My Fiancé Broke My Fingers for His Childhood Sweetheart

My boyfriend's childhood sweetheart had a strange illness. Whenever it acted up, she needed him to caress her entire body, or else she would strip naked in public. On the night of Ryan Foster's ninety-ninth proposal to me, her illness flared up again. He had just slipped the ring onto my finger when he turned and walked away without looking back. We met again at his birthday banquet, where he publicly announced that Ivy Sterling was carrying his child. After he stepped down from the stage, he coldly told me, "Ivy has to keep this baby. My proposal still stands, but you will treat this child as your own." The crowd immediately started mocking me. They called me an infertile woman, which was why Ryan dared to be so brazen. I did not say a word. I pulled off the ring and handed it back to him. "I gave you a chance. You threw it away." At the sight of that one-carat diamond, Ryan let go of Ivy's hand and rushed to embrace me. "Do you know how hard I worked to get this ring on your finger? You cannot just take it off like this." "I only acknowledged Ivy's pregnancy to protect her from gossip, nothing more," he pleaded. Every single time he proposed, Ivy would suddenly fall ill. And without exception, he abandoned me for her. I had warned him that if we were to marry, there could not always be an Ivy between us. Yet each time, he swore with absolute certainty. "I will handle things with Ivy properly. I would never betray you." I stared at him coldly. "This is your idea of handling it?" Out of all his options, he had chosen the one that humiliated me the most. Ryan's voice cracked. "I had no choice, please believe me. You can punish me however you want later, just let me explain." Ivy charged forward and shielded him. "Elara Hale, just because you cannot have children, you would deny Ryan fatherhood? You do not love him. You are just a selfish witch who wants to possess him." I slapped her. The sharp c***k of my palm against her cheek echoed through the room. "What right do you have to lecture me about love?" Clutching her reddening cheek, she shot back. "My love for Ryan gives me that right. So does carrying his only child." Ryan winced at the mark on her face. "Ivy is innocent. If you need to vent your anger, do it on me, not her." Around us, the guests whispered among themselves. "An infertile woman jealous of Miss Sterling's baby? How pathetic." "She is clearly trying to force Mr. Foster to abandon the child, so Miss Sterling ends up childless like her." To spare Ivy from gossip, Ryan had left me to face all those judgmental stares alone. Amid the cutting remarks, Ryan sighed heavily. "Elara, let me take you home," he said as he reached for my arm. Just then, a waiter hurried over with an ornate velvet box. "Mr. Foster, the three-carat ring you ordered for Miss Sterling." "Who authorized you to bring this out now?" Ryan snapped. Then he immediately turned to me with a placating tone. "Ivy is carrying my child. Since I cannot give her the status she deserves, this is the least I can offer." My stomach turned. I remembered how he had whispered that the one-carat engagement ring symbolized a love that would last a lifetime. Yet here he was, giving her a promise of forever with three carats, as if multiple lifetimes of commitment were nothing. Before I could stop myself, my hand flew out. A loud smack landed across his face, and the sharp sound echoed through the banquet hall like a gunshot. "Don't you dare touch me," I spat. Ivy was the first to react. "Elara! You struck Ryan? Have you lost your mind?" The crowd erupted in outrage. "Attacking Mr. Foster on his own birthday? Unforgivable." "After he has been so patient with her, she still pushes her luck. She should get down on her knees and beg for forgiveness." Ryan's eyes turned stormy. "Silence."