Chapter 3
1075 Words
Back in the hospital... As the needle approached me, I did not hesitate for a second. I grabbed the syringe and plunged it straight into Noah Evans’s arm instead.
"If you love Noelle so madly, then you should be the one donating the blood."
Noah’s face turned ashen pale. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Yes, I have gone mad! You are the one who drove me to this!"
I retreated quickly to a safe distance away from them. "Noah, I have already apologized exactly as you demanded. Donate blood? Never...
"... if you truly love Noelle that much, then why not give her the title and status she craves?"
I pulled the divorce agreement I had prepared long ago out of my bag and held it up. "Let’s get a divorce."
As soon as the words left my mouth, mocking laughter erupted all around the room.
Noah sneered at me with disbelief. "Again with this old trick? Ruby, I thought you had actually grown a backbone. Turns out this is just another one of your schemes to get my attention, isn't it?"
He took the document and signed his name across it in a bold, sweeping motion.
A smirk played on his lips as he handed it back. "I bet even after I sign it, you won't have the courage or heart to actually go through with it."
He tossed the agreement roughly against my chest. His elegant signature is clearly visible on the paper.
But this time, I was the one smiling.
He assumed I was acting just like I used to, using a fake agreement to trick him or threaten him into caring.
But this time... it was real.
I offered no explanation. I simply folded the paper carefully and put it away securely.
The crowd burst into loud, jeering laughter.
"Still acting like this is real? Haven't you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?"
"You aren't planning to run away carrying his child, are you? Everyone knows Mr. Evans doesn't even care about that baby! Hahaha!"
"Alright, stop teasing her," Noelle said, feigning gentleness and sympathy. She patted my hand lightly. "I’m still young, after all. Unlike me, Ruby... you don't have much time left to wait. You can't afford to waste years like I can. That's why you have to resort to these little tricks just to hold onto Noah."
I instinctively pulled my hand away from hers.
Suddenly, Noelle stumbled backward as light as a kite caught in the wind, and collapsed onto the floor.
Her face drained of all color instantly, and she looked up with tear-filled, heartbroken eyes.
"Ruby, I know you don't like me. But I only ever wanted to help you. Why do you hate me so much?"
It was such a cheap, clumsy trick.
She had performed this exact scene countless times over the years.
And every single time... Noah believed her without question.
He shoved me backward violently, his face dark with rage. "Ruby, I see you will never learn your lesson until things go too far!"
I tried to defend myself weakly. "I didn't push her."
Noelle spoke in that sickeningly sweet, deceptive tone, "It's true, Noah, Ruby didn't push me. I just lost my balance. Please don't be angry with her."
"You see?!" Noah grew even angrier. "Noelle thinks of you and looks out for you at every turn, yet all you do is plot against her and try to hurt her! You won't be leaving this room today until you've learned a proper lesson!"
At his command, two large, burly men stepped forward and pinned me down hard onto the cold metal examination table.
I struggled desperately, but they pressed down harder, restricting every movement.
My stomach slammed hard against the edge of the table.
A wave of sharp, tearing pain shot through my body.
I gritted my teeth until they ached, cold sweat breaking out all over my skin.
"My... my baby..."
Noah watched from the side with cold detachment, crossing his arms and mocking me.
"You didn't make a sound or cry out when you were busy pushing people earlier. Now you suddenly use the baby as an excuse to play the victim. Don't try to scare me with that. Ruby, if you do something wrong, you have to pay the price. Otherwise, you will never remember your place."
As the procedure began and blood started to flow from my body, the pain in my abdomen grew more and more intense.
My whole body began to convulse uncontrollably.
I gritted my teeth and gasped, "I'm not lying to you... my stomach hurts so badly. Please, I beg you... let me get checked first. Please check on the baby...
"... this is my very last chance to have a child, Noah! If anything happens this time, I will never be able to be a mother again. I am begging you!"
Noah’s expression shifted slightly. He looked closely at my face, twisted in agony, and at my lips, which were growing paler by the second.
He hesitated for a moment, thinking it over, and raised his hand, about to call everything to a halt.
But right then, Noelle suddenly covered her mouth with her hand and began sobbing softly, tears streaming down her face like rain.
Noah’s attention was instantly diverted away from me. "What is it, Noelle? Why are you crying?"
"I just... I suddenly thought of the baby I had lost," she whispered tearfully. "I know Ruby is probably just pretending to be in pain so she won't be punished... but I still can't help feeling sorry for her. Just let it go, Noah. After all, I’m used to being bullied and mistreated by her."
Noah clenched his fists tight. Any trace of hesitation had been completely extinguished by Noelle’s tears.
His tone, which had just begun to soften, turned icy and rigid again. "We absolutely cannot let this go. If we do, she will only get worse and walk all over us. Continue the procedure. Keep going until Noelle stops crying."
My heart sank into the deepest, darkest abyss.
I wondered if the real father of my child had arrived yet.
If he arrived and found I wasn't there, he would surely search every single room and corridor in this hospital until he found me.
All I had to do now was hold on, drag this out, and buy time until he found me.
- Writer
