At the college reunion, my impulsive, runaway bride of a sister finally returned. Everyone was making bets, certain that Ethan would dump me and choose my sister. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed straight ahead and gently slipped the diamond ring onto my finger. "All these years, Maya is the one who stayed by my side. Besides her, my heart has no room for any other woman. I will never let the woman I love lose!" My sister's face turned deathly pale, and she ran out of the room in tears. After we got married, Ethan spoiled me endlessly. He never allowed any other woman to get close to him. Until later, when I found intimate videos of him and my sister hidden on his computer. In the videos, my sister was playing hard to get, her eyes hazy and seductive. "Ethan, you're already married to Maya. Aren't you afraid of breaking her heart if she finds out?" Ethan, consumed by passion, murmured mindlessly. "In the end, she's just a substitute anyway. I gave her the title of wife, but I'll give my love to you, okay?" My heart turned to absolute ice. I knew my time to leave had come. 1 "Are you really going to leave?! What happens when Ethan eventually remembers everything?" Grandma Wright was anxious and angry. Looking at the explicit videos I had brought her, she was filled with a complex mix of emotions. Years ago, Ethan had been in a terrible car accident that wiped his memory. He forgot our entire history together and mistakenly believed he was deeply in love with my sister, Chloe. He insisted on marrying her. It was only after Chloe impulsively ran away on their wedding day that I finally had the chance to return to his side. My eyes fell on those sickening videos. I lowered my eyelashes, desperately trying to hide the bitter pain in my eyes. When I finally spoke, I had regained my usual calm. "Grandma, the person he loves right now isn't me." Seeing my ironclad resolve, Grandma Wright could only sigh in defeat. "This... alright. It's too unfair to you." "Getting the divorce papers is the easy part, but erasing your entire identity and background will take me about two weeks." I thanked her and went back to our bedroom. Late that night, Ethan finally came home. He turned on the light, his face etched with exhaustion. Seeing me sitting on the sofa with my laptop, he frowned slightly. He walked over quickly, draped his suit jacket over my shoulders, and placed a beautiful, custom cake box on the coffee table. "Why are you still up so late? A client meeting ran long tonight, so I picked up some dessert for you on the way back." I just stared blankly at the cake box, not saying a word. This bakery was incredibly popular; you had to wait in line for at least an hour just to get inside. "What are you looking at so intensely...?" He chuckled softly, leaning over to look at my screen. The smile instantly froze on his face. This man, who was known for his ruthless, cutthroat tactics in the boardroom, was suddenly holding my hand with extreme caution, his palms slick with cold sweat. "Maya, it's not what you think. Your sister has been harassing me constantly. She slipped me something when I wasn't paying attention. You have to believe me, my heart only belongs to you now." An indescribable wave of sour grief surged from the bottom of my heart. Without changing my expression, I pulled my hand out of his grasp. "Let's get a divorce." Panic washed over his face, clear as day. I unlocked my phone and showed him the text messages Chloe had just sent me. "Maya, this is my ultrasound report. The baby is Ethan's." "Ethan specifically made time today to take me to the clinic to set up my prenatal care. It took a little longer than expected, so please don't be mad at him." "Oh, by the way, my morning sickness has been terrible lately. I couldn't stomach the cake Ethan specifically bought for me, so I told him to bring it home for you. I didn't want it to go to waste." Chapter 2 Ethan's pupils dilated in sheer panic. He forcefully snatched the phone from my hand and frantically deleted the chat history and the videos. He grabbed me by the shoulders, his eyes filled with pure terror. "Maya, don't listen to her crazy lies! I know absolutely nothing about a baby, and I am never divorcing you." "Even if there really is a baby, I won't let her have it and ruin our marriage." He immediately pulled out his own phone and dialed his assistant. His voice was harder and more ruthless than I had ever heard it. "Tomorrow morning, deal with whatever is in Chloe's stomach!" "Warn her that if she ever speaks garbage to Maya again, I will destroy her!" He hung up the phone. But I clearly saw his web browser still open on his screen. Search: "Best nutritional foods for pregnant women in the first trimester." My heart turned to absolute ice. That night, it felt like an invisible, bottomless canyon had opened up between us in bed. The next morning, he skipped breakfast, grabbed his briefcase, and hurried out the door. An hour later, my sister updated her Instagram story. The photo showed her and Ethan standing side-by-side in front of a sprawling, luxury villa. The caption was dripping with fake innocence. "Being spoiled so much is actually kind of exhausting. I couldn't eat the cake yesterday, so today he sent me premium bird's nest and sea cucumber." "But what touched me the most is that he said he wants to give me a real home. So today, we're house hunting!" I gripped my phone tightly. I took a screenshot of her post, uploaded it directly to my own public social media, and walked out the door. The paparazzi swarmed them outside the villa almost immediately. A reporter named Dave asked the most aggressive question. "Mr. Wright, didn't you publicly declare you would never let Maya lose? So what is going on with you and Chloe now? And who is the father of the baby she's carrying?" Ethan spotted me standing on the edge of the