I Did 99 IVFs, He Crashed His Sister-In-Law’s Wedding

Chapter 3

Clara’s mother stood off to the side with her arms crossed, her face dark with displeasure.

"Didn't you sneak back here to steal your marriage certificate?"

"Dad… Mom…" Clara lifted her head, a flicker of desperate hope shining in her red-rimmed eyes. "I want a divorce!"

"Nonsense!" Clara’s father snarled, his thick brows drawn together into a deep furrow as he cut her off sharply. "Your son is the Sterling family's future heir, and he's the biggest advantage our family will ever have! Why can't you behave yourself and be the proper Mrs. Sterling?"

"But to him, my baby is nothing but a tissue-matching tool for Rose's child!"

Clara’s mother glanced at her hysterical, distraught daughter, a sharp glint flashing through her eyes. She pulled Clara into a tight hug. "There, there, honey. Tomorrow, your dad and I will go to the Sterling estate with you and stand by you. Just go upstairs and rest for now, okay?"

Clara, half-convinced and half-skeptical, did as she was told.

That night, she drank a glass of milk the maid brought up, and right away her mind started to fog, and her vision swam.

In the split second before she blacked out completely, she heard someone slip quietly into her room.

"Someone get in here! The master and madam said our family can't afford to offend the Sterling family. We have to get the young lady back to the Sterling house right now."

At that moment, every drop of blood in Clara's body turned to ice. Cold seeped into every bone, freezing her right down to her core. This was what it felt like to be betrayed by every last person she trusted.

When she finally opened her eyes again, Clara was already back in that dim, shadowy room she had tried so hard to escape.

The man who stood with his back to her heard the soft sound of her stirring and turned around. His eyes, when they landed on her, were colder than stone, without a single spark of warmth to be found.

"Your own parents refused to help you. Do you admit you were wrong now?"

Clara froze for a beat, then suddenly burst out laughing. "Wrong? My only mistake was falling in love with you all those years ago!"

Gabe's face darkened even further. He was just about to snap back when an unsteady figure went tumbling through the doorway.

It was Rose. The woman was sobbing, her face streaked with tears, looking so fragile and pitiable that it broke one's heart.

"Gabe! Something terrible happened! Leo suddenly got really bad and needs emergency surgery! The doctor says he needs an urgent blood transfusion! Hurry up and sign the papers, sign to approve letting Clara's baby give Leo blood!"

Clara's pupils blew wide with shock, and she cut in immediately, her voice sharp with panic, "No! My baby just had surgery! If you take blood from him now, it'll kill him!"

Rose flicked a glance at the hesitation crossing Gabe's face, a scheme sparking in her eyes.

With a heavy thud, she dropped to her knees right on the floor. "Please, I beg you! Just a little blood to save him, it won't kill anyone!"

Gabe looked down at Rose kneeling at his feet, sobbing, and a flash of pity crossed his face.

He bent to lift her back up, then turned to Clara and spoke in a low, firm voice, "Saving a life comes first."

"Gabe! Don't you dare!" Clara lunged forward to stop them, but the bodyguards who had rushed in grabbed her and pinned her arms tight, holding her completely still.

Helpless, she could only watch as a nurse carried her newborn over, then watched that thick, sharp needle sink deep into the baby’s delicate, soft skin.

"Stop! Don’t take my baby’s blood! Gabe, I beg you!"

The air was thick with the echo of her frantic, desperate pleas and her tiny baby’s agonized wails, but not another soul in the room made a sound.

One vial… two… three…

Bright red blood poured steadily out of that tiny, fragile little body. Her baby’s cries faded from loud, piercing shrieks to faint, trembling whimpers, and Clara felt her heart being carved apart, inch by agonizing inch.

In the end, her vision went black, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she jolted awake, roused by the sound of panicked shouting and the shrill, blaring beep of a heart monitor.

"Heart rate dropping! Get the defibrillator now!"

Right after that came a low, furious roar from a man. "Gabe! You said everything would be fine! How the hell did this happen?"

A cold jolt shot through Clara’s veins, and blind panic seized her instantly. She struggled to haul herself up and shoved her way through the crowd of people blocking the way out.

Right there, surrounded by medics fighting desperately to save him, was her baby.

The baby who had only been born two days earlier.