My husband and I were on a business trip in Paris when he suddenly got a call from his childhood friend, Chloe Davis. She told him she was being abused by her husband. Blake booked a flight that very night, leaving me alone in Paris. Later, at the contract-signing gala, I was drugged and brutally attacked by executives from the opposing company. They dragged me into a room, assaulting me until I was left with multiple fractures and internal injuries. After 24 hours fighting for my life in the ICU, I looked at my phone. Dozens of missed calls from Blake. I called him back, only to hear his accusatory voice on the other end: “Aurora Hayes, what’s taking you so long to close a deal?” “Chloe’s been abused, she’s really unstable. I have to stay with her. Just sign the contract and come back yourself.” My voice was raw, rasped out: “I was assaulted by those bastards.” His tone immediately bristled with impatience. “It’s just a contract. What could possibly happen? Don’t start with your drama here.” “I usually tolerate it, but with Chloe like this, how dare you try to compete with her for attention!” The police sent him my injury report. But all I got back was a cold, automated reply: “I’m unavailable right now. Will contact you later.” I never thought he could be so heartless. Since the contract was signed, there was no need to keep this man around anymore.
Three months later, dragging a leg that still wasn’t quite right, I opened the door to our home. Chloe Davis stepped out of the master bedroom, wearing a silk slip. Seeing me, the smile on her face froze for a second. Then, it melted into an expression of pity: “Aurora? Why didn’t you say you were coming back?” “What are you doing here? Where’s Blake Harrison?” I cut her off, my voice hoarse from disuse. “Oh, Blake went to get me some fruit.” Chloe caressed her slightly swollen belly, her eyes deliberately sweeping over my flat stomach. “I haven’t been feeling well lately. The doctor said the pregnancy isn’t stable.” “He was worried about me being alone, so he had me move in. It’s easier for him to take care of me.” That’s when I noticed her belly. By the looks of it, she was only two or three months along. That perfectly aligned with the time I’d spent recovering abroad. Could it be… “Whose child is that?!” I demanded immediately. The moment my words left my lips, Chloe immediately dropped to her knees. “Aurora, please don’t be angry. Blake and I are just friends, don’t misunderstand.” “Blake only took me in out of kindness after I was abused and had nowhere to go. If you don’t like it, I’ll leave right now…” She spoke, her eyes reddening, as if she’d suffered the greatest injustice. Blake happened to walk in with a bag of fruit. Seeing the scene, he didn’t hesitate, rushing forward to shove me aside. “Chloe! You’re pregnant, how can you be kneeling?!” He turned his head, looking at me as if I were a hardened criminal. “Can’t you see Chloe’s pregnant?! How could you make her kneel? You’re absolutely vicious!” I hadn’t done anything. She’d knelt on her own. But in Blake’s eyes, it was all my fault. He didn’t even ask where I’d been for three months or how I was doing. “Blake, Aurora… she seems to have misunderstood us.” Chloe buried her head in his chest, her shoulders subtly shaking. Blake’s face instantly darkened. “Misunderstand? What’s there to misunderstand?” “Aurora Hayes, let me tell you, Chloe is pregnant with my child. If you dare to bully her, I swear I won’t let you off easy!” I laughed. How could a man be so self-righteous about his affair? “Blake Harrison, this is adultery. She’s the other woman—” “You have the nerve to say that!” he roared, cutting me off. “If you hadn’t been playing around abroad for three months, how would I have ever touched Chloe? She wouldn’t be pregnant with my child!” I couldn’t believe he could utter such disgusting words. He was actually pinning the blame for his infidelity on me. I’d been drugged and left for dead at a Paris client dinner, enduring hellish torment, all for his career. And he, meanwhile, had been sleeping with another woman in our home, getting her pregnant. In that moment, my disappointment in him reached its absolute peak.
