He Faked Infertility, I Signed His Divorce Doom

Chapter 4

Peering through the c***k in the door, she saw Arkin locked in a heated, hungry kiss with Ava.

Arkin panted heavily, one arm cinched tight around Ava's waist while his other hand slid up her smooth bare thigh.

"You're still carrying my baby. We can't go all the way like last time. You scared the hell out of me back then."

Ava giggled sweetly, her voice honey-thick with flirtation, "Between my legs and hers… whose legs do you think are prettier?"

Arkin's dark eyes blazed with unmasked lust. "You already know the answer. Looking at Pia's leg? I can't even get it up."

A tiny, smug smile tugged at the corner of Ava's mouth. She brushed a soft hand over her swollen belly, then said, "Arkin, my older brother got sick in prison. What he did before was wrong, and he deserves every bit of his punishment. I know that." Her voice cracked, thickening with tears before she could finish. "But he's the only family I have left…"

Arkin went quiet for a moment, then said, "It's been three years already. He's served his time and learned his lesson. I'll put in for an early parole hearing as a victim's family member."

"I knew you were always the nicest to me!" Ava pressed a quick, flirty kiss to his lips, then tilted her head and purred, "So will Pia recommend me for the International Dance Association?"

"Of course."

Outside the door, Pia stood stone-cold, every inch of her skin turned to ice. It felt like a blunt knife was carving rough, agonizing strips out of her heart.

It had only been three years. Three years, and Arkin had already forgotten how she lost her leg, forgotten the agony of losing their child.

All that rage he'd shown back then… it had just been an act, hadn't it? All just to keep up the perfect image of a grieving good husband.

A sharp, throbbing ache gnawed at the stump of her severed leg. Pia clamped down on the roiling mix of shame and fury burning in her chest, then turned and walked away from the bathroom, her face blank as stone.

Not long after, Arkin returned, carrying a cup of warm water and a pain pill. And right on his heels was Ava.

"Miss Pia, it's been so long."

Pia acted like she didn't even see them, keeping her head down and swiping mindlessly at her phone screen.

An awkward silence hung heavy in the air.

Arkin crouched down in front of her, holding out the pill and water to her lips. "Pia, you remember Ava, right? She used to be your backup dancer. I swear, just now I almost mistook her for you."

Pia lifted her eyes and flicked a cold, dismissive glance at Ava. "Of course, I remember. She's the younger sister of the man who took my leg and my unborn child."

Arkin furrowed his brows. "Pia, don't be like that. Her brother's wrongs aren't hers. Besides, Ava even brought you this medicine and water. I really don't know how else to thank her, and you're on the board of the International Dance Association, right? Just as a favor to thank her, you could help her with—"

"No," Pia cut him off mid-sentence. She shoved her fingers down her throat and forced the pill she'd just swallowed straight back up.

"And I don't need her to do me any favors." With that, she spun her wheelchair around and prepared to leave.

"Pia!" Arkin snapped out of his stunned silence and hurried after her, his voice sharp with irritation, "Do you really have to hold what her brother did against an innocent person? I know Ava made a small mistake when she was your backup dancer back then, but that's all in the past. You were never this petty before."

Ava, who'd trailed right after him, put on a wobbly, wronged expression. "Don't blame Miss Pia. She can't dance anymore now that her leg's ruined, and I still can. I get it, I really do, if she doesn't like me."

Pia halted her wheelchair, slowly turned back to face the pair of them, and breathed out a sharp, cold laugh.

"You're right, I am petty. Ava wants me to get her into the International Dance Association She doesn't deserve it."

The second the words left her mouth, the entire theater suddenly shook violently.

"Earthquake!" Panicked screams exploded through the crowd.

The next second, the massive crystal chandelier hanging overhead plummeted straight down toward them.

Arkin shouted with pure instinct, "Ava, watch out!"

Pia watched him spin around without a single hesitation and threw his body over Ava, shielding her completely from the falling chandelier.

She, on the other hand, was thrown hard to the ground. Her wheelchair and the fallen chandelier crushed down on her, sending searing, white-hot pain shooting through her body.

Through the thick cloud of dust swirling in the air, she could see that Arkin's back and legs were sliced open by flying shards of the chandelier, deep, bleeding cuts gashed into his flesh from where he'd shielded Ava.

But Arkin paid no mind to his own cuts, too busy checking if Ava was hurt.

"Ava, did your leg get hit? How's the baby? Is the baby okay?" He clutched her tight to his chest, his whole voice shaking with fear. "Don't worry, this time I swear I'll keep both of you safe."

Across the room, Pia strained to lift her upper body. But the heavy wheelchair and chandelier pinned her down, and she crashed back to the floor with a dull thud.

That dull thud finally cut through Arkin's panic and grabbed his attention.

He twisted his head around, and when his eyes landed on Pia, covered head to toe in blood, his pupils blew wide with shock.

"Pia, how bad are you hurt?" He'd already lifted one foot to step toward her, but one glance at Ava, still trembling in his arms, and he ground his step to a halt. "Pia, just hang on. Rescuers are going to be here any second."

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Pia thought of the leg she had lost, and the child she had lost. Never before had she regretted saving Arkin as much as she did at that moment.

*****

Just then, two rescuers came bursting into the room.

"We've got injured people here!" Arkin sprinted straight toward them, jabbed a finger in Ava's direction, and barked, "Get her into an ambulance first! She's pregnant, she went through a huge shock, she needs to get to a hospital right now!"

The rescuers glanced at Ava, then shifted their gaze to the crushed, bleeding Pia.

"Sir, that other woman's injuries are far more severe, and—"

"I said take the pregnant woman first!" Arkin's voice dropped, sharp and unyielding, carrying a dominance that brooked no argument.

"I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens," he added.