crowd. He panicked, shoving past the reporters to explain himself to me: "Maya, don't misunderstand! Whatever happened between me and Chloe is strictly in the past. This house is just a compensation settlement for her. I told her I expect her to never bother me again." In just a few sentences, he completely washed his hands of the situation. In that moment, the sheer hypocrisy and cowardly opportunism of this "mature" man was on full display. The media immediately caught on, pivoting their attacks directly onto Chloe. "Years ago, Mr. Wright loved her more than life itself, but she just had to play games and run away from her own wedding to test him. Now that he doesn't love her anymore, she's desperately throwing herself at him." "Is the baby she's carrying even Mr. Wright's?!" The more the reporters speculated, the more aggressive they got, pushing Chloe to the brink of tears. Her face flushed with furious anger, she charged forward, her voice shrill and piercing. "What do any of you know?! Maya took advantage of my absence and stole Ethan from me!" Highly emotional, she ripped up the sleeves of her blouse and yanked her skirt up to her knees. Suppressed tears spun in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. "Do you really think I ran away from my wedding because I didn't love him?! During that time, I went to Mount Shasta. I crawled up the entire mountain path on my hands and knees, praying for Ethan's recovery. I bruised and deformed my own knees for him!" "When I found out Ethan and Maya were together, I fell into a severe depression. I tried to kill myself multiple times." Ethan’s eyes locked onto the horrifying, jagged scars on her wrists and her permanently misshapen knees. His eyes slowly darkened with heavy emotion. Chloe's tears finally broke free, streaming down her face. "What did I do wrong?! Now you're all wildly speculating about my unborn baby! I'll tell you all right now, the father of this baby is—" "Shut up!" Chapter 3 Ethan snapped back to reality. He shot a nervous glance in my direction and quickly cut her off. His voice was flat, devoid of any visible emotion. "Chloe, no matter the reason, we can never go back to how things were. Have some self-respect and stop harassing me." Chloe glared at him with pure hatred, biting her lip so hard it began to bleed. Finally, drowning in the media's mocking laughter, she turned and ran away crying. Ethan swept a cold, warning glare over the gloating reporters. "No one is allowed to publish a single word of what happened here today!" He personally drove me home. The entire ride was unnervingly silent. He didn't yell at me for leaking Chloe's post to the public, and I didn't bring up his sordid affair with her. But just as I opened my door to step out, before I even had both feet on the pavement, he suddenly slammed his foot on the gas. 2 "Ethan, stop the car!" I screamed in agonizing pain. The hem of my long skirt had caught in the heavy car door. I was dragged violently across the asphalt for over three hundred feet. The skin on my knees was shredded, leaving two gaping, bloody holes and a gruesome trail of blood on the driveway. The car finally slammed to a halt. I desperately tore the fabric of my skirt to free myself. But instead of getting out to help me, he slowly pulled the car forward, made a U-turn, and accelerated rapidly, aiming the heavy tires directly at my wrists. I shrieked in terror, my entire body convulsing. He finally stopped, stepped out of the car, and stood over me. He looked down at my bleeding body, his voice colder and more ruthless than I had ever heard it. "This is your one and only warning." I let out a miserable, tragic laugh. I knew he did it on purpose. The moment he saw his precious sister cry, he couldn't even be bothered to keep up the act of loving me anymore. Despite Ethan's threats, Dave the reporter published the entire confrontation. Enterprising internet sleuths even dug up photos of Ethan taking Chloe to her OBGYN appointments a few days prior. The internet unanimously took my side, dragging Chloe through the mud and ripping her reputation to shreds. Ethan was furious. He tracked Dave down at his media company, beat him with a baseball bat, and used the Wright family's massive corporate influence to get him blacklisted from the industry. The situation blew up, severely damaging the Wright Corporation's stock and public image. Grandma Wright was livid. She immediately summoned both our families to the Wright estate. "Ethan, how could you do this to Maya?! When Chloe abandoned you at the altar, you were completely broken. Maya is the one who stayed by your side and pulled you out of that dark place! Now, what are you going to do about the baby in Chloe's stomach?!" Grandma Wright shot a vicious glare at Chloe, then raised her heavy wooden cane to strike Ethan. Suddenly, Chloe threw herself in front of Ethan, dropping to her knees in front of Grandma Wright. She gripped the cane tightly, crying so hard she was gasping for air. "Grandma, this is entirely my fault! Please don't punish Ethan!" My father, feeling profoundly humiliated by his eldest daughter's actions, slapped her hard across the face and tried to drag her toward the door. "You have completely destroyed the Carter family's reputation! Get your ass home right now!" Due to the intense cyberbullying over the last few days, Chloe looked incredibly frail and exhausted. She clutched her red, swollen cheek, clinging desperately to the staircase banister, sobbing hysterically. "I'm not leaving! I lost Ethan! The only thing I want is to keep my baby! Is that a crime?!" The bright red handprint on her pale face severely triggered Ethan. Seeing that Chloe absolutely refused to let go, my father violently yanked her arm. "Ah!" Suddenly, she missed a step and tumbled backward down the grand staircase. "Chloe, watch out!" Ethan's pupils shrank in