Chapter 4
1080 Words
He kissed her swollen belly, his face filled with happiness. He wrapped an arm around her and showed the ultrasound photo to the camera, his possessiveness unmistakable.
He wore cute outfits he had never tried before, matching her playful antics. The atmosphere was warm and sweet, and amid the endless camera flashes, I suddenly recalled the scene of taking wedding photos with Rowan.
The photos had been simple, nothing more than a few shots taken on a phone. He wore a gray-black padded jacket, while I wore a cheap veil.
Even though the freezing wind made us breathe visible white mist, our faces were full of sweetness.
Snowflakes filled the sky as we dreamed of growing old together.
Back then, to me, that was happiness. That was enough.
But now, the illusion I once believed I had tightly grasped has finally shattered.
“Wren, come help me look at these. Which of these two outfits is better?” Chloe called out to me again.
Rowan quietly fixed his gaze on me.
I forced my stiff, numb legs to move and walked into the fitting room. Inside, only Chloe and I remained.
“Wren, how does it feel watching us take photos together?” She suddenly spoke, her tone carrying an odd layer of hidden meaning. For a moment, I did not understand.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She still gave me that sweet smile.
But the moment her arm brushed against the clothing rack, the luxurious gowns surrounding us suddenly came crashing down.
The heavy steel bar slammed directly into my lower back. She screamed and stumbled backward, drawing everyone from outside into the room.
“Chloe! Where are you?”
“Rowan, I’m here! Hurry and save me!”
Rowan rushed over immediately and pulled the pale-faced Chloe into his arms. Just as he was about to tell the bodyguards to help me, he heard her weak voice.
“Rowan… my stomach…” The moment she finished speaking, she fainted. Rowan quickly scooped her into his arms.
At the same time, a violent pain twisted through my abdomen. Desperately, I reached my hand toward him and used all my strength to call his name.
His jaw tightened. He had clearly heard me, yet he never turned back.
Blood quickly stained the hem of my wedding dress red. I could clearly feel my body growing colder and colder, until something finally slipped away from inside me. I did not know how much time had passed before I jolted awake from the nightmare.
Chloe's smiling face came into view, eerily similar to the scene from my first time in the hospital.
But this time, there was a level of scheming calculation in her eyes that I could not understand.
“An illegitimate child has the same inheritance rights. Did you really think I would let you give birth to this baby?”
My pupils shrank violently as I clutched my stomach in disbelief. The image of blood covering the floor before I lost consciousness replayed endlessly in my mind.
“You knew… the baby… my baby…”
Seven years ago, the doctor diagnosed me with blocked fallopian tubes. I had almost no chance of ever having children.
And this child had been my only chance to become a mother.
But now…
“The baby gone? My baby really gone?!” I broke down, screaming through my tears.
Yet Chloe calmly closed her eyes and lightly pressed a finger against her lips.
“Shh. This still isn’t enough.” Supporting herself, she slowly lowered herself onto the floor and smiled at me triumphantly.
The next second, she let out a piercing scream.
Rowan had just returned with the small cake she wanted. The moment he pushed open the door, he carefully helped her up.
“Chloe, what happened?!”
“Wren said I killed her baby, so she pushed me on purpose! She even said my child should pay with its life! What should I do? What should I do?! I really didn’t mean it!” Chloe instantly returned to that innocent and pitiful appearance.
Rowan Mercer lifted his head sharply, condemning me without hesitation.
“You couldn’t even protect your own child, and do you still blame Chloe for it? Someone take her to Midnight Velvet for auction!”
“No! Rowan, I have nothing to do with you anymore! You have no right to do this!”
Everyone in Seattle knew that Midnight Velvet was the city’s largest den of luxury and vice. Women sent there for auction were either abused until they were broken or tortured to death.
But before I even had the chance to struggle, the bodyguards hoisted me onto a shoulder.
“Tell Midnight Velvet her starting bid is one dollar! No one except crippled gamblers drowning in debt is allowed to bid on her!”
“No! Don’t! Rowan, let me go! I’m not your wife anymore! What right do you have to do this?! I won’t go! I don’t want the child anymore! I don’t want your—mmph! Mmph!”
Before I could finish shouting, someone tightly covered my mouth.
One of the bodyguards beside me lowered his voice and whispered into my ear.
“Miss Wren, please don’t worry. Mr. Mercer will definitely arrange for another woman to replace you. Pretending this is a misunderstanding is our only option. We’ll protect your safety the entire time and make sure no one hurts you.”
The elevator doors quickly closed. But only seconds later, the bodyguard let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground.
Terror overwhelmed me. Amid my futile struggling, another group of men stuffed me into a sack.
“Our miss already knew Rowan had a backup plan, so she ordered us to wait there. You should accept your fate.”
I fell completely into despair and let the tears stream down my face. But before the elevator could even reach the first floor, the doors creaked open ominously. Someone stood in the shadows outside, their eyes dark and terrifying.
“You… how is this possible…”
The people inside the elevator stared in horror, as though they had seen a ghost, fumbling to pull out their phones.
I looked at the blurry figure standing in the shadows, but I could no longer hold on and finally lost consciousness.
But no matter whether I lived or died this time....
Rowan Mercer, I never wanted to see you again.
- Writer
