"Natalie, this is the last viable embryo. Without Mr. Sterling's signature, we cannot proceed with the transfer." I clutched my phone. The screen showed I'd called him 99 times. No response to any of them. But on TV, Adrian Sterling was in Switzerland rescuing his first love. He held that woman in his arms. "I love you. Even if it costs me these hands, I'm willing to save you." He'd forgotten. Today was our last chance to become parents. Ninety-nine hormone injections, three years of torture, wounds covering my body. I'd shouldered the family shame of his infertility for him, yet there he was on a cliff's edge, making passionate declarations to his mistress. Later, when I hemorrhaged from my uterus, he kicked me in the knee and cursed me as vile. "Did you miscarry because you were carrying some bastard's child?" Love turned to hate. I came to despise Adrian. Two years after I faked my death and escaped, Adrian tracked me down. I pointed to the man beside me and smiled: "Adrian , let me introduce you. This is my husband."
Natalie POV The private hospital's air conditioning ran at full blast. The instant the needle pierced my skin, I felt no pain. This was my ninety-ninth ovarian stimulation injection. "Natalie, this is the last viable embryo we have." The doctor looked at my abdomen, covered in bruises, with sympathy in her eyes. "Is Mr. Sterling still not coming to sign today? Without your spouse present to sign, we cannot transfer this embryo for you." I lowered my lashes, my fingertips gripping the phone turning an unnatural pale color. On the screen, I'd sent Adrian thirty-six messages and made over a dozen calls. Without exception, all had gone unanswered. "He's... busy." I forced out a smile uglier than crying. "Doctor, can we wait a bit longer? He promised he'd definitely come today." The doctor sighed, about to speak, when the LCD TV on the wall suddenly interrupted with breaking international news. "A major avalanche struck a canyon in Switzerland. Our country's renowned extreme rock climber Adrian Sterling, three hours ago, free-soloed a sheer cliff face without protection to successfully rescue his former partner, Sophie Lane..." On screen, wind and snow raged. The man I'd been waiting for an entire day and night wore a thin windbreaker, clutching a woman tightly in his arms. His hands, those hands he took such pride in, those hands insured for hundreds of millions, now gripped the rock face. Blood dripped from between his fingers onto the snow, a shocking sight. When the reporter thrust the microphone toward him, Adrian gasped for breath, but his eyes held a fervor and relief I'd never seen before. "As long as she's safe, I'd be willing even if it cost me these hands." I stared at the screen, my heart seized by an invisible hand, each breath tasting of blood. He'd sacrifice his hands. Yet he knew full well that today was the most important day of my life. Adrian had azoospermia. Three years ago when we got the diagnosis, this prideful rock climbing genius locked himself in a dark room for an entire week. I was the one who stayed with him, kissing his trembling spine over and over, telling him. "It's okay if we don't have children. I only need you." But Adrian's soul was too proud. He felt he'd wronged me, even suggested divorce. To soothe his ego, I volunteered to do IVF. Punctures, egg retrievals, failures, trying again. Over three years, I'd put myself through hell, forcing out this one last successfully matched embryo from his body that had been practically sentenced to death. Last night, he'd held me, kissing the needle marks on my abdomen, his voice tender enough to drip water. "Nat, tomorrow I'll be there with you. We'll bring our baby home." But now, he was in Switzerland, holding another woman. Sophie. The first love who'd pursued Adrian for seven years, who once broke her leg saving him. "Natalie?" The doctor called out tentatively. I closed my eyes as tears finally fell onto my hand. I took a deep breath, my voice terribly hoarse. "Never mind. This embryo... destroy it." "Are you certain? This is your last chance." "I'm certain." I stood, didn't spare the TV screen another glance, and walked out of the examination room. The sunlight outside was blinding. Standing on a New York street, I suddenly felt cold. I remembered five years ago, when Adrian was pursuing me, he carved my name with pitons into a snow-covered mountain at 16,000 feet elevation. He said. "Natalie, I've entrusted my life to the mountains, but my heart will forever hang from your carabiner." However earth-shattering his devotion once was, that's how heartbreaking his betrayal felt now. I'd endured three years of physical torture for him, while he'd risk his very life for Sophie. My phone suddenly vibrated. A message from Adrian, just one cold sentence. "Emergency situation in Switzerland. Postponing the transfer procedure. We'll proceed when I get back." Postpone? He didn't even ask if today's injection hurt, didn't offer a single explanation. Just casually pronounced a death sentence on the procedure. I stared at those words for a long time, my fingers trembling as I typed a reply. "No need to postpone, Adrian. We're done." Message failed to send. He'd blocked my messages. I suddenly laughed, laughed until tears came. How absurd. I was here in agony while he found even my messages annoying.
