Chapter 2

But those hands of his had caressed Chloe’s body not long before. I struggled to break free from his grip, filled with disgust. Another wave of nausea rose in my stomach, and I ended up vomiting a large amount of sour fluid. The doctor comforted Ethan, who looked at a loss. “During this period, pregnant women are affected by progesterone, so it’s normal for their emotions to be sensitive,” the doctor explained. Ethan looked at me with concern and nodded heavily. After vomiting, I had no strength left. Ethan silently helped me change out of the clothes stained with vomit and refilled a cup of hot water to place by my bed. “Luna, did you wake up and get scared because I wasn’t by your side?” he asked. “From now on, I’ll stay with you every step of the way.” I turned my head away, not wanting to look at him or listen to his hypocritical words. I simply closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. This time, Ethan didn’t leave. But as I lay in a light sleep, I suddenly heard a woman’s voice calling him. “Ethan, I heard you got hurt,” the voice said. Ethan quickly walked out of the ward and said in a lowered voice, “Didn’t I tell you to call me if you need anything? Why did you come here?” He probably thought he was speaking softly, but in the quiet ward, I could faintly hear their conversation at the door. “Your son woke up just now, and he said he wanted to see his dad,” Chloe said. “I had to tell him that you were busy with work and couldn’t come to see him.” Clearly, Chloe’s words made Ethan feel guilty. “I’m sorry for neglecting you today,” he said. “I’ll go see Leo with you.” The sound of Ethan’s footsteps faded away—this was the same man who had just said he would stay by my side every step of the way. I lay on the bed, numb. The baby in my stomach seemed to sense my unhappiness and gave me a gentle kick. At that moment, the ward door suddenly creaked open. Chloe’s voice came from the doorway. “I know you’re not asleep, Luna.” I remained silent for a moment, then finally propped myself up and sat up slowly. Chloe was wearing delicate makeup and a tight dress that accentuated her graceful figure. She didn’t look like a mother whose child was sick at all. “Does your son have leukemia?” I asked. She shrugged indifferently. “Yes. I originally wanted to use the child to become Mrs. Carter, but unfortunately, the kid was born weak and sickly,” she said. “But it’s still good to have Ethan tied to me this way—he thinks of me all the time.” As a mother myself, I couldn’t understand how Chloe could be so cold-hearted. To her, the child was nothing but a tool to be used. “If you want to keep him with you using the child, why don’t you have another one for him?” I asked coldly. The more I learned about what was going on, the more I gave up on Ethan. Our six-year marriage had turned out to be nothing but a farce. “Giving birth is too hard. Ethan feels sorry for me and doesn’t want me to suffer,” Chloe said, looking triumphant. “And he can’t stand not being intimate during pregnancy.” Every word Chloe said felt like a knife scraping at my heart. “Come to think of it, I gave birth to Leo around the time your family member passed away,” she added. “Ethan missed your mother’s funeral because my due date was that day. He stayed with me until I recovered from childbirth.” My body went stiff. I grew up in a single-parent family, relying entirely on my mother. My mother had never been in good health, and a couple of years ago, her old illness flared up again, and she was rushed to the ICU. During that time, Ethan told me that the company had an important project about to launch and he couldn’t get away. I had to rush back and forth between the company and the hospital alone. I was mentally and physically exhausted, and I lost more than ten pounds in a month. But Ethan didn’t show up even once. On the day of my mother’s funeral, we were supposed to go to the funeral home together. Ethan suddenly received a call, saying there was a problem with the company’s project, and he left immediately. It turned out that the reason he missed the most important moments in my life was because he had someone more “important” to accompany.