Chapter 5

Zoran yanked me by the collar, dragging me from the ballroom to a back room.

He tossed me onto the bed, where I lay disheveled and panting.

Zoran towered over me, his gaze piercing. "Well, well, Vivienne. You've grown quite clever, haven't you? Even know how to hire actors now?"

I stared silently at this man I loved so deeply.

He believed I was a shameless woman who had abandoned him for money.

For three years, hating me had been his driving force.

He had made his fortune, taken the company public. His technology could save millions suffering from injury and illness.

This had been our dream, once upon a time.

So, it was enough.

But at that moment, my phone suddenly rang.

It was Lily calling.

Lily's voice came through, choked with tears: "Mom! You said you'd be back soon. Why aren't you home yet? ... I miss you so much."

I struggled to keep my voice steady: "It's okay, sweetheart. Mommy will be home soon..."

But in a flash, Zoran knocked the phone from my hand.

"Vivienne, so you really did have a bastard child?" He sneered coldly.

"I don't even know how to describe you. I can't believe you've sunk this low."

"How's that? Had a little wild child, planning to use her to trap some man? Too bad, it failed, didn't it?"

Every word he said was like a knife stabbing into my heart.

But just a moment ago, he had stopped Elias from hurting me further, and even made Mist shut up for my sake...

I bit my lip hard, trying not to let the tears fall.

I didn't want him to have any feelings for me in his heart.

At this moment, whether it was hatred, obsession, or anything else, I didn't want him to have any of it anymore.

I also wouldn't tell him the truth.

After all, back then, to outsiders, it looked like I had abandoned Zoran for money.

The landlady, who knew the whole truth, asked me sympathetically if it was worth it for a man like him.

In fact, when I thought about the pain of the treatment, I had wavered too.

Those days of treatment were like an endless nightmare.

The feeling of skin peeling off was like someone scraping away layers of flesh from my body.

Every time they changed the dressings, the moment the bandages were removed and air hit the wounds, I couldn't help but cry out.

Because I was still pregnant, the doctors didn't dare use high doses of medication on me.

I went through two miscarriages, and the doctors advised me to terminate the pregnancy.

I firmly refused. Because this was the last connection between Zoran and me.

Due to lack of funds, my injury could only receive the most basic skin graft surgery.

And because of poor post-operative care and rest, combined with my personal constitution, the wound kept getting infected repeatedly.

Finally, it came to this point today.

But looking at Zoran now, I still don't regret saving him.

No matter how many more chances I'm given, I would make the same choice.

Just because I love him, I hope he lives on well, happily, and joyfully.

I also hope he forgets about me.

Perhaps my silence made him find me uninteresting, and he gave up on tormenting and mocking me.

He just threw a towel at my head and said, "Get lost."

I didn't say anything, just walked out of the room, through the laughter in the ballroom, and onto the street.

I want to return to my daughter's side.

But I only took a few steps before the world in front of me became all static.

I collapsed on the ground, losing consciousness.