Natalie POV Adrian returned three days later. Not only did he return, he brought Sophie back to our New York townhouse. I was sitting on the living room carpet sorting through discarded hormone medication boxes when the door opened. A wave of Sophie's signature cold cedarwood perfume aggressively invaded my nostrils. "Nat, I'm home." Adrian's voice carried exhaustion. He strode over, habitually moving to kiss my forehead. I turned my head away, dodging. Adrian's movement froze mid-air, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He glanced at the medication boxes scattered across the floor, his tone taking on a hint of impatience. "Didn't I say the transfer was postponed? What are you throwing a tantrum about now?" "Throwing a tantrum?" I looked up at him. The man before me was still handsome, though his eyes now held an edge of irritation toward me. Behind him, Sophie sat in a wheelchair, face pale and pitiable. "Adrian, am I disturbing you two?" Sophie bit her lower lip, her voice light as a feather. "Maybe I should stay at a hotel instead. Natalie doesn't seem to welcome me." "Your leg's injured, there's no need for a hotel." Adrian immediately turned, his tone gentle in a way completely different from moments ago. "The doctor said you need rest. This environment is best for you." Then he turned to look at me, his tone nearly commanding. "Nat, Sophie got injured saving me in Switzerland. She has severe high-altitude sickness aftereffects and needs to stay in the room with the best ventilation. Clear out the second-floor master bedroom and move to the guest room for a few days." I looked at him in disbelief. The second-floor master bedroom was the one Adrian personally designed when we got married. It had an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and an indoor climbing wall he'd built for me himself. He once pressed me against that wall, kissing my earlobe as he said. "Nat, this is our absolute domain. No one can set foot here." Now, he wanted me to give it up to Sophie. "What if I refuse?" My voice was soft but carried the finality of death. Adrian's expression darkened. "Natalie, since when did you become so unreasonable? Sophie got injured because of me. She's a patient! Can you stop taking out whatever grievances you suffered at the hospital on her?" Whatever grievances. I felt my heart being sawed back and forth with a dull knife. The torture of ninety-nine injections, countless days and nights of hope, my last chance to become a mother. In his eyes, just "whatever grievances." "Adrian, have you forgotten that three days ago was my last embryo transfer appointment?" I stared at him, eyes red. "Do you know that because you didn't show up, that embryo has been destroyed?" Adrian froze, a flash of panic in his eyes, quickly masked by irritation. "If it's destroyed, it's destroyed. We can just do it again later." He tugged at his tie, his tone matter-of-fact. "I'm standing right here in front of you, aren't I? Lost embryos can be replaced. If Sophie had fallen off that cliff, she'd be dead!" I found it utterly absurd. Do it again later? Did he think this was grocery shopping? Did he know how severely my ovaries had deteriorated from excessive stimulation? "Adrian, don't blame Natalie." Sophie timely grabbed Adrian's sleeve, tears uncontrollably falling. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come back. I understand she wanting a child to secure her position, especially since... since your condition is special." That sentence precisely hit Adrian's sorest spot. Azoospermia was the greatest shame of his life. Adrian's gaze instantly turned ice cold. Looking at me, he spoke with cruel words. "Natalie, must you push me at a time like this? Do you want a child because you love me, or are you afraid I'll leave you if I don't have children, so you're desperate to create leverage to bind me?" I felt thunderstruck. Looking at this man I'd loved for five years, I only felt he'd become terrifyingly unfamiliar. I'd swallowed all my pain to protect his dignity, only to receive such vicious suspicions in return. "Fine, I'll move out of the master bedroom." I closed my eyes, swallowing the taste of blood in my throat. "Adrian, don't you dare regret this."
