I Sterilized Myself While He was Cheering Another “Baby”

Chapter 3

Lawrence never showed up.

I waited from sunrise to nightfall. The blood on me had dried and stuck to my skin.

When the bodyguard opened the door, I walked out in silence. I took a taxi back to my studio.

I pushed the door open. The lights were on.

Nora sat on the sofa, holding a cup of coffee. She took a slow sip, calm and composed.

Dean lay across my worktable. He scribbled all over my drafts with a marker.

Those were the design drawings for Mirage Summit. I had drawn them by hand over three full months. I had not even had time to scan a backup.

My blood rushed to my head. I ran over and snatched the drawings away.

"Stop!" I shouted.

But it was too late. The fine lines were covered in black ink. It was nothing but ruined paper now.

Dean flinched at my shout. He leaned back in shock.

I reached out to steady him. But he jerked away like he had been burned and fell backward.

He wailed.

The child landed on the carpet. His forehead lightly hit the edge of the table. He burst into loud, heartbroken cries.

"Mom! She hit me! She pushed me!" he cried.

Nora shot to her feet. She rushed over and shoved me hard.

"Sierra! If you have a problem, take it out on me. What kind of person lays a hand on a child?" she snapped.

I had just gone through surgery. My body was weak.

Her shove sent me crashing into the sharp edge of a display cabinet. Pain exploded through my waist.

The wound tore open. My vision went dark. I almost dropped to my knees.

Before I could catch my breath, the door burst open.

Lawrence rushed in.

His eyes went straight to Dean, who was crying loudly. Then to Nora, who held the child in panic.

He strode over and grabbed me by the collar.

"Sierra! Have you lost your mind? Dean is only five!" he barked.

Cold sweat poured down my face. I pointed at the ruined drawings on the table.

"He destroyed my work. Also, I didn't push him!" I said through clenched teeth.

Lawrence cut me off with a roar. His eyes were full of fury.

"For a few sheets of paper, you hurt a child? What kind of heart do you have?" he snapped.

But that was three months of my life. It was the key to whether my studio could survive this quarter.

To him, it was not even worth a single hair on his son's head.

Nora began to cry softly. She shot me a sideways glance.

"Lawrence, Sierra can't have children. Of course, she feels uneasy when she sees Dean," she said.

"Let's go. I won't bring Dean around her again," she added gently.

The look in Lawrence's eyes shifted. Anger turned into disgust.

He let out a cold laugh. He released his grip and let me fall to the floor.

"You can't have a child, so you want to ruin someone else's?" he sneered.

"Sierra, I never knew you could sink this low."

I lay on the ground. Blood had already soaked through my sweater.

"I'm jealous?" I said, lifting my head.

I looked at him, each word dragging through pain.

"Lawrence, is it that I can't have children? Who do you think I became like this for?"

Lawrence froze for a moment. His eyes flicked to the blood at my abdomen. Something in his gaze wavered.

Just then, Dean suddenly twitched in Nora's arms. His eyes rolled back.

Nora screamed. She pinched the boy, trying to wake him.

"Dean! Dean, what's wrong?" she cried.

Lawrence panicked at once. He turned and rushed out, carrying the child.

At the door, he stopped and looked back at me.

"Sierra, if anything happens to Dean, I won't let you off," he said coldly.

That night, bad news came fast.

The biggest investor of my studio pulled out. Three ongoing projects were all put on hold.

My mentor, a respected old professor in the field, was pressured by Quinn Group. His eligibility for a lifetime achievement award was canceled.

I looked at my colleagues, all stressed and overwhelmed. I looked at my teacher's tired, helpless face.

I knew it.

Lawrence was forcing me to cave in.

I took out my phone and made the call.

"I'll apologize," I said quietly.

"Leave my teacher alone. Leave my studio alone. I'll apologize to Nora and the child."

There was a short silence on the other end.

Then came Lawrence's relieved sigh.

"Sierra, as long as you accept them, we can go back to how things were," he said.

Back to how things were?

I hung up.

I looked at the fading sun outside the window.

Lawrence, there was no going back for us.