Chapter 1

After marrying Jasper five years ago, I nearly sacrificed my life to give birth to a child.

During an accident, my son with rare panda blood urgently needed a blood donation.

But the hospital blood bank was running low.

My husband's first love, who happened to have a matching blood type, refused to step forward.

In my desperation, I grabbed her, intending to make her donate blood.

Suddenly, my husband burst in and stopped me, blurting out: "Immediate family members can't donate blood!"

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1

"Immediate family members can't donate blood!"

The man's words instantly rooted me to the spot.

I unconsciously let go of Cora's hand, which I had been holding. She fled in panic, hiding behind Jasper.

I felt like my brain had rusted over. How else could I not understand this sentence?

My blood felt frozen, and my teeth chattered from the cold.

"What... did you just say?"

Cora peeked out from behind Jasper, her face tear-stained but unable to hide a hint of smugness.

"Vivienne, sis, it's a long story. But Caelan is indeed mine and Jasper's son."

"Please, save him. After all, you've raised him for five years."

Jasper gripped my wrist, his expression guilty and regretful, filled with deep pleading.

"Vivienne, go donate blood first. Your blood type is compatible, isn't it? Can you really bear to watch Caelan die?"

"We'll talk about the rest later."

In the end, I couldn't bring myself to be heartless.I lay on the hospital bed, allowing the cold needle to pierce my vein as my blood slowly collected in the small bottle through the tube.

With it, my hope was being drained away bit by bit.

Caelan is Cora and Jasper's son, but what about my child?

The nurse's motion of removing the needle interrupted my thoughts. I spoke softly.

"Is that enough? I can give more."

The nurse shook her head, handing me two tissues. She reassured me that they had collected enough blood and that the little one would surely be alright.

Only then did I realize that, at some point, my eyes had filled with tears.

After drying my eyes, I came out and sat outside the emergency room. I was the first to break the heavy silence.

"Where's my child? Is he with Cora?"

An inexplicable panic arose in my heart. Clinging to my last shred of hope, I found myself unable to control my sobs and trembling.

Five years ago, I gave birth to a child in near-excruciating pain. In my dazed state, I heard the joyful voices of those around me.

Finally able to let go of the breath I'd been holding, I fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up, I saw Jasper sitting by my bed, holding a baby boy.

From that moment on, this wrinkly little child became the love and concern of my entire life.Now, my husband's first love has come forward, claiming she's the child's real Mom.

How absurd.

"Back then, our baby passed away shortly after birth. Afraid of hurting you, I brought you Yao Yao's child instead..."

My husband had an affair.

For five years, I raised the son of my husband and his first love.

And my own child, unbeknownst to me, has been resting beneath the earth for five long years.

The world spun around me, an overwhelming sense of absurdity engulfing me. The pain was so intense I nearly coughed up blood.

I couldn't even focus on Jasper's infidelity. I interrupted him, demanding harshly, "Why did my baby..."

"Pass away?" I paused, streams of tears uncontrollably sliding down my face.

Jasper fell silent, then after a while, spoke with difficulty.

"Yao Yao thought our baby was cute and kindly offered him some water. Sweetheart choked, and she thought he had fallen asleep."

"By the time we realized, it was too late to save him."

"Yao Yao, afraid of hurting you, volunteered to swap her own child with ours.""Was it just a moment of carelessness on her part back then? Besides, after the swap, you essentially didn't lose a child, but she endured five long years of heartache, longing for her son."

"Isn't that punishment enough?"