Romance

The hospital air reeked of disinfectant, and the smell alone felt suffocating.

After a full round of tests, the doctor confirmed that Raina's baby was fine. He only prescribed some medication to help stabilize the pregnancy and told her to rest and keep her mood up.

When Stellan heard that, the knot in his chest finally loosened. He let out a long breath.

Then, an image flashed through his mind. It was me lying on the floor when he left, my face pale and drained of color.

Raina noticed he was distracted, with worry written on his face.

She spoke like she didn't care much either way. "Stellan, Ms. York didn't mean to shove me. Maybe we've been too close lately, and she noticed something. But are we really just leaving her at home like that?"

Stellan's expression hardened. "She brought it on herself."

Maybe it was because I had slipped out of his control and he didn't know how to ha

I wasn't delusional enough to think that Stellan still had feelings for me. I just didn't want trouble. I didn't want to stay tangled up with my ex.

Stellan had taken my family's company, and he could now marry the woman he loved. He should just stay put and behave.

Meanwhile, in the grand wedding hall, Stellan stood in a black tailcoat. He should've looked calm and elegant. Instead, he kept staring at his phone, calling the same familiar number again and again.

"Damn it!" His curse came out low and tight. He glared at the assistant beside him, his eyes sharp as knives.

The assistant, Kevin Payne, jumped at his sudden anger and couldn't help trembling. Then, he forced himself to steady. He looked at Stellan, confused. "What's wrong, Mr. Crowe? What happened?"

Stellan let out a cold snort. "Doesn't Eliana know what day it is? She still hasn't shown up!"

Kevin froze, then quickly pul

The noise outside the door gradually faded. No one even gave me a reply.

Time dragged on.

Just when I was starting to lose hope, the door creaked open. But it wasn't Stellan standing there. It was Raina, her expression conflicted.

At her side was my suitcase, neatly packed, and my phone from the floor. Raina placed both into my hands.

"I thought you were playing hard-to-get," she said. "I didn't think you were really planning on leaving."

I hadn't expected that, in that moment, I would feel a flicker of gratitude toward someone who used to be my rival. If she hadn't come, I probably would've been locked in that bedroom until the wedding.

I glanced across the living room. It was empty, with no sign of Stellan.

There was only a table of warm food. It looked like he had told Raina to bring me dinner.

I let out a sigh of relief, then grabbed my phone and dragged my suitcase toward the door. When I passed Raina, I paused for a second. "Thanks."

Raina let out a mocking laugh. "Why are you thanking me? I can't wait for you to go. You know what? I'm pregnant."

I was stunned.

She pulled out her phone and brought up a photo she'd taken in advance, then held the prenatal test report right in front of me.

"It's Stellan's baby. I'm not letting my baby come into this world as an illegitimate child. If it weren't for you, I would've married him a long time ago. That's why I messaged you in the first place. I hadn't meant to let you know the truth so soon. But I didn't expect you to love Stellan so deeply."

She smiled as she spoke, and the jealousy from her earlier messages was gone. What was left sounded almost like pity.

I glanced at her belly, which was just beginning to show, and didn't bother explaining further. She probably thought I loved Stellan so deeply that I'd willingly step aside and accept everything.

If I'd known from the start that Stellan had a girlfriend, there was no way I would've agreed to marry him. My father had only asked him to take care of me. He had never told Stellan to marry me. So, I corrected her.

"He hid his relationship with you because he wanted the shares I held. He set me up from the start. I didn't break you two up. You're blaming the wrong person."

Raina waved it off. She smiled as if she'd already won, and her reply didn't even address what I'd said.

"You already gave him back the money he used to buy the shares, and you're still saying you don't like him? I know what you're thinking. Anyway, I'm marrying Stellan the day after tomorrow, so I won't hold it against you for getting between us."

I didn't want to hear her gloat any longer. I turned and walked out.

I'd barely taken one step when she grabbed my arm and yanked me back. The little bit of gratitude I'd felt vanished on the spot. "Get away!"

I stared at her coldly. If she weren't pregnant, I would've shoved her away.

But Raina acted like she didn't even hear me. She pulled out a bank card and forced it into my hand. "You're going overseas with nothing. I'm worried about your safety. There's 20,000 dollars on this card. Take it and never come back. Do you understand?"

I took a deep breath and looked up, irritation creeping in.

When I saw the smug expression on her face, I finally snapped. My hand came down across her cheek with a sharp crack. I slapped her with all my strength.

Raina screamed. She was about to curse me out when she caught sight of Stellan rushing over.

She immediately covered her face and dropped to the floor. "Stellan, my stomach hurts! It hurts so bad!"

I frowned, not understanding what she was doing. The next second, a brutal shove knocked me off balance. I was holding my suitcase. When I fell, my waist slammed hard against it. A sharp, searing pain shot through me, and my face went pale.

Stellan strode past me. He bent down and scooped Raina up. He didn't even spare me a glance on his way out.

From where I lay, I caught only the panic and urgency in his eyes. That was when I realized Stellan had known Raina was pregnant all along.

But whatever was between them had nothing to do with me anymore.

I forced myself up while rubbing my swollen, aching waist and carefully made my way downstairs.

By the roadside, I hailed the first cab I saw and climbed in. Even though I moved as fast as I could, my injury still slowed me down, and I ended up missing the flight.

I had to rebook the flight.

I didn't let it break me.

I applied pain-relief cream to my waist, booked the next available flight, and spent the night at the airport. I also changed my overseas arrangements from short-term to long-term.

I had no plans to come back anytime soon.

...

The next morning, at the very last moment before I boarded, my phone rang.

"Hello, is this Ms. Eliana York?"

"It is."

"We found a matching heart donor for you. Could you come to Mavora as soon as possible?"

I stared at the unfamiliar number, confused. "I didn't book anything with any hospital overseas."

"Do you know a Mr. Charles York?"

My expression tightened. "That's my father."

"He asked us to find a suitable heart donor. Your condition is quite rare, so it took us until now to locate a match."

I hung up, stunned. I had to force down the bitterness rising in my throat. At the last moment, I stepped onto the plane and left.

The hospital air reeked of disinfectant, and the smell alone felt suffocating.

After a full round of tests, the doctor confirmed that Raina's baby was fine. He only prescribed some medication to help stabilize the pregnancy and told her to rest and keep her mood up.

When Stellan heard that, the knot in his chest finally loosened. He let out a long breath.

Then, an image flashed through his mind. It was me lying on the floor when he left, my face pale and drained of color.

Raina noticed he was distracted, with worry written on his face.

She spoke like she didn't care much either way. "Stellan, Ms. York didn't mean to shove me. Maybe we've been too close lately, and she noticed something. But are we really just leaving her at home like that?"

Stellan's expression hardened. "She brought it on herself."

Maybe it was because I had slipped out of his control and he didn't know how to handle that. Or maybe he simply wanted to teach me a lesson.

"Let her stay home and think about it," 

Chapter 5