Natalie POV I moved to the cold guest room. New York autumns were bone-chillingly cold. The guest room's heating was broken. I curled up under thin blankets, sharp pains radiating from my lower abdomen. These were side effects from the ovulation drugs, combined with hormonal withdrawal after the embryo destruction. I started hemorrhaging heavily. Blood stained the sheets. The pain left me drenched in cold sweat, without even the strength to reach for my phone. Outside the door came Sophie's delicate laughter, mixed with Adrian's low, indulgent voice. "Adrian, this carabiner is so beautiful. It even has letters engraved on it." "That was something I casually carved ages ago. If you like it, it's yours." I bit my lip until I tasted rust. That carabiner was made of pure titanium, custom-made for me the year Adrian won the world championship. Our initials were engraved on it. He said it was proof that he'd entrusted his life to me. Now, he'd casually given it to Sophie. The severe pain began blurring my consciousness. I struggled to crawl out of bed, wanting to find painkillers in the living room. Just as I pushed open the door, I saw Adrian half-kneeling on the floor, holding Sophie's ankle, carefully applying ice to it. Hearing the noise, Adrian turned his head. Seeing my ashen face and the bloodstains on the hem of my nightgown, his pupils constricted sharply. He stood abruptly. "What happened to you?" I leaned against the doorframe, lacking even the strength to speak. But Sophie cried out, covering her mouth. "Oh my God, Natalie, you... you didn't have a miscarriage, did you? But Adrian is..." She deliberately left the sentence half-finished, her eyes full of malicious insinuation. Adrian's face instantly turned iron-gray. He strode over, grabbing my wrist with force nearly crushing my bones. "Natalie, what's with the blood? What have you been doing behind my back?!" A man with azoospermia, seeing his wife bleeding from below. His first reaction would always be suspicion. The pain made me gasp. Looking at Adrian's eyes full of doubt and rage, my heart completely died. "What do you think I've been doing?" I laughed weakly, my eyes full of mockery. "Adrian, do you think that to have a child, I went and found some random man?" "What else?!" Adrian's eyes were bloodshot, like an enraged beast. "I can't have children! Unless you're telling me you're on your period?!" He shouted loud enough for even the servants in the living room to hear clearly. To humiliate me, he didn't even hesitate to publicly expose his own condition. I felt so tired, too tired to even desire explaining. "Yes, I found someone else." I looked at him, speaking in despair. "Because you're worthless, Adrian. Not only is your body worthless, your heart has rotted too." Crack! Adrian slammed his palm against the wall beside me, his knuckles instantly bloody. He stared at me intently, chest heaving violently. "Natalie, you disgust me. You claim to love me, but you actually despise me! All that IVF was just to satisfy your vanity as Mrs. Sterling!" He released his grip abruptly, flinging me aside like discarded trash. I lost my balance, falling hard to the floor. The cramping in my lower abdomen instantly intensified as another warm flow gushed out. "Adrian, don't be like this. Natalie might just have hormonal imbalance..." Sophie rolled her wheelchair over with false concern, looking down at me on the floor. "Leave her alone!" Adrian coldly glanced at the blood on the floor, his eyes devoid of any compassion. "Since she wants a child so badly, let her lie here in pain until she dies!" With that, he pushed Sophie's wheelchair and left the townhouse without looking back. The front door slammed shut with a bang. I curled up on the cold floor, staring at that glaring pool of blood, tears silently falling. Adrian, you'll never know that this pool of blood represents the last drop of blood I shed for loving you.
Natalie POV I spent an entire week in the hospital. Severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, combined with internal bleeding from extreme emotional distress. I nearly died in that hospital. During that entire week, Adrian never appeared once. On discharge day, I took a cab back to the townhouse alone. As soon as I entered, I heard cheering from the second floor. I dragged my weakened body upstairs and pushed open the master bedroom door. On the indoor climbing wall that once belonged to me, Sophie wore my favorite custom climbing outfit, my titanium carabiner with our initials hanging from her waist, struggling to climb upward under Adrian's protection. "Adrian, I'm scared!" Sophie called out sweetly. "Don't be afraid. I'm down here holding the belay rope. You're absolutely safe." Adrian looked up, hands gripping the safety rope tightly, his gaze focused and tender. This scene pierced my eyes. This wall was built by Adrian for me. He said that because I was afraid of heights, he wanted to build the safest wall at home so I could overcome my fear under his protection, step by step. But now, he was protecting another woman. "What are you doing?" My voice wasn't loud, but in the empty room it seemed particularly jarring. Adrian's hands paused. Turning to see me, his brow immediately furrowed. "You're discharged? Why didn't you say something in advance?" His tone was bland, as if I'd merely gone on vacation rather than nearly died. Seeing me, Sophie deliberately slipped, screaming as she fell from the wall. "Sophie!" Adrian's expression changed drastically. He quickly tightened the belay rope, catching Sophie securely in his arms. "Adrian, I was so scared..." Sophie clung tightly to Adrian's neck, looking at me through tears. "I'm sorry. I just saw this wall hadn't been used in so long and wanted to try it. Please don't be angry with Adrian." I looked at the carabiner on Sophie's waist and said coldly. "Take off my things." Sophie shrank back, burrowing deeper into Adrian's embrace. Adrian protectively held Sophie, his eyes sharp as he looked at me. "Natalie, haven't you made enough