1 I was the wife that Arthur Sterling stole. He played dirty and snatched me right out of his best friend’s hands. Because he was the "other man" who clawed his way to the top, he was obsessively paranoid about every single guy who came near me. Even when I fed a stray dog in the park, he had to verify that both the dog and its owner were female before he could relax. That was, until recently. A new male intern started at my office and brought me coffee for a few days. Arthur said he didn't mind, but that night, he stayed up until 3:00 AM scrolling through my phone. He was so angry he broke out in a full-body rash. On the way to the hospital, his face flushed and burning with a fever, he shoved a picture of the intern right in my face. "Those pecs are obviously Photoshopped!" "Look at his height—he’s definitely wearing shoe lifts! There is no way he is six feet tall!" Ignoring the ER doctors who were desperately trying to hold back their laughter, I awkwardly pinched his mouth shut and shoved him into a triage bed. While I was waiting at the pharmacy to pick up his meds, the doctor casually mentioned: "If you guys are trying to prevent pregnancy, we still recommend the woman takes birth control, or just use condoms. Since this male contraceptive pill just hit the market, the side effects are severe. Breaking out in a rash is actually on the milder end." "Plus, he took three doses in a single week. I know he doesn't want you to suffer the side effects, but he can't just play with his life like that." I froze. But I'm already three months pregnant. … Watching Arthur sleep soundly in the hospital bed, I picked up his phone. His passcode was my birthday. His Instagram feed was filled exclusively with photos of me. His search history was entirely about me: "How to get my wife's attention?" "My wife thinks I'm too clingy, is she cheating on me?" "What to do when my wife misses her late mother?" Even his Notes app was packed with details about me: "March 20th: My sweet girl had a nightmare and missed her mom." "March 21st: My sweet girl's morning sickness is brutal. She throws up everything she eats." "April 1st: Tracked down my wife's old nanny to learn how to make my mother-in-law's signature beef and tomato stew. My sweet girl ate a lot today." Reading all this, my eyes began to sting. I tried to comfort myself, thinking maybe my pregnancy hormones were just making me overly sensitive. Until his GPS app suddenly pushed a notification to the lock screen: "Based on your usual routine, a route home has been generated. Estimated travel time: 30 minutes." The destination was The Pinnacle Condos, Building 7. But I live in Building 3. My hand moved on its own, tapping the notification. The navigation history showed that for the past three months, every single day at noon, he reliably routed to this address and stayed there for about two hours. I suddenly remembered something. Because my morning sickness was so severe, I had lost eight pounds in just three months. I could only keep down food that Arthur cooked himself. But his corporate office was far away. Not only did he have to take care of me every day, but he also had to deal with the ruthless board of directors at his company. Working overtime until midnight was his norm. I felt bad for him. I wanted him to rest at the office during his lunch break. But he thought I was rejecting him, that I didn't need him anymore. We had a massive fight. No matter what I said, he stubbornly kept a cold face and insisted on driving home to cook lunch for me. It wasn't until I pretended my morning sickness had improved and swore I would eat properly that he finally agreed to stay at the office to rest. But the reality was, every single day, he was in another building less than a thousand feet from my house, keeping someone else company. I gripped the phone, my entire body shaking. Suddenly, a text message popped up on the screen: "Artie, you left your underwear at my place yesterday. She didn't find out, did she? I specifically saved that pair for you. It's unwashed." "That's my favorite pair of underwear. You have to bring it back to me on my birthday." I stared dead at the profile picture. With trembling fingers, I tapped into the chat. It was Chloe! The illegitimate daughter who gave my mother a heart attack and stole my father. Since we were kids, she tried to steal everything from me. My clothes, my jewelry, my father's love. And even my husbands. The only reason I divorced my ex-husband was because I caught him and Chloe in bed together. The day my divorce was finalized, I was completely shattered, drained of all hope. Arthur had held me tightly, promising me word for word: "My sweet girl, I will only ever love you in this lifetime. No matter what stunts she tries to pull, I will never give her a second glance. Trust me." And he really did back it