The effects of the C-section anesthetic had just worn off when Donovan suddenly spoke to me. “The little bird I’m keeping lost her cat. I have to go help her find it.” I stared at our baby in the incubator, my voice trembling with disbelief. “I nearly died giving you a child, and you’re leaving me to go find another woman’s cat?” He adjusted his cufflinks, his tone matter-of-fact. “The baby has nurses and a nanny. Nothing will happen.” “But that’s a cat she’s had for three years. It’s like her child.” Pain shot through my incision, and I gasped, tears blurring my vision. “Donovan, in your eyes, are our child and I worth less than an animal?” “Don’t twist my words.” He glanced impatiently at his watch and tossed a black credit card onto the bedside table. “She’s a sensitive soul. If I don’t go, she might do something foolish. You’re my wife, Kiki. You need to see the bigger picture.” “And if I don’t let you go?” He chuckled as if I’d told a joke, then leaned down and patted my cheek. “Then you can leave with nothing. You know I don’t like women who don’t listen.” In that moment, my heart felt colder than the wound in my belly. 1 Perhaps it was the cold sweat from the fading anesthesia that had plastered my hair to my face, making me look utterly pathetic. Donovan let out a low laugh. “Kiki, do you remember that time you were rushed into surgery because the baby was breech? When the doctor made you sign the critical condition notice yourself, I was in the room next door, keeping Lila company while she had a check-up.” “She’d pricked her finger and insisted I had to blow on it to make the pain stop. That feeling of being needed… it’s something you could never give me. Do you understand?” The blood in my veins turned to ice. Even the searing pain from my incision faded into the background. That day, lying on the gurney, I had called out his name over and over, but the nurses couldn't find him. When I finally reached him on the phone, his voice was light, cheerful. He’d just closed a huge deal. I had felt guilty for even bothering him. Donovan leaned in, kissing a tear from my cheek. “I was worried about you, of course. But Lila is so timid, she was terrified of getting a test done alone. I had to put you second.” I stared at the strip of lights on the ceiling, my eyes burning with an acidic sting that threatened to consume me. He seemed pleased with my reaction. He pulled out the black card and tucked it into the corner of my blanket. “I’m sorry, Kiki. I know this isn’t fair to you. But if you insist on a divorce, I’ll have to take the baby for the sake of the family’s reputation. And you, you’ll leave with nothing.” “But if you’re willing to endure this for our child, your position as my wife is secure. And this card is yours to use as you please.” Today was supposed to be the start of our new life together. Just half an hour ago, a nurse had been admiring the delicate gold locket Donovan had prepared for our child. Now, I felt like a complete fool, staring at the man I had shared a bed with for eight years. “Donovan, why are you telling me this now? Why, when I’ve just been dragged back from the brink of death?” He methodically wiped the sweat from my brow, his eyes filled with a possessive, almost perverse tenderness. “Because I love you. You’re the wife of my youth. To keep secrets from you would be a betrayal of our marriage.” He paused, a smirk playing on his lips. “And, of course, there’s another reason. I just had to see the look on your face when you finally broke. Seeing you here, so fragile and helpless in this hospital bed… it breaks my heart. It makes me want to make it up to you even more.” “So, Kiki, let’s not fight, okay? I’ll still respect you, just like I always have. Hm?” I snatched the water glass, the black card, everything within my reach, and hurled it all at him like a madwoman. “Get out! Donovan, get out!” He simply brushed a speck of dust from his suit and turned towards the door. “Well, you still have the strength to throw things. Guess you’re not dying.” “Calm down. I have to go find that little crybaby’s cat.” The door clicked shut behind him. I looked at the bloody mess on the floor, my heart colder than any wound could ever be. 2 I locked myself in the room, pulling out every IV line, disconnecting every monitor. I dug my nails into the unhealed incision, scratching and tearing until the world around me began to blur. In the encroaching darkness, I was back at the moment my family disowned me for choosing him. Back then, Donovan worked three jobs in a torrential downpour just to scrape together the money for my surgery. He knelt outside the clinic, soaked to the bone, and gave me a goofy grin. “Don’t be scared, Kiki. As long as I’m here, not even the grim reaper can take you.” Later, we lived in a moldy basement apartment. There was no heating in the winter, and he would tuck my frozen feet into his coat. “Kiki, when I’m rich, I swear I’ll carry you back to your family’s doorstep in triumph. No one will ever dare look down on you again.” And then, supporting each other, we made those promises come true… I woke to the ringing of my phone. It was my sister. “Kiki! Is Donovan insane? How could he bring his mistress to our parents’ house to provoke them?” My hands trembled as I opened the photo she sent. In the picture, Donovan was holding Lila’s hand, their fingers intertwined to form a heart in front of my parents’ home. The headline was a splash of acid in my eyes: 【DEVOTED CEO AND NEW FLAME GET BLESSING FROM EX-WIFE’S FAMILY】 The comment section was a war zone. Shaking, I called him to demand an explanation. His voice was cold, detached. “Lila thought she saw a clue about her cat near your parents’ house, so