He Ruined Our Family, I Built a New One

Chapter 3

"Jennifer, how can you be so intolerant of her?"

The blow was so powerful that I fell straight to the ground, the metallic taste of blood seeping from the corner of my mouth.

It felt like an ice blade was twisting wildly inside my heart, the pain so severe I could not get up.

"You are not allowed to go anywhere today," he said, looking down at me. "Didn't you say that little bastard has a fever? How do you still have the energy to cause trouble for others here? Then let her go to the ice cellar with you! Think about what you've done properly."

I was dragged into the underground ice cellar by two bodyguards.

Yvonne was pushed in after me; her small face was burning bright red, and she was shaking all over.

I held her tightly. As temperatures plunged to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, I used my body heat to warm her little body that was gradually growing cold.

"Mommy…" she murmured weakly. "Why… why has Daddy never liked me?"

My heart aching, I kissed her forehead, and my tears froze into ice.

"I'm sorry, Yvonne. But Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you most of all."

Her breathing grew weaker and weaker, and my own consciousness gradually began to fade.

Right before I lost consciousness completely, I thought I saw Shawn from all those years ago.

He cupped my face and said, "Jennifer, I will always believe you."

What did "always" mean?

It turned out it only lasted one pregnancy.

When I woke up again, I was in a hospital.

When the caregiver saw I was awake, she said quickly, "Mrs. Quinn, you're finally awake! After you fainted, Mr. Quinn was so worried, he stayed right here by your bed the whole time. He just wasn't feeling well, so we persuaded him to go rest."

My face was deathly pale, and I only asked urgently, "Where is my daughter?"

"She's in the next room. Her fever broke, but the doctor said she needs to be kept under observation…"

I pulled the needle out of my hand before she finished speaking, and stumbled toward the next room.

The door to Yvonne's ward was left ajar, and Shawn's voice came through clearly, laced with a hint of guilt.

"I thought your mother was just provoking me on purpose. I didn't know you were really burning this badly…"

"Shawn," Julia's soft, delicate voice cut in immediately, "look at Yvonne's nose and eyes. Don't they look more and more like your wife's friend? They say a daughter takes after her father, but this…"

With just those few light words, Shawn's body went rigid instantly.

He straightened up sharply, his eyes once again shrouded in that familiar suspicion, then turned and walked out.

He was so angry that he did not even see me standing right in the doorway.

I stepped into the room immediately. Yvonne was still unconscious, and my eyes instantly filled with tears.

Julia walked up to me with a smug expression.

"Jennifer, you can see how much Mr. Quinn loves me. With just one word from me, he makes your life miserable."

My voice was ice-cold.

"If he really loves you, why are you still a mistress? Is it that you don't want a legitimate title?"

These words struck right at Julia's sore spot.

She gritted her teeth in rage. A flash of cruelty crossed her eyes, and she suddenly leaned close to me.

"Jennifer, let's make a bet. Let's bet on what matters more to him: you, his 'unfaithful' wife, or me, the woman carrying his 'only true heir'!"

Before the words even finished falling, she suddenly lurched sharply backward, slamming her abdomen hard into the edge of the table.

"Ah!" A shrill scream rang out.

Julia curled up on the floor in agony.

Almost at the same moment, Shawn, who had doubled back, burst in and caught sight of Julia collapsed on the ground.

"Jennifer!"

His eyes were practically splitting with fury. He lunged forward and viciously clamped his hand around my throat.

"You just can't stand my real child, is that it?!"

The feeling of suffocation washed over me immediately. I struggled desperately. "I didn't do it, she did it herself…"

"Shawn, don't blame Jennifer…"

Julia let out a perfectly timed weak moan.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have come to see Yvonne. I must have upset Jennifer, so she couldn't help but attack me…"

Shawn's fingers squeezed tighter, his eyes brimming with fury and disappointment.

"She's still trying to clear you of blame even after all this, and you still won't own up to what you did. Apologize to Julia right now!"

I stared at him stubbornly. Even when my vision blurred from lack of oxygen, I refused to bow my head.

My silence and resistance completely enraged him.

"Fine. You won't apologize, is that it?"

His gaze swept past me and landed on Yvonne, her small face deathly pale on the hospital bed.