up. When Chloe tried to seduce him and sent him nudes, he immediately called the cops and had her locked up for seven days for harassment. He even forwarded the police report to her university, getting her expelled and ruining her future. I thought escaping that toxic swamp and meeting Arthur was the greatest blessing of my life. But why did it have to be her? Why is it always her?! With a masochistic urge, I scrolled through their chat history. I watched Arthur call her "his sweet girl." I read how, when Chloe threatened to expose everything to me, Arthur ruthlessly blocked her, then "punished" her—punished her right into bed. I read about how, on the day I was hospitalized crying in fear because of a bad prenatal screening, they were sleeping in the guest room I had personally decorated, and she was wearing my pajamas... My body shook violently. A wave of pure nausea rushed up my throat. Behind me, the hospital bed shifted slightly. "Wifey?" 2 Seeing my red, tear-filled eyes, Arthur immediately reached out to hug me. But the moment he got close, I smelled the faint, unmistakable scent of sex on him. I violently shoved him away and sprinted into the bathroom, dry heaving over the sink. "My sweet girl!" Arthur instantly followed me in. The second his hand touched my back, I recoiled like I had been burned. I grabbed a heavy glass jar from the counter and hurled it at him. "Get the hell away from me!" The heavy glass ashtray clipped his temple. Blood immediately began pouring down his brow bone. But Arthur didn't seem to care at all. He just looked at me with deep concern, the panic in his eyes practically spilling over. "Is the baby kicking up a fuss again?" "Or does something else hurt?" I sat on the bathroom floor, watching him frantically rush out of the room. He poured a glass of warm water, grabbed my prenatal vitamins, and rushed back in. Blood dripped onto the crisp collar of his white dress shirt, blooming into a small red stain. He was completely oblivious to it. He just held the pills out to me, his eyes cautious and incredibly gentle. "Open up, sweet girl." "Why?" I looked into Arthur's eyes, so full of love. The tears fell uncontrollably. Just a few days ago, we were lying in bed picking out baby names. We were imagining our future as a family of three. We talked about how, when she grew up a little, we'd take her to the beach, to the mountains, to every place we had ever visited since we fell in love. Just hours ago, he was throwing a jealous fit because I was standing too close to another man. "Why did you betray me?!" I stared at him, my vision completely blurred by tears. Arthur froze. The hand holding the pills clenched into a tight fist. "You know." I waited for his explanation. I told myself that no matter what he said, I would believe him. As long as he just gave me an excuse, I could forgive him. "I'm sorry." He took a step forward, his voice trembling. "I know firing that intern behind your back would upset you, but I just couldn't handle another man being around you every day, seeing your smile." He crouched down, looking up at me with a pathetic, lowly gaze. "You don't know how much effort it took for me to steal you away from Liam. To finally earn the right to stand proudly by your side. Why should some random kid get to have all of that without doing a damn thing?" "I know I'm sick. I know I'm not normal. But I absolutely do not regret it." "My sweet girl, you can hit me, curse me, punish me however you want. Just don't hurt yourself, and please don't leave me. I will literally die." He looked up at me, his eyes bloodshot, looking exactly like an abandoned puppy. I looked at him, knowing that right now, I should turn around and walk away without a second thought. But I just couldn't bear to do it. I couldn't bear to let go of his gentleness. I couldn't bear to let go of the incredibly happy life we had built. So, as long as I didn't see it with my own eyes, I could pretend nothing ever happened. As long as I didn't see it. I looked at Arthur and managed a small smile. "I'm craving beef and tomato stew." Arthur's eyes instantly lit up. He turned and practically jogged toward the kitchen. But a moment later, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, and his face filled with apology. "I'm so sorry, sweet girl. There's an emergency at the office. I'll make it for you as soon as I get back." Before I could even respond, he was out the door. I grabbed my car keys and followed him. The Pinnacle Condos, Building 7. I stood in the shadow of a large oak tree, watching Chloe loop her arm intimately through his as they walked through the lobby doors. The moment the door closed, I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. Through the massive floor-to-ceiling window of the ground-floor condo, I saw him immediately stand up, acting like he was going