I took her to have a look. The media loves to exaggerate. If you can’t stand it, why don’t you call your family and have them issue a clarification?” I forced my body, still raw and unstitched, into a taxi and went to the hotel address from his phone’s location. In a daze, I remembered when he first became successful. A real estate tycoon’s daughter and a finance heiress had both publicly declared their love for him. The entire city’s elite circle was betting on which powerful family this boy from the wrong side of the tracks would marry into. But instead, he bought up every billboard in the city, displaying a single photo of me with a scrolling message: “Kiki is my only wife. For this life and the next.” After that day, everyone knew Donovan as the man who was crazy about his wife. Which made today’s public betrayal all the more absurd, all the more cruel. I pushed open the hotel room door to a scene of chaos. Donovan was kneeling by the sofa, gently massaging Lila’s ankle. He didn’t even turn around when he heard the door open. “You’re here,” he said, his voice low. “Go get Lila a glass of warm water. She had a scare and still hasn’t recovered.” Lila slowly turned, revealing the fresh love bites on her collarbone. She stuck her tongue out at me. “Sorry, sis. I never thought Donovan would actually leave you and the baby for my cat. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was just so worried about me. What could I do?” She blinked her big, innocent eyes, then gasped. “Oh, dear. I think we were in such a rush, we forgot to use protection. Donovan hates those things anyway. But don’t worry, sis, I’ll take the pill. I would never try to tie him down with a baby, like some people.” A wave of violent nausea surged through me. I doubled over, gagging. Donovan’s reaction was almost instinctual. He rushed to my side. “Kiki? What’s wrong? Did your stitches tear? I’ll have the driver take you to the hospital right now!” I summoned every ounce of my strength and shoved him away. “Don’t touch me! You make me sick!” He stumbled back, his expression darkening. He turned to Lila, who was watching the scene with amusement, and snapped. “What are you still doing here? Get out!” Lila flinched, her eyes immediately welling with tears. Donovan couldn’t help himself. He strode over, planted a quick kiss on her forehead, and whispered soothingly, “Be a good girl. Go on now. I’ll still come see you tonight, okay?” Lila’s tears vanished, replaced by a triumphant smile. As she left, she casually tossed an empty condom wrapper onto the coffee table, shooting me a provocative glance. Donovan turned back to me, his face once again a mask of concern. “Kiki, are you feeling better?” “I understand you’re upset. Your emotions are sensitive after giving birth. So, if you want a divorce, we can discuss the terms. Everything is on the table, except for the child.” I dug my nails into my palm until the pain overshadowed the nausea. “I’m not divorcing you, Donovan.” I don’t know what I was clinging to. Maybe it was the bitterness of eight years of my youth being thrown away. Maybe it was the desperate belief that my newborn child couldn’t grow up without a father. I grabbed a fruit knife from the table and held it to my own throat. “Donovan, if you dare to leave me, I dare to die right here in front of you!” For the first time, real panic flashed in his eyes. He swore he would send Lila away, that he would cut off all contact with her. See? He still cared about me, didn’t he? And as long as he cared, maybe everything could go back to the way it was. I just didn’t realize that this momentary surrender was just the prelude to a much greater humiliation. 3 A month later, on the day of our child’s one-month celebration, semi-nude photos of Donovan in bed with my own sister went viral. The double betrayal from my husband and my family was like a dull knife sawing at my throat. I pointed a trembling finger at the sister I had adored since she was a child. “He’s your brother-in-law! How could you be so shameless?” My sister just hid behind Donovan, her eyes red, saying nothing. Donovan, however, calmly produced a paternity test, crushing the last of my fight. “Kiki, stop pulling rank as the older sister. You’re not even a real daughter of this family.” “What right do you have to tell your sister who she can and can’t be with?” Overnight, I lost my family and became the laughingstock of the entire city. And then, Donovan made a public announcement: “Although Kiki is not who we thought she was, we are married, and I will take responsibility for her. Regardless of her origins, I will continue to love her and protect her for the rest of her life.” With one shameless speech, he not only erased the stain of his affair but also painted himself as a devoted, loving husband. But in the shadows, away from the flashing cameras, he leaned in and whispered in my ear, his voice soft and indulgent, as if cooing at a misbehaving child. “Kiki, I was very unhappy when you threatened me last time. Taking your family away from you today was just a small lesson.” He sighed, his thumb stroking my cheek. “As a reward for giving me a child, I’ve already gone a whole month without spending the night with Lila. But a man has to let off some steam. You have to be understanding.” “After eight years together, I thought you would be more sensible. But you made such an ugly scene. I’m a little disappointed.” “If you ever dare to threaten me again, you will regret it.” The next day, to completely extinguish any hope I had left, and to appease Lila, Donovan forcibly took our child from my arms. He said Lila’s cat was still missing, and she wanted a baby to replace it. I knelt on the floor and