The day Leo Hayes was set to marry, I crashed the ceremony with a positive pregnancy test and a DNA report. I made him choose. After a frozen moment, he did. He changed the bride on the spot, taking the ring from his fiancée’s finger and sliding it onto mine. He bent close, his breath a venomous whisper against my ear. “You scheming bitch!” I didn’t care. I’d married the man I loved. I believed, in time, he’d love me back. I never expected that after the wedding, Leo would never touch me again. He treated our home like a hotel, spending his days and nights drifting through nightclubs. And on the day I went into labor, in a drunken rage, he kicked me down the stairs. “You ruined me and Willow! That bastard in your belly isn’t fit to be my heir! “Did you really think the Hayes family would ever accept a cheap whore like you?” He finally killed the last of my love. I walked away. So tell me, Leo…why did you tear the city apart looking for me after I left? My belly was so swollen I couldn’t see my own feet. That’s why I stumbled, my foot catching on Willow Reed’s gown. Leo kicked me down the stairs. “You’re a disgrace. If you can’t even walk, get the hell out of my sight.” I landed hard on my back, the full weight of my pregnancy slamming into the floor. The pain was a white-hot vise, twisting me into a humiliating curl.. “Look at Mrs. Hayes! A bloated, pathetic spectacle.” Leo and Willow’s friends pointed at me, bursting into mocking laughter. Phone flashlights glared at me, incessantly taking pictures. “Get out of here, stop pretending to be pitiful. You’re an embarrassment.” Seeing me lying still on the ground, Leo kicked my waist again. His friend smirked, winking. “Leo, she worked so hard to get pregnant with your son and become your wife. Why don’t you treat her better?” Leo exhaled a smoke ring. “She thinks carrying my child makes her my wife? Willow and I threw a bunch of condoms in the trash these past few days. Does that mean the trash can is my wife too?” Their laughter made me burn with shame. That year, I stormed into the wedding with the paternity test. Between me and Willow, Leo chose me. The Reed family severed ties with the Hayes family because of it. Overnight, the Hayes’ stock plummeted. Leo’s father suffered a stroke on the spot and passed away shortly after. I cried, explaining that I never wanted such a result. His mother had promised me that if I got pregnant, she’d drop the arranged marriage and agree to let him marry me… But Leo furiously slapped Willow’s lace lingerie across my face. “Anya, why don’t you just die!” For a moment, I thought of just ending it all. But then, the flutter of life within my belly. I could die, but my child was innocent… I spoke softly. “Leo, I was wrong. Let’s get a divorce.” My words didn’t cause even a ripple. Leo toyed with Willow’s curled hair, saying indifferently. “Fine. Get rid of that bastard in your belly, and I’ll let you go.” I trembled, looking at him in disbelief. “Leo, the baby is eight months old. It’s almost due.” “Eight months? So what? If you don’t abort the child, don’t even think about divorce! I have plenty of ways to torment you!” His tone was cruel.