to walk outside to take the call. And then, Chloe stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. Through the phone, I heard the sticky, wet sound of a kiss, followed by his heavy breathing. I gripped my phone, my knuckles turning white. "Arthur. My stomach hurts." Hearing those words, Arthur violently shoved Chloe away, grabbed his jacket, and headed straight for the door. "Don't be scared, sweet girl. I'll be right there." Suddenly, a muffled groan came through the phone. Chloe crouched down on the floor. Immediately after, the call was disconnected. Ten seconds later, a text popped up. "Sweet girl, there's an emergency board meeting. I have to be there. I already called your doctor, he's on his way to the house. Don't be scared." I looked up. Through that window, I watched him scoop Chloe up into his arms and carry her toward the bedroom. My heart finally died completely. I pulled up my phone and dialed the hospital. "Hello, I need to schedule an abortion." 3 I was just about to pull out of the parking spot when I saw a man standing right in front of my car. It was my father. We stared at each other in silence for a long time. Then, I followed him back into the house I had lived in for eighteen years. The living room was the same living room, but everything else was completely different. The wall that used to hold photos of me and my mom was now entirely covered in pictures of Chloe and her mother. My mom's favorite begonias had been replaced by sickeningly sweet roses. I stood in the center of the living room, feeling like a stranger in a strange land. My dad pointed to the sofa. The second I sat down, he cut straight to the chase. "Leave Arthur." "I refuse. Arthur is the one who can't leave me." Once, when I found out he had added Chloe on WhatsApp, I felt so betrayed I packed my bags to leave. He blocked the front door. Without saying a single word, he grabbed a fruit knife from the coffee table and plunged it directly into his own stomach. Blood poured out, but he didn't take a single step back. He just stared at me. "If you want to leave, you'll have to step over my dead body." My dad didn't argue. He just gave me a look of profound pity. Then, he pointed to the wall next to the staircase. It was a massive photo gallery. It was entirely filled with pictures of Chloe and Arthur. Cuddling on a gondola in Venice. Holding hands under the cherry blossoms at Mount Fuji. Kissing passionately under the Eiffel Tower. "He didn't go on a business trip last week. He took Chloe on a trip around the world." My dad stood up, walked over to the gallery wall, and pointed at the massive framed photo dead center. "They got their marriage license overseas. They had a huge wedding and invited everyone." "Including his parents." "To get his parents to accept Chloe and attend the wedding, he kneeled outside their front door for seven days straight." "I seem to recall that absolutely no one attended your wedding with Arthur." I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Arthur's parents despised me. They believed I seduced their son, slapped him with the label of a homewrecker, and ruined his reputation and his future. So they didn't show up to our wedding, and they strictly forbade us from ever visiting their estate. But in these photos, they were smiling warmly, happily accepting the traditional tea Chloe was serving them. "I heard you got into a car accident a few days ago?" my dad asked. "I didn't want Arthur to worry, so I handled it myself. I never told him." My dad let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Do you know where he was when that happened?" "He was literally a block away from you, helping Chloe pick out a diamond ring." A loud, deafening ringing exploded in my ears. "He watched the whole thing. He watched that driver harass you. He watched the guy shove you to the ground. He watched you hide in your car and cry. He watched them bang on your windows and curse at you. He watched you force yourself to hold it together and call the cops." "And he didn't move a single muscle. Because Chloe was thirsty, and he was in a rush to go buy her a boba tea." "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" I shot up from the sofa, my entire body shaking violently. I refused to believe that the man who would hyperventilate with worry if I got a paper cut would just stand by and watch me get assaulted without doing anything. "These are all lies! You just made this up to force me to leave Arthur!" My dad stared at me in silence. That look terrified me to my core. After a long time, he finally spoke. "Chloe is pregnant." "They named the baby Julian." Julian. Youthful and peaceful. Something snapped in my brain. That was the name Arthur and I had spent an entire month brainstorming, flipping through baby name books until the pages were worn out. That was our