Pretty Wife, Dirty Secret, Big Regret

Chapter 6

The lawyer sounded shocked. "Ms. Dye, do you have any solid evidence?"

"I do," Yara said. "I'll send everything to your email in a sec."

Ever since Shawn locked her outside and left her to take a knife meant for Annie, she'd been on high alert. From then on, every time Shawn and Annie were anywhere near her, she kept recording, gathering proof.

If Shawn wanted to play dirty, she wasn't about to play nice.

After a few more words with her lawyer, Yara quickly sold off what little property she still had in her name and borrowed money from Mr. Miller to cover her mother's medical fees for the month.

"Sorry to trouble you again, Mr. Miller."

"Don't mention it," the man said warmly. "I took on a new doctoral student a couple of years back. He happens to be passing through your city in a few days, so I'll have him pick you up at the airport and bring you home."

"Okay."

A sliver of relief eased through Yara. She transferred the money to the hospital, then went back to her hotel to pack.

But for reasons she couldn't shake, an uneasy weight sat heavy in her chest.

It was past ten that night when her hometown hospital called.

Her mother's attending doctor let out a sigh on the other end. "Ms. Dye, I'm sorry to inform you that after emergency treatment failed, your mother passed away tonight at 10:16 and three seconds."

Yara was struck with horror. "How did this happen?!"

"Without her specialized medication, the patient's condition deteriorates rapidly. There was nothing more we could do."

Her voice trembling, Yara asked, "I already paid the medical bill today, didn't I?"

The doctor hesitated. "The hospital did receive a payment at four in the afternoon. But less than an hour later, a man requested a full refund, claiming the money had been sent by mistake."

"Who was it?"

"A man with the surname Ewing."

Right then, a broken, anguished sob tore out of Yara at last.

How could Shawn be so heartless?

Crushed by grief, Yara called Shawn immediately, but no one picked up.

She searched for him like a woman possessed, until she spotted on Annie's social media that the two of them were having a candlelit dinner at a well-known upscale restaurant.

Yara kicked open the private dining room door and stormed right up to where Annie and Shawn were sitting.

Annie looked stunned. "Yara, what's wrong?"

Yara ignored her completely. Her eyes were bloodshot and fixed on Shawn, her voice raw and hoarse. "My mom is dead."

Shawn froze. "That's impossible. I've always paid the medical fees on time."

He was still lying to her face.

Blind with rage, Yara raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.

"Are you even human, Shawn?! You heartless, cold-blooded monster—!"

Shawn's head snapped to the side from the blow. His gaze turned ice-cold. "I've done everything I could for your family. I never once stopped paying the hospital. What more do you want from me?!"

Yara let out a raw, screaming cry, then grabbed the edge of the dining table and flipped it over with everything she had.

Crash!

Plates and dishes went flying, shattering across the floor in a deafening racket that left every guest in the restaurant staring in shock.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Shawn's face went livid.

Yara let out a bitter, hollow laugh, then turned to Annie, her lips parting slowly. "Annie..."

Shawn's eyes sharpened with warning. "Yara!"

"Do you remember me telling you I came here to visit my husband?"

Annie seemed to sense what was coming, all color draining from her face.

"No... don't say another word..."

Shawn lunged forward, trying to clamp his hand over Yara's mouth, but he was too late.

Yara stepped back, evading him, and spoke the last, crushing truth. "Yeah. It's exactly what you're thinking. Shawn is my husband."

"I was married to him for seven years... and then he cheated on you."

The second those words left her mouth, Shawn raised his hand and struck Yara across the face with brutal force.

"Are you insane?! She's pregnant!"

Yara stumbled a few steps, catching herself on a table. Her eyes were hollow, numb, as she looked at him. "You're the one who drove us all to this."

Shawn froze, but in the next heartbeat, he had no room to think about anything else.

Because Annie let out a sharp scream, fell from her chair, and the first traces of red began seeping out beneath her.

"My baby—!!"

"Annie!"

Panic surged through Shawn. He swept her up into his arms in an instant and bolted for the door. "Get a doctor! Somebody get a doctor now!"

Seeing this, Yara's body moved on instinct to follow—but she stopped dead, frozen by the bloodshot fury blazing in Shawn's eyes.

"If anything happens to Annie, you'll pay with your life!"

With that threat, Shawn carried Annie away in a rush.

Yara stopped where she was, covered her face, and wept.

She never meant to hurt Annie.

Annie was innocent—yeah, but what about her? What was her crime? She had nothing left. Even her only family was gone now...

That same night, after learning that Annie's condition was stable for the time being, Yara grabbed her suitcase and headed for the airport, ready to fly home and arrange her mother's funeral.

But the second she got there, a group of men grabbed her and forced her into a hospital.

Shawn stood before her, face haggard, his eyes cold as he looked at her.

"Annie's out of immediate danger, but her body's still weak. The doctor says the pregnancy is unstable, and she's at high risk of severe bleeding down the line. The hospital doesn't have enough Rh-negative blood in stock."

His meaning couldn't have been clearer.

But to his surprise, Yara closed her eyes and whispered in a hollow voice, "I'll donate the blood... This way, I won't owe Annie anything anymore."

Shawn clenched his fists tight. "This is the atonement you owe."

With that, he ordered his bodyguards, "Take her to the operating room."

Yara lay on the freezing operating table as her blood was drawn slowly through the thin needle. The warmth seeped out of her body, her mind growing foggy and dull.

At some point, she saw a familiar figure appear before her.

It was Annie.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this either, but as long as you're alive, Shawn will never be completely mine. I'm sorry I got your daughter killed... and now I'm going to kill you, too. Yara, I'll pay you back in the next life."