Leo invited all the local socialites over for a pool party. Someone started chanting, “Kiss her! Kiss her!” Willow’s face flushed, and she kept backing away. Leo reached out, pulling her small frame into his arms and kissing her. After the kiss, she playfully slapped him. “Mrs. Hayes is watching! I don’t want people to misunderstand and think I’m a homewrecker!” Their friends chimed in. “If anyone’s a homewrecker, it should be Mrs. Hayes.” Leo massaged her slender waist, saying casually. “In my heart, you’re my true wife.” All their sneering eyes fell on me. But you were the one who pursued me in the first place, Leo. The first time I met Leo, it was at the gates of State University. I was rushing to my tutoring job, hastily got into a car by the university gates, and urged him to drive faster. Leo looked at me, stunned, then smiled and drove me to the upscale neighborhood without a word. When I reached for my wallet to pay, he chuckled. “Does my car look like an Uber?” That’s when I realized I’d gotten into the wrong car. From then on, Leo began to pursue me intensely. Once, when a student’s father was sexually assaulting me, he kicked open the door and beat the man pinning me down, sending him to the hospital. He held me, trembling, and said, “Don’t be scared, I’m here.” After we started dating, he publicly declared our relationship. His Ins and phone wallpaper were all photos of us together. Later, he looked deep into my eyes and knelt on one knee. “So, Anya, will you marry me?” I smiled and said, “I will!” Leo took me to meet his parents. His parents gave me an expensive bracelet but made a request. “The company needs a major investment now, and we must have the Reed family’s support. To secure this partnership, Leo must become engaged to Willow. But rest assured, this is strictly a business arrangement. All you need to do is wait one year. Once the deal is finalized, the engagement will be dissolved, and we will make it up to you with the grandest wedding you can imagine.” Leo apologized, looking guilty. “I’m sorry, Anya. Don’t worry, it’s just a formality. Willow is my childhood friend, and after we get engaged, she’s moving abroad permanently. It won’t affect our relationship.” I suppressed a myriad of emotions and nodded. Leo got drunk because of it, clinging to me and saying many things. “The thought of having to wait a whole year to marry you makes me miserable.” “If only you could give me a child. With you and a baby, I’d give up everything…” A week before the wedding, I found out I was pregnant. Just as I was hesitating whether to tell Leo, his mother, Rachel, sought me out. She congratulated me with a beaming smile, then told me. “Actually, Leo’s grandfather set up a fund. As long as Leo has a child, he can access this fund. Then Leo won’t have to go through with the arranged marriage.” She looked at me meaningfully. “Anya, tell Leo this good news on the wedding day.” Joy clouded my judgment. I thought I was helping Leo solve a huge problem. Happily, I changed into the wedding dress Rachel Hayes had given me and rushed into the wedding ceremony. He leaned down and said in my ear. “Anya, you’re nothing but a slut.” Willow’s figure, crying as she ran away. Overnight, I was branded online as a homewrecker and a slut. I was also forced to drop out of college.
I huddled on the floor, pulling out my phone to dial 911. The phone rang once before Jenkins, the butler, snatched it away. I pleaded. “My stomach hurts… I’m going into labor, please, take me to the hospital…” A hint of scorn flashed in Jenkins’ eyes. “Madam, using the child to play the victim won’t work on me.” He glanced at my phone screen and said. “Madam, you can stall if you like, I have all the time in the world.” “Ah!” Willow, in her swimsuit, shrieked, dodging away from me. Her eyes red, she yelled. “Mrs. Hayes, just because you dislike me doesn’t mean you can splash me with your filth! What if you have some nasty disease and infect me?!” Leo quickly strode up, shielding Willow behind him. Pointing at me, he spoke to Jenkins. “What’s the fifth rule of the Hayes family?” “Disobedience means confinement.” I shuddered, desperately crawling to his feet, pleading. “I was wrong, Leo, I was really wrong. I’m willing to be punished, for as long as you want. Please, just let me go to the hospital first… My water broke hours ago, the baby…” In his mocking eyes, I swallowed all my pleas in despair. He raised an eyebrow. “Anya, this is the treatment you deserve for trying so hard to be Mrs. Hayes.” I was dragged away by the bodyguards. As the confinement room door closed, I couldn’t stop screaming and shaking. That night, being dragged into the dark room by the student’s parent and nearly assaulted, had left me with severe claustrophobia. I pounded on the door, again and again. The only response was a deathly silence. Pain and terror overwhelmed me, and I completely passed out. When I next woke, I was lying in my room. I struggled to sit up, feeling my belly – it was flat. A massive wave of fear and despair engulfed me. I rushed out like a madwoman. Colliding head-on with Leo. “My baby? Give me my baby back!” My usual silence and endurance were gone, startling even Leo. He pushed me away, frowning. “Look at you, acting like a lunatic! Jenkins…” I knew he was about to punish me, to lock me up again. I clutched his collar, wildly raining punches on him. “Leo, I owe you nothing! My child owes you nothing! You pursued me. You promised to marry me. Your mother handed me the wedding gown, pushed me down the aisle, and told me to show you the paternity report! You already destroyed my grandmother. Isn’t that enough?” My hysterical outburst made a flicker of shock and bewilderment appear in his eyes. But quickly, he pushed me away in disgust. “Anya, you’ve been telling these lies for so long, aren’t you tired? Why would my mother do something to harm my father like that? You brought all this on yourself, who else can you blame?” He looked down at me with contempt. “I’m actually quite disappointed that bastard didn’t die. Sure enough, the offspring of a menace like you are always tough.” I understood his meaning. Finally, I released my grip, falling to the ground from his push. He strode past me. A maid came forward to help me up, whispering. “Your baby is in the room next door, too weak to cry. You should go see him quickly.” Hearing that, I ignored everything else and rushed into the adjacent storage room. A tiny bundle, casually placed on the floor. The premature baby’s face was covered in bruises, unable to even whimper. I threw myself on him, holding him close, tears streaming down my face. Thank goodness, thank goodness, my precious baby, he’s alive. The maid gently pushed open the door and came in, carefully holding a bowl of nourishing broth. “Mrs. Hayes’ grandmother sent me to look after you. I know you’re innocent.” I spun around to look at her.
