Chapter 1
I accidentally overheard my fiancé talking to his childhood friend:
"If I don’t marry a well-bred lady from a family of equal status, should I marry Sienna, who can’t even bear children?"
"Don’t worry, I’ve already spoiled her appetite. Even if she finds out, she won’t leave me. At most, I’ll just buy her a few bags."
Yet, I was still holding the pregnancy test report in my hand, showing that I was two months pregnant, with everything normal.
Just a second ago, I was planning to give this joy as a birthday gift to Jasper, but now I couldn't muster the strength to push open the door of the private room.
Memories flooded in like a tide. Back then, to be with me, he pretended to be a poor student for two years. Jasper, a wealthy second-generation who had grown tired of five-star hotels, could devour two big bowls of the plain noodles I cooked.
We embraced and kissed in our cheap rented apartment, under the dim glow of a fluorescent light, he slipped a can tab onto my ring finger and made a promise.
"Sienna, my wife in this lifetime can only be you."
Later, when enemies came looking for him, I risked my life to take a bullet for him and lost my ability to bear children.
Later still, the soda can ring on my ring finger was replaced by an expensive custom-made diamond ring. He flaunted me in the high society’s glitzy circles, and the luxury goods he gave me piled up like a small mountain.
While everyone was singing praises about the reality of a high-ranking official’s story, the romance between the prince and the common girl, the reality was so cruel.
"It’s been seven years. Do you really have the heart to let Sienna be your mistress? After all, she was once the campus belle."
Jasper took a deep drag of his cigarette, his tone casual.
"Seven years, I’ve long been tired of it. If it weren’t for her taking that bullet for me…"
His finger, flicking the ash, paused slightly, then he forcefully crushed the unfinished cigarette in the ashtray.
"But that scar is really ugly. Several times I saw it and just lost it."
The piercing laughter instantly rang out, with the heart-wrenching words drilling into my ears one by one.
"That won't do. The Lu family is relying on you to carry on the family line."
"So Jasper found a fiancée, but she’s not even close to Sienna in terms of looks."
"Isn’t that perfect? The older one is virtuous, the younger one is beautiful. Jasper is about to enjoy the blessings of both."
Jasper let out a scoff, tacitly agreeing with the other person's words.
Indeed, such things are quite normal for their circle, and the only abnormal one is me, who has never belonged to their circle.
Clutching the pregnancy test result in my hand, a wave of bitterness welled up in my heart.
If it weren’t for this child, I think I could have kicked the door open without hesitation, slapped Jasper, and then pretended to leave with a carefree air.
But now, the doctor's words echoed clearly in my mind.
"Miss Jiang, due to your unique constitution and the severe injuries you sustained before, this might be the only child you’ll ever have."
In the end, I still didn’t have the courage to enter. Instead, I sent a message to Jasper, saying I wasn’t feeling well, and then hurriedly made my way home.
As soon as I got home, Jasper called. His voice carried a hint of drunkenness, and there was a faint trace of displeasure.
"What’s wrong? You’re not coming to my birthday party?"
"My stomach hurts a bit…"
"Here we go again, are you going to say the place where you were shot hurts?"
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to take an impatient deep breath, while someone nearby fanned the flames with their words.
"How could that be? What if my sister-in-law is pregnant?"
Hearing this, Jasper sneered and mocked, "Oh really? Are you pregnant?"
I took a deep breath, suppressing the dull pain in my heart, and retorted in a fit of pique, "Yes."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a burst of raucous laughter.
Jasper actually put the call on speakerphone.
"Sienna, I've spoiled you too much."
Just before the call was hung up, I seemed to hear someone say that since the younger one didn’t come, it was just right to let the older one come.
Those faint words suddenly gave me the resolve to leave Jasper.
It's just this child...
The suitcase was already on the ground, but suddenly I didn't know where to start.
I don't know how long I hesitated, so long that my limbs started to go numb, when my phone suddenly buzzed.
Opening it, I saw a picture sent by Jasper's childhood friend. Although it was quickly retracted, I still clearly saw the two people in the photo.
It was Jasper, with a delicately dressed and fair-faced girl in his arms.
Truly, the small one doesn’t go, but the big one does.
