I Saved Him, Now I’ll Leave Him

Chapter 4

I swallowed the tight, indescribable ache in my chest and moved the crib aside.

Something small dropped to the floor. It was the framed photo of my child's name.

I crouched down and brushed away the dust, but my hand froze halfway.

The frame had been split cleanly in two. Its surface was covered in dense scratches, its original form barely recognizable, and a foul smell lingered from it.

My mother walked over, glanced at it, and covered her nose in disgust. "Sophie had been falling ill for some time, and the doctors couldn’t find a clear diagnosis. Worried, I asked someone to take a closer look. He suggested that the illness might be psychological or stress-related, possibly worsened by grief over the child we lost. After we removed the framed memorial and sought proper medical and psychological treatment, Sophie’s condition gradually improved."

Sophia arrived, saw the scene and reached out timidly and grabbed my hand. "Claire… I didn’t want this to happen either. But Ralph said… what’s a dead baby compared to someone who's still alive? We’ve been best friends for so many years. You won’t blame me, will you?"

She looked at my pale face, leaned close to my ear, and lowered her voice, "Claire Quinn, does it hurt to lose everything? You had everything growing up, but now your family and the fiancé who loved you… they all belong to me. I gave my virginity to Ralph, right there beside your hospital bed. That night, I held my underwear over your face, and Ralph was so turned on, he took me three times. It’s such a shame you never woke up to see it…”

I stared wide-eyed, trembling all over as I looked at Sophia, full of disgust for her.

I had once thought I was so lucky to have such a good friend. Turns out, it had all just been a fig leaf hiding her envy and resentment from the very start.

I finally couldn’t hold back anymore, and slapped her with all my strength.

"Claire Quinn!" Ralph arrived and roared my name.

I was shoved violently to the side, my back slammed into the edge of a table, and the searing, drilling pain left me barely able to stand.

He caught sight of my pained expression, and his voice faltered for a moment.

In the end, he turned his face away and spoke in an icy tone. "It's just a stupid name in a frame. If it gets dirty, it gets dirty. Sophie has already apologized to you. What more do you want?! Claire, look at how selfish and vicious you are. It would have been better if you never woke up. I really regret proposing to you!"

I stared at his cold, heartless face. I felt the last scrap of warmth in my heart fade away completely.

"Ralph, our engagement is off. Marry whoever you want, it has nothing to do with me."

Ralph froze all over, his face darkened.

I ignored him and turned to leave. When I walked past Sophia, she suddenly screamed and fell backward, rolling down the entire flight of stairs.

Ralph pushed me away like a madman and rushed her to the hospital.

Luckily, they got her there on time. All she needed was bed rest to keep up the pregnancy.

Ralph stared at me, his eyes blood-red. "You've been targeting Sophia nonstop ever since you woke up, and now you pushed her down the stairs. You're just jealous that she's carrying my child while yours is gone, aren't you?! I already promised I'd marry you. Sophia is not a threat to you. Why can't you just let this go!" He squeezed my arm hard, his grip brutal.

Unlike what I did in my last life, I didn't try to argue. I just looked at him quietly.

This was the man I had loved for two whole lifetimes, and in the end, without even bothering to get the facts straight, he pinned all the blame on me.

All of a sudden, I found the whole situation laughable.

For a man like this, I once loved him so recklessly that I ended up alienated from all my family.

Smack!

A sudden out-of-nowhere slap knocked me stumbling to the floor, my ears ringing.

When I got my wits back, I saw it was my mother, who had hurried over to me and hurt me.

She glared at me bitterly. "Sophie has been with me these past few years. I've long thought of her as my own daughter! If she's seriously harmed, don’t you ever step foot in our house again!"

I never expected that, given a second chance at life, I would hear these words again. My face burned with stinging pain, but it couldn't compare to the agony twisting in my heart.

Doctors passing by saw what was happening, and stopped to gossip about me.

"I’ve seen this woman before, she was on the news… she was in a coma for three years, it must have rotted her brain.”

"She lost her baby so she had to hurt someone else's. What a nasty bitch."

"Serves you right that you can't carry a baby. Do more good deeds so you can also have a child!"

All their gossiping struck my heart like countless sharp blades, piercing it until it bled profusely.

Ralph stood there expressionless, the last trace of warmth in his eyes swept away by rage. "You will kneel here, and when Sophie wakes up, you will apologize to her!"

An indescribable anger surged up in my chest. I struggled with all my strength, lifted my head, and glared at him. "She fell down the stairs by herself! It has nothing to do with me. Why should I kneel and apologize to her?"

"Stop making excuses!" Ralph roughly twisted my arm behind my back.

With just a bit more force, a tearing pain shot through my arm.

"Maybe a lesson will finally make you behave!"

As I struggled, impatience flashed across his face. In a burst of anger, he shoved me away.

Caught off guard, my body tilted backward, and I was about to tumble down the stairs.

Then a large hand reached out from behind and steadied me firmly. "My future wife is not someone who bows her head to anyone or kneel down to others!"