She leaned in and whispered a secret about Rachel Hayes, Leo’s mother. I felt like I’d been struck by lightning, trembling uncontrollably. I choked, hugging her, barely able to utter a complete sentence. “Thank you for saving me and my baby…” That night, the baby suddenly started running a fever, his tiny face sickly pale. I stumbled downstairs, holding the child, only to find the living room filled with guests. All eyes turned to me. Leo’s face was dark. He raised a hand and called Jenkins. “Lock her up.” I walked straight to him. “Leo, I want a divorce.” Leo raised his eyebrows, looking me up and down, his gaze settling on the baby in my arms. I clutched the baby tightly, looking at him warily. “Leo, I told you I’m innocent. I can prove it to you, I really…” Leo yanked my hair, forcing my mouth open. The lit cigar in his hand seared my throat, rendering me unable to speak another word. He looked at me coldly. “Anya, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You know tonight is the gala where Willow and I announce the partnership between the Hayes and Reed families, and you’re here to stir up trouble with the baby again?” I shook my head repeatedly, desperately trying to explain. “No.” He chuckled. “This bastard won’t last much longer, and you want to take him to the hospital, do you?” He snatched the child from me and threw me into the crowd. “These guests here are all executives from companies that cut ties with us because of the scandal you caused. If you can get them to forgive you, I’ll let you take this bastard to the hospital.” I trembled, kneeling on the ground, looking pleadingly at the people whose faces were etched with disdain. Leo’s friend scoffed. “An apology needs sincerity, right? How about she gets on her knees and crawls around like a dog? Crawling in circles isn’t enough, though. Why doesn’t she crawl under a few of the executives’ legs?” Leo scoffed, tossing a divorce agreement onto the floor, his voice laced with mockery. “Anya, if you crawl, I’ll let you and this bastard go to the hospital.” I trembled, gazing deeply at the baby clutched in Leo’s hand. I lowered my head, my raw throat squeezing out a pathetic, ugly sound. “Woof.” I numbly began crawling towards the man closest to me. Leo’s grip on the baby’s blanket gradually tightened, the baby’s faint cries tearing at my heart. I frantically sped up my crawling. “Enough.” Leo threw the blanket bundle at me. “So disgusting.” I trembled, holding the baby, and tried to walk out, but a maid blocked my way. Leo sneered. “I’ve changed my mind.” I screamed, trying to lunge forward, but the maid held me back. I could only watch, numb, as he carried Willow up the stairs. A bolder guest dared to ask, “Mr. Hayes…and your wife?” Leo drawled, “She’s all yours.” I fought, screaming, clawing at the hands that grabbed me. They just laughed, hauling me deeper into the crowd. “Cooperate, bitch, and we’ll get this bastard to a hospital. Make trouble, and we’ll put it out of its misery. Save Mr. Hayes the trouble.” I gave up all resistance in despair. I don’t know how long passed before a shrill scream cut through the noise. “Someone’s dead…”
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