Chapter 3

From the initial full-name address of Aria to the current affectionate "Aria," Alec's heart has begun to tilt in her favor.

I suddenly recalled the saying that men always have a "first love" complex, never forgetting the first person they truly loved.

Before, I always thought time could dilute the past. That even a "first love" would eventually be forgotten.

But now, looking at his serious expression, I had no choice but to believe it.

"Alec, I told you it wasn't me. That video must have been dubbed by her afterward. Back then, when she wanted to break up with you, I actually went to beg her not to. She even mocked you, calling you a penniless loser."

"She's just a vain gold digger. If she truly loved you, why didn't she come looking for you all these years? Why is it only now, when your company has gone public, that she's suddenly back?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Aria began to whimper, clinging to his arm and shaking it incessantly.

"Alec, I know you must resent me for leaving without a word back then. I was hypnotized by Seraphina and left the country with my family. I've been searching for you all these years, but there was no trace. If we hadn't coincidentally met today, we would have missed each other forever."

"Look at my wrist.She rolled up her sleeve, revealing a series of horrifying scars. "To remind myself of you, I cut my wrist every time."

The dense pattern of scars showed years of longing. He gradually became moved, his eyes betraying an uncontrollable heartache.

"Aria, are you crazy?"

The two embraced right in front of me. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, looking at me with undisguised disgust.

"Seraphina, with all this evidence, are you still going to deny it and frame Aria? You've gone too far! For the child's sake, I won't pursue this further. Once the baby is born, we'll let Aria be the mother."

"With a mom like you, the child would turn out bad too."

I was stunned by his words, unable to respond, while my heart ached as if suffocating.

It felt like a dense web, trapping me with no room to move.

At this moment, Aria curled up in his arms, feigning surprise with a hand over her mouth, and pulled out a lab report.

"Pregnant? Seraphina isn't pregnant, Alec. Has she been lying to you? This woman is full of lies, don't believe her!"She shoved the test results into Alec's palm, pointing at the "Not Pregnant" outcome displayed on it.

Then she turned to me, getting right in my face.

"Seraphina, wasn't it enough for you to break up Alec and me? Now you're trying to trap him for life by faking a pregnancy? You're just using his sense of responsibility to cling to him. How can you be so shameless?"

Her words hit me like a bolt from the blue. When Alec, furious, slapped the test results against my face, I caught a glimpse of the printed text and completely lost my composure.

"No, this can't be right. I took a pregnancy test, and it was positive... Alec, you saw it too, didn't you? You saw it, right?" I looked at him pleadingly, begging him to take me for another check-up.

But he impatiently slapped me across the face, a mixture of anger and fury in his eyes.

"Seraphina, you're such a lowlife! First, you use hypnosis to break up Aria and me, and now you're lying about being pregnant to force me into marriage. I can't believe what other depraved things you might do to try and tie me down!"

"No wonder your dad married another woman and didn't want you. Your mom's death must have been karma for you being such a liar!"