Chapter 8

The video rolled on, every frame heavy with inevitability.

Julian's voice rang out, cool and detached,like a final judgment handed down from on high. "We were never going to have children."

After a brief pause, his words landed like a blade,driving straight at Yvonne through the screen. "Even if she were expecting, I would arrange for her to abort.Our marriage is nothing but a contract."

Yvonne's hand quivered, her knuckles pale from the force of her grip. The phone slipped through her trembling fingers and clattered against the ground with a sharp crack.

She had braced herself for cruelty, had rehearsed hearing the worst-but the unfeeling finality in Julian's voice still hollowed her out, leaving her chest tight and her breath shallow as the truth carved straight through her defenses.

The video still hadn't ended. Rita's syrupy voice cut through the silence like a whip across Yvonne's skin."What about the child I'm carrying?" Yvonne's chest constricted. Against her will, her eyes darted toward the phone lying on the ground, as if she could drag the answer out with sheer desperation.

A suffocating silence stretched on in the video. From the camera's angle, Julian's face remained hidden, his expression unreadable, his thoughts locked away.

"I'll take care of you and the child." His reply came at last-brief, unyielding, and mercilessly decisive.

Hot tears flooded Yvonne's eyes. Yet, almost punishing herself, she kept replaying the video, again and again, as though repeated exposure might somehow dull the sting of his heartlessness.

But she had overestimated her strength. Each replay carved deeper into her chest, until the agony dulled into a hollow numbness.

Without warning, Yvonne clutched her chest and gasped, her body collapsing against a cold roadside pillar.

The suffocating ache was no longer a metaphor-it was terrifyingly real. Her breaths came short and shallow,each one harder to draw.

Then a stabbing pain twisted through her abdomen,and dread surged instantly. Cold sweat streamed down her pale face. Gripping the pillar for balance, she slid into a crouch,her whole body trembling with fear.

Her eyes burned as tears blurred her vision, and she groped for the fallen phone on the ground. When the screen lit up, her finger hovered over one name, then stilled.

She asked herself whether she needed to call Julian.No-he could never learn about the baby.

She bit her lower lip hard, then scrolled and tapped another contact.

The line connected almost instantly, and a gentle male voice, laced with a touch of surprise, filled her ear. "Hello? Yvonne? Why are you calling me out of the blue? Did something happen?"

"L..." Yvonne opened her mouth, but before words could form, a sudden dampness spread beneath her.Glancing down, she froze in horror at the sight of blood pooling faintly onto the ground.

Her mind went blank. Trembling, she choked out."Spencer...I-I think I'm losing my baby!"

At Kumvine Medical Center, a man in a crisp white coat stood at the bedside. His tall frame and long legs lent him an imposing presence, his sculpted features almost too perfect, like a portrait brought to life. Yet the hard line of his brows carried the sharp, unyielding weight of authority.

Spencer Briggs's voice cut through the sterile room,deep and severe. "If I had been even a little later,you wouldn't have been able to keep this baby."

Lowering her gaze, Yvonne sat quietly, shoulders hunched like a reprimanded student enduring a lecture.Whenever Spencer spoke in that clipped,scolding tone, it meant he was truly furious.

And she couldn't blame him. Dragging a world-renowned neurosurgeon away from his work only to make him act as her obstetrician-anyone would find that infuriating.

Spencer drew in a steady breath, forcing down the edge in his voice. When he spoke again,it carried a gentler warmth. "Your pregnancy is fragile right noW.You need to stay calm, rest properly, and avoid stress.Do you understand?"

"| will," Yvonne answered softly, her gaze lifting to meet his. A faint shimmer lingered in her eyes."Spencer... thank you."

The gratitude in her voice was quiet but genuine, carrying the weight of her heart.

Spencer and Yvonne had grown up side by side,inseparable as children. Yet after Yvonne's marriage to Julian, she slowly pulled away from her crcle,letting every old friendship fade.

Spencer remained the rare exception. Even after years of distance, one call from her was enough to bring him running, and she silently vowed to hold this friendship close.

When Spencer's gaze met hers, the warmth in his eyes was shadowed by a storm of unspoken feelings.After wrestling with the thought, he finally asked,his voice low, "Why isn't Julian here with you?"

The question carved through her like a blade.Yvonne's chest tightened,her weary eyes fixed on the emptiness before her. With a heaviness that seemed to drain the very air around her, she murmured, "I'm going to divorce him."