Jasper didn’t return home until the next morning, carrying my favorite croissant and porridge.
"Baby, wake up, come and have breakfast. I specially bought croissant and porridge from South Street for you."
He wore a flattering smile on his face, just like he always did when he upset me.
"I'm sorry, I drank too much yesterday and said some harsh things. Please don't take it to heart."
After the formulaic apology, Jasper pulled out a chair, trying to get me to sit down, but as soon as he got close, I caught the pungent scent of perfume on him.
It was a popular women's fragrance from a luxury brand.
"Sit down quickly, or it won’t taste as good once it cools."
The aroma of food mixed with the scent of perfume wafted into my nose, making me nauseous. I pushed Jasper away and ran towards the bathroom.
From last night until now, I had barely had a sip of water. I retched a few times but didn’t throw up anything, though my throat felt scorching and painful.
Just as I was about to get up, I suddenly heard Jasper’s impatient voice behind me.
"Sienna, yesterday you faked a stomachache, and today you're pretending to vomit. Are you addicted to faking illnesses?"
I struggled to lift my head, and the first thing I saw was Jasper's impatient face. Looking further down, there was a faint red stain on his shirt collar.
"Let's break up, Jasper."
As soon as I spoke, waves of nausea and dizziness hit me. I clenched my hands tightly, trying my best to stay calm.
“I haven’t even settled the score with you yet, and you’re talking about breaking up?!”
“I saw that photo, it’s your fiancée, isn’t it? You’re about to get engaged.”
Jasper was momentarily flustered, but he quickly regained his composure, even appearing somewhat overly calm. It was as if he had finally been relieved of a long-held secret.
“It’s good that you found out sooner. From now on, be more sensible. Even if I start a family, with all the years we’ve shared, I won’t treat you badly if you stay with me.”
The slap that wasn't delivered last night finally landed on Jasper's face.
"You still dare to hit me at this point? Do you think you're still my girlfriend? You're just a..."
Perhaps moved by the tears clearly visible in my eyes, Jasper somewhat irritably ruffled his hair, took a deep breath, and lit a cigarette.
"I know it might be hard for you to accept right now, but it's okay. I'll give you time. Think it over, and call me when you've figured it out."
As the words fell, the sound of leather shoes hitting the ground echoed, fading away and then growing clearer again.
"Sienna, you're 29, not a little girl anymore. Who else would want you if you leave me?"
After the warning-like admonition was delivered, the sound of leather shoes completely disappeared from the room. The steaming croissant on the table told me that sometimes, realizing the true nature of a lover doesn’t even take the time of a meal.
The exhaustion of the night surged over me like a tidal wave at that moment, and I leaned against the wall as I slowly walked back to the bedroom.
After a long pause, I took out the packed suitcase again.
I moved into this house the year I took a bullet for Jasper, and it has been four years since then.
There are many additions—luxury items Jasper bought for me, stuffed animals we won together, and photos we took.
But in reality, there aren't many things that are solely mine.
I carefully packed for a while, only putting a few clothes I had brought with me into the suitcase.
When I closed the suitcase, something suddenly fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Upon closer inspection, it was a soda can tab.
When I was with Jasper, I thought he was a poor student like me.
He was still a very clumsy and poor student, specifically manifested in his inability to do manual work or distinguish between grains. He worked with me at a restaurant and could break ten plates in a day. The money he earned wasn’t enough to cover the damages, and in the end, I ended up treating him to a meal.
"You’re chasing me, yet I’m the one treating you to a meal. Isn’t that a bit unreasonable?"
When I asked this, Jasper had just finished his second bowl of plain noodle soup. Hearing this, he blushed with embarrassment.
"Then, then I’ll give you the money…"
“So I’ve decided to be your girlfriend. It’s only fair that my boyfriend treats me to a meal.”
It was the third month that Jasper had been pursuing me. Faced with my sudden confession, he was so happy that he was momentarily at a loss. After standing still for a while, he suddenly knelt down on one knee with a can tab in hand.
“Sienna, I swear I will make you my wife.”
Time has passed, and the vow still lingers in my ears, but the one who spoke it has changed his heart.
When I finished packing up and was ready to leave, I took off the ring on my hand and placed it on the table along with the pull tab.