baby's name. That name belonged exclusively to my child! "Men understand men better than anyone." My dad's voice echoed in the room again. "The only thing keeping him with you right now is a sense of obligation. If you keep doing this, you're going to end up exactly like your mother." My mom. When she found out my dad had a mistress, she absolutely refused to sign the divorce papers. So my dad brought the mistress right into our house, making out with her right in front of my mom. Eventually, my mom couldn't handle the humiliation anymore and killed herself. Will I end up like my mom? Trapped in an endless cycle of breakdowns, insanity, and mutual torture? I didn't know. I just suddenly felt incredibly, unbearably exhausted. I stopped listening to the man standing in front of me. I pushed the front door open and walked outside. The bright afternoon sun beat down on me, but I couldn't feel a single ounce of warmth. 4 My phone vibrated violently. It was a barrage of texts from Arthur. "Sweet girl, where are you? Why aren't you picking up?" "I'm begging you, sweet girl, just reply to me. Let me know where you are!" Only then did I realize that in the past hour alone, Arthur had called me hundreds of times. But my eyes were glued to the text from the clinic, confirming my abortion appointment for tomorrow morning. My hand unconsciously moved to my stomach, trying to feel a heartbeat. I had absolutely nothing left. This was the only thing that still belonged to me. Before I could even process what to do next, a set of blindingly bright headlights swerved aggressively toward me. Blood instantly clouded my vision. Chloe stepped out of the car and crouched down in front of me. "Sarah! Why won't you just die?!" "Only when you're dead will Artie truly belong to me! Right now, even when he's inside me, he's only thinking about you!" Her face twisted into a demonic, psychotic sneer. She grabbed me by the back of the head and slammed my face brutally into the asphalt. She didn't stop until my face was completely covered in a thick mask of blood, making me entirely unrecognizable. Then, she pulled out her phone, her voice instantly shifting to panicked terror. "Artie! I hit someone with my car! I'm so scared!" A few minutes later, Arthur's black SUV skidded to a halt. Chloe threw herself into his arms, trembling like a leaf. "Artie, what do I do? Am I going to prison? I swear I didn't mean to do it." Arthur held her tight, whispering softly to comfort her. "It's okay. I'm here." He turned and barked an order at his bodyguards. "Pour liquor down her throat. Make it look like a DUI." The bodyguard glanced down at me. "Boss, she's pregnant." Arthur froze, a flash of hesitation crossing his face as he looked down at my bloodied form. "Artie, I'm so scared! If people find out I was the one driving, my life is over! I'd be better off dead!" Chloe melted into his chest, her eyes wide and overflowing with tears. "POUR IT!" Arthur looked down and kissed the top of Chloe's head. "I will handle the consequences!" Harsh, burning liquor was forced down my throat. The alcohol spilled from my lips, mixing with the blood on my face, and dripped onto the pavement. I felt a rush of warm fluid pooling beneath me, flowing out onto the street. I desperately cried out for help. "Arthur, no. Please." But my voice was too weak. No one could hear me. However, Arthur suddenly stopped. He stood frozen, looking down hesitantly at my blood-soaked body. "I thought I heard Sarah calling me." Chloe suddenly clutched her stomach. "Artie, my stomach hurts. The baby is kicking me." Arthur instantly snapped his attention back to her, sweeping her up into his arms and rushing her to the SUV. Before getting into the driver's seat, he shot one last look at the bodyguards. "Watch her. Wait until the alcohol fully absorbs into her bloodstream before calling an ambulance." The car doors slammed shut. I lay there in a pool of my own blood, staring dead at the direction the taillights vanished into. When I woke up again... Arthur was sitting by my hospital bed, gripping my hand tightly. His eyes were bloodshot. "Sarah, how are you feeling?" "Does it hurt anywhere?" Tears poured uncontrollably from his eyes, landing on the back of my hand. "What happened?! The hospital called me out of nowhere and told me you were in a car accident and the baby was gone." "Who was it?!" Arthur squeezed my hand tighter and tighter, his eyes burning with absolute, murderous rage. "Who hit you?! I'm going to kill them!" "It was you, Arthur." I looked at the terrified expression on his face, and a wave of dark, twisted satisfaction washed over me. "You told your bodyguards to pour liquor down my throat. You ordered them to delay the ambulance. Congratulations, Arthur! You personally murdered your own child!"
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