Chapter 5

When I woke again, I was in the hospital.

Before I even opened my eyes, I heard the doctor say:

"The patient was injured in the abdomen. Threatened miscarriage. The baby can't be saved. We'll need to perform a D&C shortly."

My hand instinctively moved to my lower abdomen.

I looked up to hear Tristan say:

"Mara, I'm sorry."

"I didn't know you were pregnant. This baby came at a bad time. The miscarriage is actually for the best."

"Besides, you're so thin—your body couldn't handle a pregnancy anyway."

My heart ached. The corners of my mouth pulled into a forced smile.

"So many excuses. Are you really worried my body can't handle it, or are you worried Selene can't handle finding out?"

Tristan shot to his feet.

"Mara, will you ever give it a rest?"

"I already told you—Selene's father died saving me. I can't just ignore her condition. It's all pretend."

"What are you trying to say now? Making it sound like I cheated?"

I looked at him calmly.

He was incoherent, his face flushed red.

The more defensive and ashamed he became, the more it proved I was right.

I laughed softly, and the hand resting on my abdomen slowly relaxed.

My stomach hurt terribly. That little life I'd only just learned about was slowly slipping away.

"Doctor, take me for the surgery."

As I spoke, I started to get down from the hospital bed to head to the OB-GYN department.

"Mara!"

Tristan rushed to support my swaying body.

"You..."

His brow furrowed, his mouth opening and closing, complex emotions churning in his eyes.

He hadn't expected me to move on so quickly.

"How are you suddenly so..."

Tristan couldn't find the words to describe the current me.

So casual, so easy, so indifferent...

"How are you suddenly so cold? This is our child."

I looked at him with some amusement:

"Oh, so you know it's our child? Selene kicked my stomach and caused my miscarriage—why don't you blame her?"

His words caught in his throat, a flash of guilt in his eyes.

"Mara, don't be like this. We can have another child... it's just that right now, this one really came at a bad time."

A sense of relief washed over my heart.

He was right. I was about to leave.

This child truly had come at a bad time.

He started to say something else, but I cut him off:

"Arrange the surgery quickly. I have things to do."

Things like cutting ties. Things like leaving.

Tristan's frown deepened. He looked agitated and uneasy.

But I simply pried his hand away and walked determinedly toward the operating room.

The D&C took less than ten minutes, but I was utterly exhausted afterward.

When I came out supporting my waist, Tristan was nowhere to be seen.

On the hospital lawn, he and Selene were locked in a tight embrace.

His assistant said as usual:

"Miss Smith, Mr. Foster really can't get away..."

I ignored him and turned to go downstairs.

"Miss Smith!"

The assistant frantically blocked my path, thinking I was going to make a hysterical scene in front of them.

"You should be resting properly right now. You can't go downstairs..."

Before he could finish, a pair of strong hands pushed him aside.

"What are you doing, shoving Miss Smith around?"

My back pressed against a solid chest. I looked back.

It was someone my father had sent to pick me up.

I'd gone downstairs not because of Tristan, but because my father had sent someone for me.

The assistant panicked, but he couldn't get through to Tristan no matter how many times he called.

This was Tristan's dedicated time with Selene—no interruptions allowed.

Before the car door closed, I said to the assistant:

"I should have understood long ago. A ring that shrinks every year—of course I could never fit into it."

At the end, I smiled with relief.

"But it doesn't matter anymore. I don't want it."

The car door closed. The vehicle drove toward the airport.

...

The assistant rushed to Tristan's side regardless of everything, startling Selene into another unstable emotional state.

Tristan frowned in irritation.

He'd wanted to quickly calm Selene down, then devote himself wholeheartedly to me.

For some reason, his heart felt panicked and uneasy.

Not until the assistant spoke:

"Miss Smith knows everything about the ring!"