Chloe cried even harder in his arms: “Blake, don’t scold Aurora. It’s all my fault…” “No, it’s not your fault. It has nothing to do with you,” Blake said, comforting her softly. I took a deep breath, pointed at Chloe, and told Blake, “Get her out of my house.” “Aurora Hayes, don’t go too far!” Blake’s anger reignited. Chloe immediately pulled on his arm. “I’ll go, I’ll leave right away. Don’t fight because of me.” She started to walk out, but suddenly her legs buckled, and she cried out, about to fall. Without thinking, Blake darted forward and caught her. His arm slammed hard into my chest, shoving me ruthlessly to the ground. My head hit the floor with a sickening thud, and the world spun. I heard Blake, holding Chloe, anxiously call out, “Chloe, are you okay? Is the baby hurt?” He didn’t even glance back at me. I lay on the cold floor, staring up at the crystal chandelier we had chosen together. Suddenly, I felt like the three months I’d spent fighting for my life in the ICU had been an absolute farce. The intense pain made my vision swim. I struggled to get up, but my bones felt shattered, leaving me utterly immobile. Blake carefully settled Chloe on the sofa, fussing over her with water and leg rubs, as if she were a precious artifact. “Blake, quickly check on Aurora. She seems to have fallen quite hard.” Chloe prompted him feebly from his embrace, her eyes casting a triumphant glance at me. Only then did Blake reluctantly walk over. “Stop faking it. Get up.” Faking it? The police in Paris sent him my injury report. It clearly stated: “Multiple fractures, ruptured organs, severe concussion.” He knew. He just didn’t care. It took all my strength to lean on the edge of the coffee table and slowly stand up. He didn’t even offer to help me. “Blake Harrison, this is my parents’ house. Please leave immediately, both of you.” Blake instantly flushed with rage. “Aurora Hayes, will you be reasonable?” “Chloe is a pregnant woman, with no family here. Where do you expect her to go? How can you be so heartless?” I looked at his face and suddenly smiled. “Yes, I am heartless.” “Not only do I want her out, I want you out too, Blake Harrison. We’re getting a divorce!” The word “divorce” hit like a bomb, freezing the air in the living room. Blake’s face turned ashen. He grabbed my wrist, his grip so strong it felt like he was trying to crush my bones. “Say that again?” “I said, we’re getting a div—” *Smack!* A stinging slap landed hard on my face. My head snapped to the side, my ears ringing. “Aurora Hayes, I’m warning you, don’t test my limits!” “Even though Chloe is pregnant with my child, you’re the only one in my heart. Once her baby is born, you can raise it.” “It’s not like you can have children anyway.”
His gaze fell to my stomach, where a life once bloomed. But to push Blake away from an oncoming car, I fell in that accident. When I woke up, the doctor told me I would never be able to have children. At the time, Blake had gently cared for me until I emerged from the shadow of losing our child. He even got a vasectomy. He told me, “Aurora, I won’t let anyone else carry my child but you.” Turns out, it was all a lie. A malicious glint flickered in Chloe’s eyes. She walked over, feigning concern as she pulled Blake’s hand away. “Blake, don’t be like that…” Her gaze, however, fell on a painting in the corner of the room. It was my father’s last work, the only keepsake my parents left me. “Oh, this painting is beautiful! Is it an original?” Chloe sounded like she’d discovered treasure, reaching out to touch it. “Don’t you dare touch it with your filthy hands!” I snapped, my voice sharp. Chloe flinched, startled by my outburst, and looked at Blake, wronged. “Blake, I… I just wanted to see it.” Blake lovingly wrapped her in his arms, then glared at me. “What’s wrong with looking at it? It’s just a worthless painting, isn’t it?” “Chloe likes it, so I’ll give it to her!” “You wouldn’t dare!” My blood boiled instantly. “Watch me.” Blake sneered, telling Chloe, “Chloe, look all you want. If you like it, take it.” With Blake’s silent permission, Chloe’s boldness grew. She walked up to the painting, extending her hand with its bright red nail polish, and lightly dragged a finger across the face of the main figure in the artwork. I watched, horrified, as a glaring white scratch appeared on the precious canvas. “No—!” That was the last memory my father left me, the most precious treasure in my world. Now, it was ruined. Ruined by the man I loved most and the woman I hated most, working together. I rushed over, kneeling before the painting, stroking the wound. Tears streamed down my face, and my heart shattered completely in that moment. “It’s just a painting. Is it really that big of a deal? I can always buy you another one.” “Buy? With what?” Seeing my endless tears, Blake lost his patience. “You’re acting crazy. Crying over a broken painting like this.” “I think you’re just intentionally trying to keep Chloe from staying here…” He checked his phone, seeing a newly received message. The next second, his face instantly turned dark. Lewd, disturbing audio blasted from his phone. He glared furiously at me, then slammed his phone down in front of me. The screen was playing a video. It was footage of me being drugged and assaulted in Paris. In the video, my clothes were disheveled, my eyes glazed over, surrounded by several men whose faces were blurred. They were touching me inappropriately, and I seemed to not resist. The video had been maliciously edited, with the beginning and end cut out, leaving only the most suggestive clips. My original struggles and screams were replaced with seductive music. My pained, distorted expressions, in the dim light, were twisted into a perverted scene of supposed pleasure. My brain buzzed, turning blank. This was my deepest nightmare, a hell I would rather die than revisit. How did Blake get this video?! “Aurora Hayes! You absolute slut, how could you do something like this behind my back?!” My lips trembled, but not a single word came out. How could I explain? Say it wasn’t real? Say I was framed? Would he believe me?
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “296942”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic
Leave a Reply