You just said I was with Rayden to entrust my child to him, right?"

She bit her lip and stayed silent.

I smiled and turned to Rayden, who hadn't said a word this whole time.

He hadn't spoken since I came downstairs, just quietly standing in the corner, holding his rosary.

I walked up to him and looked up at him.

"Rayden, let me ask you something," I said.

Rayden looked down at me.

I said, "That night, you were the first one who realized who I was, right?"

His eyelashes quivered.