of a scene? Sophie's just borrowing your equipment. Do you have to be this petty?" "I'm petty?" I pointed at the carabiner, my finger trembling slightly. "Adrian, do you know what that clip means to me? That was your promise to me!" "Promise?" Adrian laughed coldly, as if hearing the world's greatest joke. "Natalie, you want to talk to me about promises now? When you were bleeding all over the floor behind my back, why didn't you think about your promises to me?" He still suspected me. I took a deep breath, suppressing the pain in my heart. "I'll say it one more time. Return my things." I walked forward, reaching to unfasten the carabiner from Sophie's waist. "What are you doing!" Adrian shoved me away. Already weak, his push sent my back crashing hard against the solid rock wall. The pain made my vision go dark. Adrian looked down at me condescendingly, his eyes full of disgust. "Natalie, your emotions are too unstable right now. You're acting like a lunatic. This carabiner would be wasted on you. Sophie's doing rehabilitation training now. She needs it more than you." He personally unfastened the carabiner engraved with our names and, right in front of me, rehung it on Sophie's waist. "From today on, this wall belongs to Sophie. If you're dissatisfied, get back to your guest room." I leaned against the wall, watching Adrian's back as he protectively escorted Sophie away, suddenly feeling this wall was as cold as ice. I once thought Adrian was the safest rope in my world. But it turned out, when he wanted to leave, I didn't even have the right to be shattered.
Natalie POV Deep autumn in Los Angeles, the ocean breeze carried bone-chilling cold. The annual top-tier charity gala was held at a hotel in Beverly Hills. Adrian forcibly brought me along to dispel rumors about our marriage falling apart. I wore a black high-necked evening gown to hide the bruises on my neck from IV injections. My face was pale, like a soulless puppet, letting Adrian hold my hand as we walked the red carpet. Camera flashes fired frantically. "Mr. Sterling, we heard you nearly died in Switzerland saving Miss Lane. What does Mrs. Sterling think about this?" "Mrs. Sterling, rumors say you haven't gotten pregnant in five years of marriage because of Mr. Sterling's physical condition. Is this true?" The reporters' questions were like poisoned knives, each one extremely sharp. Adrian's expression instantly darkened. His grip on my hand tightened sharply, squeezing my knuckles in warning. The pain made me frown, but I lacked even the strength to struggle. Just then, a commotion erupted from behind the crowd. "Miss Lane has fainted!" Adrian's whole body jolted. Almost reflexively, he released my hand. Wearing four-inch heels, his forceful motion made me stumble several steps, nearly falling on the red carpet. But Adrian didn't even glance at me, pushing through the crowd and rushing toward the back like a madman. On the red carpet, only I remained, standing alone surrounded by countless cameras. Whispers surged around me like a tide. "See? She's Adrian's wife, but she still can't compare to his first love." "I heard she goes to the hospital every day trying to have a baby, completely exhausting herself. If I were Mr. Sterling, I'd choose Sophie too." "A woman who can't have children still occupying the position of Mrs. Sterling. How embarrassing." Those socialites and wealthy women covered their mouths with fans, their eyes full of undisguised mockery and contempt. I stood in place, nails digging deep into my palms. I didn't cry, just felt cold. A cold seeping from the marrow of my bones. After the gala officially began, Adrian returned with Sophie. Sophie had changed into a dazzling red gown, holding Adrian's arm as if she were the evening's protagonist. The charity auction segment. A painting appeared on the big screen. A snow-capped mountain with a pair of embracing lovers at its peak. This was painted five years ago by a local artist after Adrian and I were rescued from a mountain emergency. An anonymous buyer later purchased it. I never expected to see it here. "Starting bid, one million." The auctioneer's gavel fell. I raised my paddle. "Two million." This was the last clean memory between Adrian and me. I wanted to buy it, then burn it with my own hands. "Three million." A sweet voice rang out. I turned to see Sophie leaning against Adrian, smiling as she held up her paddle. "Adrian, this painting is so beautiful. I want to hang it on the master bedroom wall." Sophie spoke coquettishly. Adrian affectionately stroked her hair. "If you like it, buy it." My fingers trembled slightly as I raised my paddle again. "Five million." "Ten million." Adrian didn't even lift his eyelids, directly bidding for Sophie. The entire room erupted. Everyone looked at me with eyes watching a show. A husband publicly suppressing his own wife at an auction for another woman. This was the ultimate humiliation. I stared intently at Adrian. "Adrian, that's my painting." "Your painting?" Adrian laughed coldly, his eyes full of disdain. "Natalie, get it straight. Every dollar you're spending right now is mine. I'll spend my money on whoever I want." He turned to the auctioneer. "Twenty million. This painting is mine." The gavel fell. This painting no longer belonged to me. Sophie smugly raised her eyebrow at me, then covered her head and leaned on Adrian's shoulder. "Adrian, I'm so dizzy. It's too stuffy inside." "I'll take you back." Adrian immediately stood, carefully protecting Sophie as they walked out. Passing by me, he paused, using a voice only the two of us could hear. "Natalie, stop embarrassing me. When the gala ends, get yourself back to New York." With that, he escorted Sophie away, never looking back. I sat in my seat, watching their departing backs, suddenly laughing out loud. I laughed until tears fell. Under the stares of people looking at a madwoman, I picked up a glass of red wine from the table and drained it in one gulp. Adrian, you won't even leave me the last bit of memory. Fine. Just fine.