After a moment of thought, I threw the pull tab into the trash bin.
I figured Jasper had long forgotten the cheap promise he made back then, so I didn’t want to leave it there to be an eyesore for him.
Jasper called me a week after I broke up with him, while I was at the hospital in my hometown for a prenatal checkup.
Fortunately, during these years with Jasper, I wasn't dazzled by the glamorous world of high society. I worked diligently and saved enough money to raise the child in my belly.
I decided to keep this child. Although he came at not the most opportune time, I simply couldn't bear to lose a child who is connected to me by flesh and blood.
"What do you mean? I asked you to think carefully, and you ran away from home?"
As soon as the call connected, Jasper began to angrily interrogate, acting as if he were the one who had been wronged.
"There's nothing to think about, we've already broken up."
"Sienna, think carefully. With your salary, how many lifetimes will it take for you to afford a riverside penthouse, not to mention those six-figure bags..."
Jasper's money-filled accusations sounded somewhat ridiculous to me.
He seemed to really believe that by exposing me to so many aspects of high society, I would become addicted to it. Unfortunately, he forgot that what initially attracted me was his love for me, not his money.
"I never cared about those things. Look carefully, I didn’t take any of your stuff."
"Fine, you’ve got guts. Don’t regret it!"
After that day, Jasper started openly posting photos with his new fiancée on social media.
He made a grand display of his love for the new woman, sending flowers, rings, and handbags, causing a city-wide stir in just a few days.
I was at the hospital picking up my prenatal test report when my college roommate called me. The doctor said my recent emotional turmoil has a significant impact on the baby. Given my unique constitution, I need to be extra careful during the early stages of pregnancy.
The situation with the baby has left me anxious and unsettled. When my roommate inquired, I responded vaguely, simply saying we had broken up.
There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by a sigh.
"Maybe it's for the best. Last year, when I was out shopping, I saw Jasper with another girl. I wanted to tell you at the time..."
I couldn't hear the rest of the words clearly, only the first half of the sentence.
"Last year, Jasper was holding a girl."
So Jasper had already been unfaithful this early on.
After thinking about it, I felt ridiculous. There were already signs, weren't there?
What was Jasper like when we first got together?
He couldn’t stand to be apart from me for even a moment. Even when his family forced him to break up with me, took his phone, and locked him up, he managed to jump from the second floor of the villa in the middle of the night and walk over 20 kilometers just to be the first to wish me a happy birthday.
But what has Jasper been like these past two years? He’s always busy with work, has endless social engagements, and while he keeps sending me gifts, he comes home less and less. If I even slightly nag him, he gets angry at me.
"Sienna, are you still listening? Jasper sent invitations to all of us classmates. He’s getting married on the 15th of next month."
My roommate's words pulled me out of my memories. I barely steadied myself, replied with "got it," and hurriedly hung up the phone.
It hurts, everywhere hurts, especially my stomach.
Holding my stomach and leaning against the wall, I walked forward, hoping to find a chair to rest for a while before heading home.
Just as I sat down, I heard a familiar yet unfamiliar voice.
"Doctor, quick, I need emergency care, my fiancée burned her hand..."
"Jasper, it's just a small burn, it's not serious..."
From a distance of about three to five meters, Jasper stood sideways to me, anxiously holding a girl.
In a daze, I seemed to hear something shatter, and someone gasped in surprise.
"Miss, are you okay? Why are you bleeding so much?"
Then a cold voice sounded in my ear.
"Don't look, what if the gory sight scares you?"
Before my consciousness faded, I saw Jasper's figure gradually walking away.
So that was what he said.
"But Jasper, it hurts so much. If you knew it was me who was bleeding, would you regret it?"
The child still wasn't saved.
The young nurse said indignantly that it was just a little bit off, but unfortunately, it was the weekend, and there was only one doctor on duty in the emergency department. At that time, the emergency doctor had been called away by some unscrupulous wealthy man to treat his fiancée's burn injury.
I once eagerly looked forward to having a child with Jasper.
After learning of his infidelity in this relationship, I never considered giving up this hard-won child.
Loving the wrong person is not my fault, and being deceived makes me a victim too.
