At a family dinner, Lila suddenly announced, “I’m pregnant. The baby is Chase’s.” Chase was my fiancé. Lila was the widow of his deceased older brother. I stared at Chase, dumbfounded, but he just nodded. “That’s right, the baby is mine.” “My brother died saving me; I owe him my life. It’s only right that I give him a child.” Chase turned to me. “Lila and I never slept together. This baby is from IVF.” “Our wedding will be postponed. We’ll have it after she gives birth.” Later, I found him lying in Lila’s bed late at night… My heart died instantly. Chase, I don’t have to love you. Numbly, I dialed my dad’s number. “Dad, that thing you mentioned last time? I agree to it.” After hanging up, I turned to find Lila standing right behind me. One hand caressed her still-flat stomach, the other rested on her hip. She raised an eyebrow, her voice taking on a demanding tone. “Jade, go get me a glass of warm milk.” She acted utterly imperious. I scoffed. “Do you really think you deserve that?” She’d always disliked me, constantly badmouthing me to Chase. But for Chase’s sake, I’d always just ignored her. Now that I’d agreed to Dad’s plan, I didn’t need to tolerate her anymore. Lila’s face lit up with triumph. “I’m carrying the Sterling family’s precious heir! How dare you talk to me like that?” The ‘Sterling family,’ huh? Do they think they’re royalty or something? The next second, she grabbed my hand, then deliberately tumbled to the ground. Thud! Suddenly, a strong shove sent me sprawling. An icy surge of pain shot through my old ankle injury. That was six months ago, when Chase and I went hiking. He’d been bitten by a venomous snake, falling unconscious. My petite frame struggled to carry his much taller, muscular build down the mountain, and I twisted my ankle on the way. The doctor was amazed I had the strength to literally carry my muscular boyfriend down that mountain. Back then, Chase had cried, overwhelmed with gratitude. “Jade, I swear I’ll love you with my life!” But now? The moment something involved Lila, he completely lost it. He rushed over, not even bothering to ask whose fault it was, and roughly pushed me down. He meticulously checked if Lila was hurt, completely ignoring me. Lila burrowed into his arms, sniffling dramatically, then guided his hand to her stomach. She started her accusations. “The baby wants milk, I just asked Jade to warm some for me, and she pushed me…” Chase turned, his eyes blazing with fury at me. “Do you have any idea how much Lila has suffered to give my brother a child? How difficult IVF is? How can you be so cruel? If anything happens to this baby, then there’s no point in us getting married!” I gritted my teeth against the searing pain in my ankle. “Why bother with IVF? You could have just slept with her directly, gotten it over with. You both would have had your fun, and a baby.” Chase’s face turned beet red with rage. “Jade, when did you become such a shrew? This is my brother’s widow; I won’t allow you to insult her.” “Apologize to her!!” Lila sobbed harder, buried in Chase’s arms. I forced a bitter smile. “Let’s break up.” Lila cried even louder, clutching her waist as if trying to get up from Chase’s lap, but he held her tighter. Her voice was delicate and weak. “Chase, don’t blame Jade. I just felt dizzy and lost my balance. I’m fine, really. You should go comfort Jade.” Chase patted her back soothingly. Then, in a cold voice, he told me, “Jade, when will you ever be as sensible as Lila?” Lila suddenly let out a small gasp, whimpering, “Chase, my tummy hurts a little. Will you carry me back to the bedroom to rest?” As soon as she finished speaking, Chase immediately scooped Lila up and rushed away. I couldn’t hold back any longer. “Chase, are you blind? My old ankle injury is acting up again, can’t you see?!” He only paused for a single second, then his footsteps, firm and decisive, carried Lila away. My throat tightened, tears streaming down my face. I limped alone to the guest room to find some pain relief. Chase didn’t show his face the entire night. Well, of course not. Every time we argued, I was the one who always apologized first, who always tried to win him back. Not this time.