Natalie POV I returned to the New York townhouse in the rain. On the way back to New York, I was like a puppet without a soul. Pushing open the townhouse door, the living room was in chaos. The locked box I'd left on the table had been forcibly pried open. That was where I stored all my IVF documentation and medical records. Now, those consent forms, stimulation records, and embryo cultivation reports that carried three years of my suffering were torn to shreds, scattered across the floor like snow. Sophie sat on the sofa, holding scissors, slowly cutting up an ultrasound report. "Oh my, Natalie is back." Sophie looked up, her smile innocent yet vicious. "I'm so sorry. I was looking for something earlier and accidentally knocked over your box. These waste papers looked rather unsightly, so I took the liberty of disposing of them for you." All the blood in my body instantly rushed to my head. I lunged forward, snatching the scissors from Sophie's hand, pointing at her with bloodshot eyes. "Do you have a death wish?!" "Ahh! Help!" Sophie screamed, toppling from her wheelchair to the floor, a shallow cut from the scissors appearing on the back of her hand. The front door opened at precisely that moment. Adrian stormed in. Seeing this scene, his eyes nearly split with rage. "Natalie! Have you lost your mind!" He charged forward violently, kicking me in the knee. Already weakened, his kick sent me heavily to my knees on those shredded papers. Broken glass shards pierced my kneecap, blood instantly seeping out. Adrian tenderly lifted Sophie from the floor, looking at the cut on her hand, then turned to roar at me. "Are you sick?! How did Sophie offend you that you'd try to kill her with scissors?!" I knelt on the floor, looking at the shredded papers everywhere. This was proof that for him, I'd endured ninety-nine needle punctures. Now, all of it had become "waste paper" in his eyes. "She tore up my medical records." My voice was eerily calm, calm in a frightening way. "Adrian, she destroyed all the records from three years of IVF treatments I did for you." Adrian froze, glancing at the shredded papers on the floor, a flash of embarrassment crossing his eyes. But his expression quickly hardened again. "If they're torn, they're torn! What's the point of keeping those things? To remind me you're a waste who couldn't even protect a child?!" Those words were like a rusty knife, viciously stabbing into my heart and twisting violently. Looking at Adrian, I suddenly felt the man before me was as unfamiliar as a monster. "Adrian." I slowly stood, blood from my knee flowing down my calf, leaving shocking red traces on the carpet. I walked to a nearby cabinet, took out a document I'd prepared long ago, and threw it at Adrian's feet. "Let's get divorced." The document clearly read "Divorce Agreement." Adrian's pupils constricted sharply. He stared intently at that agreement. "Divorce?" Adrian laughed coldly, tearing the agreement to shreds right in front of me. "Natalie, what game are you playing now to win me back? You want to divorce me over some torn papers?" "Don't forget. You were the one who insisted on marrying me! You want to leave now? I don't allow it!" He pointed at Sophie, speaking with self-righteous indignation. "Sophie saved my life on K2! I owe her a debt I can never repay in this lifetime! As my wife, what's wrong with you suffering a little? Why can't you be more magnanimous?!" Looking at his furious face, I suddenly felt unbearably sad. "You owe her a life, so you'll use mine to repay it?" I pulled at the corner of my mouth, my eyes lifeless. "Adrian, I don't owe you two anything. These five years, I've given you everything I could. Now, I want nothing anymore." I turned toward the stairs, my figure resolute. Adrian suddenly roared. "Natalie! If you dare walk out that door today, don't ever come back!" My steps didn't pause. Never come back? That suits me perfectly.
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