Chapter 2

A strange sensation coursed through my lower body. I could feel the baby slowly leaving me.

I wanted to hold onto him, but it was impossible. In this situation, I couldn't even protect myself.

Why did Dane's grudge, the hatred for Dane, have to be taken out on me?

"He doesn't care about me or the baby at all. You've chosen the wrong bargaining chip."

The people in the livestream were even more frantic.

They had already started calling the police and begging Blackcloak to spare me.

[The baby and she are innocent. That scumbag is out there living it up with his mistress. You kidnapper, do you have any brains at all? That jerk won't come.]

[Even if you kill her today, it's useless. Your bargaining chip has no weight. How much money do you want? Tell us, we'll give it to you.]

Although the words in the livestream were harsh, they seemed incredibly warm.

We were strangers who had never met, yet they still wanted to save me.

But what about Dane? He only thought I was arguing and making a fuss, fighting with him over Seraphina. On the night his "pure love" returned to the country, I did have a fight with him.

I couldn't accept that he had lied to me about going to a business meeting, when he was secretly preparing a welcome party for Seraphina. Everyone around him was calling her "sister" and saying she'd finally returned, waiting to see me made a fool of.I was hanging out with Dane right when Seraphina left him to chase her dreams abroad. She wanted to be an artist - Dane said she was pursuing a free spirit.

At that time, I had a secret crush on Dane. Our families were close and there was talk of an arranged marriage, so I got the chance to keep Dane company during his low point.

I thought my long-term companionship had moved Dane, and he agreed to marry me, vowing never to let me down.

From then on, he treated me extremely well, showering me with endless favoritism. He said I was his life, that he couldn't go on living if anything happened to me.

After Seraphina came back, he stopped eating the breakfasts I made, stopped accompanying me to prenatal checkups, and wouldn't come home at night. But whenever Seraphina had even a slight headache, he'd rush to be by her side. I saw the tangible expression of how he loves someone - that kind of passionate pursuit.

It wasn't like when he was with me, following a formula to declare his love to the whole world.

That was different.

My body was wracked with intense pain. I knew begging Dane was useless - he was convinced I was just acting.

But soon, Dane's voice came through on the livestream, with an undertone of stern threat.

He said,

"Felicity, why are you putting on such a bloody, violent scene? Aren't you worried about scaring people? This livestream should be shut down.""Seraphina's a scaredy-cat. She'll have nightmares from seeing all this. Just apologize to her and we can put this behind us."

What sweet words. Asking me to apologize to Seraphina when I've lost everything - my child, my body, my love.

"Let's get a divorce, Dane."

Mustering my last ounce of strength, even as my body felt like it was about to split open from the pain, my face deathly pale, I only heard Seraphina's startled exclamation on the other end.

She chirped like a frightened bird, "Wow, Felicity's makeup looks so realistic! But we ran into your brother on our way here. He said you were vacationing abroad."

Seraphina was subtly implying that I had staged this whole thing. She said if it were real, the livestream would have been shut down already.

[That's true. If it were real, this would be way too extreme. It's probably just props and tomato juice.]

[If it's fake, that's so messed up. Is the doting wife putting on this show to force her husband to come home?]

[Damn, I actually don't think it's fake. Don't get carried away. Let's wait and see how this plays out.]

Thanks to Seraphina's few words, the tide in the livestream chat began to turn.

Still, they were all just here for the drama.Blackcloak was dumbfounded by Dane's reaction. His voice trembling slightly, he said to the other end of the line:

"Fake? Dane, I've got a ton of evidence about the Riverside development project in my hands. But in a moment, you'll be waiting to collect your darling's corpse."

Blackcloak giggled maniacally. He picked up a nearby chainsaw and charged at me like a madman.