In the middle of the night, I woke up to use the bathroom. The light in Chase’s bedroom was still on. I didn’t care, but as I passed his room, I heard voices from inside. “Lila, I promised you a child, and now you’re pregnant. Let’s go back to how we were, just family. Jade has a bad temper; I’ll apologize for her. I hope you won’t hold it against her.” Lila was dressed in something very light, a sexy lace nightgown accentuating her figure. Her voice was soft and gentle. “Chase, don’t worry, I won’t ruin your relationship. I just miss your brother so much.” “Your brother always wanted a child before he died; you’re just making his dream come true. Jade loves you so much, she won’t blame you.” “Chase, just let me hold you, okay? Let this baby feel a little bit of a father’s love. After all, he is your child.” Chase and I had been together for five years. We’d done everything couples do, except go all the way. He said he wanted us to save our first time for our wedding night. I believed in his willpower, I believed he’d always respect that boundary. But my fiancé having a child with another woman? I still couldn’t accept it. I’d fallen for him at first sight in freshman year. He was clean-cut handsome, with a lot of girls chasing him. I knew his family wasn’t well-off, so to avoid making him feel insecure, I hid my identity as an heiress to billions, pretending to be a simple girl from a humble background. It took me six months to finally win him over. The day my true identity was revealed, he was angry with me for two weeks straight. It took me ages to win him back. My whole world revolved around him; I agreed to everything he said. He told me not to give him expensive gifts, so I’d tell him they were fakes. I bought him a Hermes outfit, and he’d take me to a street stall to buy a cheap dress. I gave him a Rolex watch, and he’d hand-braid a bracelet for me. He never took advantage of me, except for one thing: after graduation, I begged my dad to pull some strings and get him into a top law firm in New York. Chase proved himself capable too; a year later, he partnered with a colleague to open a new law firm. Now, Lila threw herself into Chase’s arms, her chest pressed tightly against his, gently rubbing against him. Lila’s chest was already ample, and pregnancy had made it even fuller. Her soft curves strained against the thin fabric, almost spilling out. Chase’s hand, which had initially been about to push her away, slowly lowered, then rested on her shoulder. His Adam’s apple bobbed distinctly. I could see his struggle, his raw desire. A passionate, unrestrained night was about to begin. I didn’t want to watch the live show. I fled to the bathroom as fast as I could. Lila was constantly seducing him like this; they must be together every single night. Chase was a man, after all. What man doesn’t have those desires? Guess men only behave when they’re dead. Whatever. Since I was leaving, whatever he did with Lila wouldn’t be my business anymore. But my heart still ached, like being pricked with needles. Five years of my love, wasted on a dog.
In the bathroom, the more I thought, the more wronged I felt. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. I wiped my eyes and splashed cold water on my face. Just then, Lila came in to use the bathroom. She deliberately tugged at the neckline of her nightgown. It revealed a bright red hickey, a clear sign of how intense things had just been. “You saw it all, didn’t you? Oh, and let me tell you a secret: this baby isn’t from IVF.” She leaned close to my ear. “Chase and I slept together without protection so many times. The first time, his hands were even shaking from nerves~” “Jade, aren’t you disgusted by a man who’s slept with me…?” If it were my old fiery temper, I would have slapped her across the face multiple times. These past few years dating Chase had definitely mellowed me out. Instead of getting angry, I laughed. “You two are messed up! If Spencer knew what you two were doing, he’d be so furious he’d crawl out of his grave and strangle both of you bitches!” “And that baby in your belly is pretty unlucky. Will it call Chase ‘Dad’ later, or ‘Uncle’?” “Jade, you!” Lila stamped her foot in frustration, too angry to speak. “You two jerks are perfect for each other!” Unable to argue back, she grabbed the perfume bottle from the sink and hurled it at my head. The bottle whizzed past my scalp and shattered on the floor. Chase, hearing the commotion, assumed I had started it. He rushed in, his hands like vises around my neck, pinning me hard against the wall. My back felt icy cold. His eyes blazed with fury; he looked like he wanted to kill me. “I’m the