begged him. I told him I would give up everything, just please, don’t take my child. But he refused, his voice cold. “Kiki, Lila is just curious. What’s the big deal if she looks after the baby for a few days? You’re my wife. You need to be more magnanimous.” My mental state deteriorated. I began to suffer from crippling insomnia. Even with sleeping pills, all I could hear was the sound of my baby’s desperate cries. One day, I slipped past the nanny and rushed to Lila’s apartment. I threw open the door and saw Lila posing for selfies, while my child’s face was turning purple from lack of air, struggling alone on the sofa. She even gave the baby a disgusted shove. “Stop crying, you’re so annoying.” I went berserk. I lunged at her, tackling her onto the sofa, clawing at her face until it was a bloody mess. When Donovan arrived, to punish me, and to solidify the narrative of my “illness,” he had me forcibly committed to a psychiatric hospital. Three days of confinement. Three days of darkness and abuse. When I finally returned home, before my hand even touched the doorknob, I could hear the sounds from inside, sounds that would make anyone blush. “Kiki, just wait outside for a minute. I’ll be done soon.” In that instant, I realized I was the other woman. I secretly took out a safety pin I had hidden and began slicing open the veins on my wrist, over and over. When I woke up, Donovan was sitting by my bed, a rough stubble covering his jaw. He saw my eyes open and grabbed my hand. “Kiki, are you insane? Are you really going to kill yourself over something like this?” “I admit I went too far this time, but I never wanted to drive you to your death.” “Just get better. Stop torturing yourself. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you, okay?” Looking at him, my mind drifted. The boy who once ran across half the city for me, the man who swore he would never let me shed a single tear… how did he become this monster? We had been through so much together. We had survived the hardest of times. How did he change so completely? I watched him quietly, my voice a near-whisper. “Donovan, is there any part of me left in your heart?” He froze for a second, then covered my face with warm, urgent kisses. “Silly girl, what are you talking about?” “From now on, I will only love you.” For the two weeks I was in the hospital, it was like we were back in the honeymoon phase. He fed me every meal, bathed me, and canceled all his appointments to walk with me in the garden. But I knew it was just the calm before the storm. Less than three days after I was discharged, he started staying out all night again. 4 “Kiki, take your anger out on me. Don’t make things difficult for Lila.” “This has nothing to do with her. I’m the one who can’t let her go. I’m the one who chased after her.” Seeing the defensiveness and protectiveness in his eyes, I understood. This time, Donovan was serious. He couldn’t give Lila a marriage certificate, so he secretly transferred ten percent of his company shares to her, calling it compensation for her years of companionship. On the three-thousandth day of their “anniversary,” he set off a fireworks display that lasted all night—a sky full of stars just for Lila. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, my chest feeling as if it had been ripped open. I remembered, many years ago, crammed into our leaky basement apartment, he could only afford a five-dollar box of sparklers for the New Year. He stubbornly lit every single one for me, his voice choked with emotion. “I’m sorry, Kiki, for making you suffer with me. I can’t even afford proper fireworks for you.” “But I swear, when we have money, I’ll make the most beautiful fireworks in the world bloom just for you.” Back then, that box of sparklers was his everything. Now, a city-wide fireworks display was his grand gesture for Lila. It turned out he wasn't unromantic. He just didn't want to be romantic with me anymore. The final blow came at the so-called “family dinner.” Donovan had intended to announce my “recovery,” but midway through the meal, he changed his mind. He stood up and declared to everyone that Lila was the one true salvation of his life. Seeing Lila standing beside him, wearing the evening gown I had personally chosen for the occasion, seeing their hands clasped together… I snapped. I picked up our crying child and rushed forward. “Donovan! If she’s your salvation, then what were my eight years? What is our child?!” His first instinct was to shield Lila in his arms. His second was to shove me, hard. Thud. My child and I fell together from the third-floor balcony. When I woke up, Donovan was holding his head in his hands, his face a mask of regret. The baby was gone. I felt a strange sense of detachment. Perhaps even he couldn’t stand to watch this anymore. I thought of all the other lives we had to let go of in the early days, for the sake of his rising career. The doctors had told me long ago that my uterine wall was thin, that it would be difficult for me to conceive again. Donovan had cried then, begging me. “It’s okay, Kiki. We don’t need children. I just need you.” And now, this precious, long-awaited life had become a sacrifice to our twisted marriage. Donovan sobbed like a helpless child. “Kiki, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry…” But my heart had died with my child. He didn't go to be with Lila, but Lila came to the hospital. She stood at the door of my room, tears falling like broken pearls. “Sister, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to tell you at a time like this…” “But… I’m pregnant.” The string, stretched to its absolute limit, finally snapped.
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