"No!" Yasmine shouted in terror.

The only response she heard was Zachary and Rachel giggling behind her, their giggles laced with menace. 

With a dull thump, her belly fell heavily against the hard edge of the stairs.

Her lower belly immediately began to convulse in pain. Her hair stuck against her face as she reached out. She tried to call for help, but her voice was incredibly weak. "H-Help me and my baby…"

"You deserve it!" Zachary said, stomping on her stomach.

"Hmph!" Rachel said, crossing her arms. "We won't let you have a baby!"

Yasmine could feel the life in her belly slowly fading.

She couldn't figure out why she couldn't compare to Zara, not even when she had treasured and loved the twins with her whole being.

The door suddenly opened.

"Yasmine!"

Charlie's eyes widened at the sight of Yasmine collapsed in a pool of blood.

He was about to rush over, but the kids ran t

"Charlie! Save me!" Zara screamed as she pushed Yasmine below the surface.

Yasmine's limbs flailed wildly until she had no more energy.

She simply let the water flood into her ears and nose. Amidst the noise of the water rushing against her eardrums, she thought she heard Charlie and the twins' voices.

Zachary and Rachel were crying and shouting. "Dad, save Ms. Zara!"

The manager turned on the pump to drain the pool, but the system suddenly malfunctioned.

He was so stressed that he was covered in sweat. His voice trembled as he asked, "Mr. Listford, this deep pool isn't fully furnished yet. We only have the facilities to save one person. Should we save Mrs. Listford first?"

Yasmine felt a spark of hope light up her chest.

Charlie's gaze flitted between the two of them as he said bitterly, "I want to save them both!"

"Dad! Ms. Zara is bleeding!" 

The twins cried out even louder. 

When Yasmine woke up, she found herself in the hospital.

She stared at the ceiling as the nurse changed her IV drip.

"Excuse me," she croaked out. "Who sent me here?"

"Mr. Listford did."

Yasmine's eyelids fluttered in surprise. Her heart suddenly felt a bittersweet twinge.

The very next second, the nurse said admiringly, "Mr. Zachary and Ms. Rachel said you were their maid. Mrs. Listford is staying in the ward right next to yours. When she heard about your accident, she immediately asked Mr. Listford to upgrade you to a VIP ward. They're such a kind couple."

After six years of raising Zachary and Rachel, she was just a maid to them.

Yasmine bit her lip in an attempt to hold back her tears, but felt her eyes growing damp anyway.

The nurse was about to ask something when the doctor entered.

"You almost had a miscarriage," he said with a sigh. "If you push yourself too hard, not even God would be able to save your baby next time."

Yasmine's eyes widened at the news.

After a moment of stunned silence, she finally uttered the unbelievable conclusion she had come to. "I'm pregnant?"

After she took the stab for Charlie, he had seen many doctors across the world with her, and she had downed many forms of bitter medicine and remedies.

However, the conclusion had always been the same—the chances of her getting pregnant were basically zero.

Now, though, fate seemed to be playing a huge joke on her.

"Yes," the doctor said. He could tell that her disbelief was genuine and consoled her gently. "You need to take care of your body so you can have kids as adorable as Mr. Zachary and Ms. Rachel."

Yasmine instinctively put her hands over her lower belly and looked down with a bitter smile.

No one knew that those two little devils had been the very reason she almost lost her baby.

Every day spent in the hospital felt like a year to Yasmine.

Just a room away, Zara's ward was always filled with chuckles and bright voices.

The kids would tell her about their day at kindergarten, drawing out gentle giggles from her.

Charlie would carefully pick up a mini apple pie and feed it to her.

Yasmine's fingers trembled when she received the leftovers from Zara's teatime snack.

Alex Lawson, who was Charlie's assistant, dipped his head slightly as he explained, "Mr. Listford is very busy with work. He told me to remind you to take good care of yourself."

She suddenly remembered how she had fallen sick with a high fever during their senior year of high school.

Charlie had openly skipped class to go to a city in the south so that he could buy Yasmine her favourite desserts.

When he gave her the box of mini apple pies, there had been red marks on his arm from where the hot box had rested against his skin.

But now, their marriage was about to end.

Yasmine's tears landed on the remaining mini apple pies.

What was she going to do about her baby?

…

Yasmine dragged her weak body to the counter and got herself discharged early.

The moment she entered the house, she saw Zachary and Rachel on the sofa. They had just come back from kindergarten and were stuffing their faces with snacks.

They scowled at the sight of her. "Mom, why are you here?"

Yasmine changed into comfortable slippers as she said expressionlessly, "Because I'm the woman of the house."

Zachary angrily stomped his feet and began to show off something he was holding, as if trying to anger her.

"Look! Ms. Zara bought me this new game console!" he bragged. "I wish she were my mom!"

Rachel added eagerly, "She also bought me makeup!"

Yasmine listened quietly without feeling even a twinge of emotion.

She thought about how Zachary's grades had once suffered because of his video game addiction, and how Rachel's sensitive skin was susceptible to red rashes.

She would have cared back then, but they no longer had anything to do with her.

At her silence, the twins exchanged glances as their eyes darted around mischievously.

Suddenly, the two of them dragged her to the dining table and said, "Mom, you haven't eaten, right?"

Zachary ran to the kitchen and brought out a tub of bloody pig remains.

"Oh no!"

The moment he cried out, Yasmine felt the slimy remains fall all over her. The sticky, darkened blood stuck to her hair, making her look like an evil monster.

Zachary and Rachel cheered loudly at their success. "Ugly, evil Mom! You got fooled again!"

"This is what's left over from the delicious meal Dad told the cook to make for Ms. Zara! It would have been a waste if that meal were yours!"

The horrible stench wafting off the remains all over her caused Yasmine to retch uncontrollably.

Rachel suddenly asked suspiciously, "Does Mom have a baby in her belly?"

Zachary shattered a plate on the ground angrily. "If she has a baby, it will steal away the money and attention that belongs to us!"

Yasmine tried to hold back her nausea. All she wanted was to go to the bathroom to take a shower.

Right as she walked toward the stairs, the twins began screaming behind her. "You can't have a baby! Only we can be Dad's babies!"

She was about to look back when she felt a force shoving her from behind.

"We hate you!"

"No!" Yasmine shouted in terror.

The only response she heard was Zachary and Rachel giggling behind her, their giggles laced with menace. 

With a dull thump, her belly fell heavily against the hard edge of the stairs.

Her lower belly immediately began to convulse in pain. Her hair stuck against her face as she reached out. She tried to call for help, but her voice was incredibly weak. "H-Help me and my baby…"

"You deserve it!" Zachary said, stomping on her stomach.

"Hmph!" Rachel said, crossing her arms. "We won't let you have a baby!"

Yasmine could feel the life in her belly slowly fading.

She couldn't figure out why she couldn't compare to Zara, not even when she had treasured and loved the twins with her whole being.

The door suddenly opened.

"Yasmine!"

Charlie's eyes widened at the sight of Yasmine collapsed in a pool of blood.

He was about to rush over, but the kids ran toward him while crying loudly. Zachary held onto his arm while Rachel wrapped her arms around his le

Chapter 6