one who postponed the wedding, so why are you still bothering Lila?” “She’s pregnant, can’t you just give her a break? How many times do I have to tell you, there’s nothing inappropriate between us.” Just then, Lila cried out, “Chase, I have a piece of glass in my leg, and it’s bleeding!” Chase immediately let go of my neck. The glass in Lila’s leg was from the shattered perfume bottle. Chase scooped her up anxiously. “I’m taking you to the hospital.” A large shard of glass was embedded in my arm, oozing blood. He didn’t even notice. I clenched my jaw against the pain, pulled out my phone, called a car, and limped into the taxi. I went to the hospital alone to get my wound bandaged. Outside the emergency room. Chase looked at me with annoyance. “Are you stalking us?” “Jade, can you stop being so selfish? She’s my brother’s widow. My brother died saving me, and it’s my responsibility to take care of her and her baby. If you keep acting so unreasonable, then forget about us getting married!” I said coldly, “I’m not that bored to stalk you, and I’m certainly not bored enough to bother Lila.” Only then did Chase notice my injured arm. He explained apologetically, “Jade, Lila’s pregnant with Spencer’s posthumous child. Our whole family hopes she can safely deliver this baby. I was too impulsive just now. I’ll go with you to register.” Did Spencer know his wife was carrying his brother’s child? The irony! The next second, Lila’s voice came from the consultation room. “Chase, the doctor is going to remove the glass. I’m scared.” Chase turned to me. “Jade, you go see the doctor by yourself. Lila’s timid; I need to stay with her.” This scumbag, I absolutely had to break up with him as soon as possible!
Saturday was a classmate’s birthday party. I accepted the invitation, hoping to clear my head. Who knew I’d see Chase there with Lila? Chase, Lila, and I were all college classmates. Lila had chased after Chase just like I had. Under my relentless pursuit, I finally won Chase’s heart. Lila, meanwhile, married Chase’s older brother, Spencer. At the party, during dinner, Chase peeled a big bowl of shrimp and placed it in front of Lila. He carefully reminded her, “Don’t be picky, eat more shrimp; it’s good for the baby’s development.” A classmate teased, “Chase is so good to his brother’s widow! You peeled all the shrimp on this table for Lila. Aren’t you afraid Jade will get mad?” He smiled and said, “Jade doesn’t like shrimp.” The classmate noticed my displeasure and cleverly changed the subject. “Are we going to Jade and Chase’s wedding soon?” “Back in college, I was always so envious of Chase for getting such a beautiful girlfriend. Chase, you really need to cherish Jade.” I couldn’t stand to hear any more. “Hold it, hold it, everyone! You’re all welcome at my wedding, but it won’t be with Chase. We’re done. The groom will be someone else. My actual future husband wouldn’t appreciate hearing you talk like this!” “Jade!” Chase called my name, his voice tight with anger. He explained to our classmates, “Excuse me, everyone, we just had a bit of a disagreement. Jade is saying things out of anger. Our wedding will still happen, it’s just postponed for a few months. My brother passed away last month, my parents are still grieving, and Lila is pregnant, so we simply don’t have the emotional energy to arrange our wedding right now.” Our classmates all expressed understanding, urging me to be more forgiving. “The wedding is just a few months later. You and Chase have been together for so many years; a few more months won’t hurt.” As if I was the unreasonable one. Using a trip to the restroom as an excuse, I left the private room to get some fresh air. The back lounge of the venue had an infinity pool with a beautiful view. I was completely lost in thought, admiring the scenery. Lila’s voice broke the silence. “If I were you, I would have told them the truth just now.” I looked up at her, about to speak. The woman suddenly grabbed me and yanked me into the water. I’d had a fear of water ever since I was a child. Chase knew this too. He’d suggested we go to the beach multiple times, but I always refused. He said the best way to conquer fear was to face it. But I was just terrified. Today, I was just too angry, which was why I was standing so close to the pool’s edge. Chase jumped into the pool without a moment’s hesitation. He brushed right past me. He was saving Lila. It was so clear who he loved and who he didn’t. My heart froze solid in that moment. I slowly sank deeper into the water. Just as despair consumed me, a pair of strong hands reached out and pulled me.
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