Chapter 1

paid chapters: 5

In the eighth month of pregnancy, my water broke.

I endured the severe pain and begged my husband Dashiell to take me to the hospital.

He pushed me away: "I'm in a work meeting, I don't have time to watch you act!"

But in his computer video, it was clearly his white moonlight's face.

I was in so much pain that I couldn't speak, and I begged him desperately. During the struggle, the ice sculpture on the table suddenly shattered to the ground.

After a silence, Dashiell grabbed my hair and threw me into the fish pond full of ice.

"Didn't you say you were going to give birth? Give birth here!"

"If the ice sculpture is broken, you and the child will pay together!"

I lost consciousness in the freezing cold water, and the blood dyed the pond crimson. When I was covered with frost and was about to become an ice sculpture, Dashiell finally fished me out with a fishing net.

He kicked me in the face: "When we got married, I told you that I don't like jealous women!"

Later I learned that the broken ice sculpture was a gift from his white moonlight.

I and the baby in my belly were his frozen toys to vent his anger.

1

When I woke up in the hospital, waves of tearing pain radiated from my lower body. I instinctively reached out to caress my swollen belly, but a large pair of hands intercepted mine."Darling, you're finally awake. You've been unconscious for a whole day. Thank God you're alright - it's a blessing amid this misfortune."

Dashiell gripped my hand tightly, tears of joy in his eyes. The dark circles under his eyes were real, as was the worry in his gaze.

"Our baby..."

"We're still young. We'll have more children."

Dashiell handed me a peeled orange from the table, his eyes soft and patient. He was a completely different man from yesterday, when he had mercilessly thrown me into that ice-cold pond.

A baby's cry pierced through the wall next door, stabbing my heart like a sword.

I was eight months along. The baby was so eager to meet me. I should be holding my child in my arms right now.

"Dashiell, don't you have anything you want to say to me?" I choked back tears, my voice trembling.

His eyes flickered, his expression tense. Then, in the next moment, he smiled and pulled a trophy from his bag.

"I had an episode yesterday. I can't remember clearly what I did. I know how much this child meant to you. I promise, once you've recovered, we'll have another baby."

"I know you like this Best Actor trophy. It's yours now, as an apology."Dashiell looked down at me with a smug expression. He seemed to be expecting me to clutch the trophy to my chest like a madwoman, then thank him profusely with heartfelt gratitude. Maybe even whip out my phone to take a thousand selfies, or throw myself into his arms professing my love. After all, before this, I'd act like a giddy fool even if he gave me a cheap dollar-store necklace.

But he was wrong.

"I don't want it. Give me back my baby."

I turned away, letting the tears stream from my left eye to my right.

Just as Dashiell was about to speak, his backup phone suddenly rang.

"Great! I'll come pick you up right away!"

He excitedly hung up the phone and carelessly tossed the glass trophy onto the bed, where it landed squarely on my stomach. The violent impact left my mind blank with pain as blood gushed from between my legs.

Only then did I realize this backup phone was exclusively for Iris - he only took calls from her on it.

He was always like this, losing all reason when it came to Iris.

My cry of pain must have been loud, because Dashiell, who had already left, came striding back in. His brows were furrowed, his eyes full of mockery.

He walked up to the hospital bed and roughly grabbed my chin, leaning close to my ear. His breath tickled, instantly spreading across my whole body."Don't pull any cheap tricks on me. The entertainment industry is full of girls like you."

"I know what you want. As long as you behave and be a good daughter-in-law to my mother, I can give you anything you desire."

As soon as he finished speaking, he placed a box of condoms from his pocket on my face, looking at me with a mocking smile:

"What you want, I'll satisfy you."

"Clean up and wait for me, but don't rush me."

The air grew heavy, followed by the sound of a door closing firmly.

I lay flat on the hospital bed, my stomach tightening in waves. The physical pain and inner shame engulfed me like a flood. The box of condoms on my face, something I'd never seen before, felt like a thousand-pound weight pressing me down.

This was the first time I felt that this marriage had become utterly meaningless.

When I regained consciousness after fainting, the nurse had just changed my IV bag.

"You really need to take better care of yourself. You barely survived last night, and now your stomach's injured again. You're so young, don't you value your life at all?"

"Where did your husband go? How can you stay in the hospital alone?"

A bitter taste filled my mouth, but I smiled and shook my head:

"It's okay, he's busy with work. I can manage on my own."

The nurse gave me a long, concerned look, then turned on the TV for me.The television screen flickered to life, and Dashiell's face suddenly filled the frame. The news report covered a major traffic jam at the airport, caused by Dashiell's private trip being caught on camera as he was picking someone up. Countless fans had surrounded him in a tight circle.

I initially wanted to turn off the TV, but in the next second, Dashiell on screen took the bag from a woman walking towards him.

Smiling, he pulled her suitcase into his hand, and despite the screaming fans, openly expressed his affection.

I recognized her in an instant – she was Iris, Dashiell's pure love from his youth, who had been studying abroad for five years.

The knife in my heart twisted repeatedly, and I no longer wanted to struggle. I could only silently close my eyes.