Chapter 1 Choice, Despair
"One must die tonight. Either his mistress or my child."
***
The heat in Ingford during July was suffocating and annoying. Alina Hughes stood at the doorway of the study, shivering uncontrollably. She covered her bulging belly, her hands trembling as she struggled to control her breathing.
Inside the study, a conversation was taking place between two individuals.
"I didn't expect her condition to worsen so quickly, we must do something..." the man said, her husband, Caleb, taking two heavy puffs, "How many more times do we need to draw blood from my wife to save her?" he asked.
"About three more times, but that won't be enough. A bone marrow transplant is the only option," replied Nova Turner, a doctor.
Nova couldn't bear the situation any longer, but he had to force Caleb Collins to make a decision for the sake of his patients.
"If we go ahead with the operation, you will lose your baby," Nova warned.
"Even if the baby survives, it will have deformities or mental retardation due to the drugs, Alina, your wife's life will be at risk. Think carefully about this," Nova added.
There was silence in the study, and Alina nervously watched through the doorway as Caleb pondered his decision.
"Get rid of the child," Caleb said coldly. "Arrange for the operation as soon as possible."
***
Alina's pupils constricted, and her body shook violently. She couldn't hear anything else and rushed to her room, locking the door behind her.
In the bathroom, she stripped off her pajamas and looked at her back in the mirror. Her smooth skin was riddled with thick needle holes and bruises. She realized that the bruises were caused by someone carelessly pulling out the needles.
Trembling, she covered her mouth as she sobbed. Since she became pregnant, her husband had been the one to bathe her, and she never bothered to look at her back. It was then that she remembered he had behaved strangely recently. His tenderness and affection were all fake. Ultimately, he didn't marry her for love, but to draw her blood to save his real lover, a mystery woman, and she didn't even know the woman's name... How ironic, right?
Alina clutched her bulging belly, knowing that she was carrying a nine-month-old fetus. Her child was due to be born soon. She'd never let anyone hurt her child... Never...
***
At dinner, the guy's expression was indifferent, but not as chilly as it had been in his study. He handed her a bowl of soup. "You're weak. Drink up."
Since tying the knot, Caleb had always talked to her in a commanding tone, and she'd grown used to following his lead.
But this time, Alina's fork halted in midair. She gazed at the man she'd been hitched to for two years, her 'dear' husband. At this moment, his tenderness was as addicting as a drug, but it was also draining her life. He'd insisted that the child had to be disposed of.
Alina jolted and hurled the soup bowl onto the floor, shattering it into shards, much like their marriage.
The hot soup splattered all over the man's pants. Caleb erupted in anger, but quickly reined in his temper.
He soothed her by brushing his fingers across her forehead. "What's the matter? Do you want Nova to come over?"
"Come and have Nova draw my blood?"
The silence was deafening for a moment.
Alina bit her lip, held back her tears, and glared at Caleb with all her might.
She was waiting for him to explain. She was dragged to him, someone who always handled her roughly.
His pretense of tenderness had vanished. "You know, right?"
He squeezed her neck tight. "Then you should understand your position. You can only cooperate with us."
Yeah, she never had a choice when it came to him.
The Collins family was a top-tier family with massive business holdings.
And Caleb? He was the man in charge of the Collins empire!
No one had ever dared to defy him, and no one could.
Alina saw his cold eyes, and her tears spilled out uncontrollably. She struggled to breathe. Her neck was in his grip, and her face turned pale with pain.
Caleb noticed her pallor and released her quickly. He spoke in a stern tone, "Now that you know the truth, tell me what you want in return and I'll do my best to satisfy you."
He left without looking back, while she was pushed against the wall and fell to the floor.
"What do you mean by compensation?" Alina questioned.
She shut her eyes. Was it possible that this whole marriage was a set-up?
She trembled, "Who is she?"
The one who caused him to abandon his wife and child. What kind of person could hold such an important position in his heart?
Caleb halted in his tracks, taken aback by her straightforward query.
He did not respond.
"Your surgery is scheduled for three days from now, so decide what you want," Caleb said, departing without a second glance. He would give her whatever he could.
No point dwelling on what he couldn't offer.
Alina opened her eyes with sorrow and despair after the door closed.
She gathered her valuable possessions and glanced back at the room she had called home for two years.
It was cozy, clean, and full of lavish gifts that Caleb had sent her.
But now, she felt a sense of bitter irony.
Lois saw Alina struggling to carry her suitcase down the stairs and appearing physically drained.
The servants were frightened by her helplessness. "Lady Alina, it's too late at night. What are you doing? Let me help you."
"You're nine months pregnant. Don't move. Master Caleb values you and the baby above all else."
Alina chuckled sardonically. He wanted to kill her child with his own hands.
She controlled her tears, and her hoarse voice made her even more pitiful. "Lois, convey a message to him."
Alina took a deep breath. "I've already prepared the divorce papers and sent them to his email. I'm not going to have the surgery."
Regardless of what Lois said, she left with her suitcase.
Every step Alina took, as a pregnant woman about to give birth, carrying a suitcase, aroused concern.
Suddenly, the weather changed, and it started to rain heavily.
Alina stood in front of the villa, drenched in rainwater, shivering with cold, but determined to step forward into the rain.
The sound of screeching tires filled the air, and the car's wheels splashed water all over Alina's clothes.
A man stepped out of the car and approached her with respect, "Lady Alina."
It was Brandon Porter, one of Caleb's special assistants.
Alina acted as if she hadn't seen him and walked past Brandon like a ghost.
Brandon stopped her, "Mr. Collins wants me to take you to the hospital."
As soon as he said that, he grabbed her suitcase and respectfully opened the car door for her.
Many women would have jumped at the chance to get into his car, but Alina felt as though she was stepping into a hearse that would take her straight to her own funeral.
"I'm not going," she said firmly.
"There was a sudden accident at the hospital, and the operation needs to be done right away. Mr. Collins said to bring you there at all costs, Lady Alina. Please don't make it difficult for me," Brandon replied, his tone polite but threatening.
Alina forced a smile, though her eyes betrayed her grief.
She had no choice but to go.
She was nine months pregnant and couldn't resist the strength of a man like Brandon.
The car made its way to the hospital, and Alina spoke calmly, "If I don't go, will that woman die?"
"Yes," Brandon replied.
"Then let her die," Alina said coldly.
He had chosen that woman over her after all.
But Caleb knew that she was nine months pregnant. The baby in her belly moved every day and was about to be born.
No one replied.
Alina took a deep breath and looked out the window at Hasnan Bridge.
"Who is she?" Alina asked.
"Emma Bell," Brandon answered.
Alina was shocked.
'Emma Bell...! How can it be Emma? She... How?' Alina can't believe this.
Suddenly, Alina reached out and grabbed the steering wheel with all her might.
"Lady Alina, what are you doing? Let go!" Brandon panicked.
At that moment, Alina couldn't hear anything. She had nothing left to lose and would never let Emma continue living while sacrificing her own child!
With all her strength, the car crashed through the railing of Hasnan Bridge and plunged into the river.
As Alina struggled to breathe, water filled her lungs, and she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.
Did her child know that they were being abandoned and about to die?
In just a few minutes, the bridge was congested with traffic.
Police cars and the Collins family's vehicles were blocked at the end of the bridge by a long line of traffic.