terror. His body reacted faster than his brain. Without a second thought, he violently shoved me out of his way to get to her. I was thrown completely off balance, stumbling backward until I crashed heavily into the massive, custom saltwater aquarium in the center of the living room. CRASH! The thick glass shattered into thousands of pieces. Jagged shards of glass drove deep into my back. I was instantly drenched in my own blood. Ethan managed to catch Chloe perfectly. As the two of them rolled safely to the bottom of the stairs, the back of Ethan's head struck the marble steps. Chapter 4 A blinding pain ripped through my body. Strange, unfamiliar fragments of memories flashed rapidly through my mind. Before I could even process them, Chloe's cries of pain snapped me back to reality. "Ethan, my hand is scraped." Ethan looked at the tiny droplets of blood oozing from her palm. His brow furrowed in deep distress. He immediately scooped her up into his arms and sprinted toward the door. Grandma Wright panicked, shouting after him. "You ungrateful bastard! Maya's injuries are a hundred times worse! She's bleeding out!" Ethan didn't even pause his stride. "Grandma, Chloe has a severe blood-clotting disorder! I can't waste a single second!" Lying in a massive pool of my own blood, I let out a weak, bitter laugh before letting the darkness completely consume my consciousness. His memories were completely scrambled. The one with the life-threatening blood-clotting disorder was me. 3 "Maya!" Seeing that my bleeding wouldn't stop, Grandma Wright frantically called an ambulance and rushed me to the ER. After being wheeled out of emergency surgery, I was placed in a VIP recovery room—coincidentally, right next door to Chloe's room. As the nurses wheeled my bed past her open door, a scene stabbed me straight through the heart. "Chloe, you've been through so much. I already picked out a name for our baby. Whether it's a boy or a girl, let's call it Riley, okay?" Ethan was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her closely, pressing his forehead against hers with overwhelming tenderness. He casually glanced up and saw me being wheeled past the doorway by the nurses. After a brief second of hesitation, he reluctantly let go of Chloe and chased after my bed. After learning from the nurses that my injuries were severe, and that the road rash from being dragged by his car still hadn't fully healed... He looked at me with an incredibly complex expression, rubbing his temples in exhaustion. "Maya, there is absolutely no need for you to purposely exaggerate your injuries just to get my attention. I told you I wouldn't abandon you, and I meant it. Chloe is pregnant. I was terrified she might have a miscarriage, which is why I brought her to the hospital first." "The baby is innocent. Her blood doesn't clot properly, so having an abortion is entirely too dangerous for her. But don't worry, I already made a deal with her. I'm going to send her abroad. You'll never have to look at her again, okay?" I instinctively placed my hand over my stomach, fighting desperately to hold back my tears. The name Riley... that was the name Ethan had picked out for our future child, back before his memory loss. Just moments ago in the operating room, the trauma surgeon had informed me that I was one month pregnant. My baby wasn't even born yet, and Ethan had already been stolen from me. Now, was he going to steal my baby's name too? "And what if I say no?" Swallowing the bitter acid in my throat, I forced the words out in a raspy whisper. Ethan froze. Noticing the tears pooling in my eyes, he assumed the nurses had hurt me while changing my bandages. He immediately took the ointment tube and began applying it himself. His movements were incredibly gentle, but his words left absolutely no room for negotiation. "Maya, stop throwing a tantrum. I admit I mishandled the situation today. I promise you, from now on, I will never see her again. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you." I didn't say another word. I didn't cry, and I didn't scream. I finally realized that this man—who swore he would never let me lose—had ensured my absolute, total defeat. Because of the harsh antibiotics, I tossed and turned in agony the entire night. Ethan stayed by my bed, tirelessly blowing cool air onto my stitched wounds to ease the burning. "That's weird. Why is the wound still bleeding?" Slowly, he started to realize something was wrong. Just as he reached for my medical chart hanging at the end of the bed, his phone rang with an unknown number. "Heh. Ethan Wright, didn't you put out a massive PR statement swearing you would never betray Maya? What a beautiful, devoted persona. So... if I butcher Chloe and the little bastard growing inside her, you probably wouldn't care, right?" Chapter 5 Dave the reporter laughed maniacally through the speaker. Immediately following his laugh, Chloe's terrified, blood-curdling screams echoed through the phone. "Ethan! Save me! He's going to cut my baby out..." "Chloe!" Ethan's face drained of all color. Pleased with his reaction, Dave laughed even harder. "Hahaha! If you want to save Chloe, you have exactly one hour to bring Maya here and trade her for your precious ex. Let's see if you're actually willing to make the sacrifice." Ethan's expression turned incredibly grim. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before violently dragging me out of the hospital bed and throwing me into his car. "Ethan! You're actually going to trade me for her?! Who the hell do you really love?!" I was absolutely devastated. I pounded frantically against the locked car windows, crying and screaming in a panic. Ethan slammed his foot on the gas, roaring at me in sheer frustration: "Maya, your sister's life is on the line, and you're still obsessing over who I love more?!" "Don't worry, he just wants to humiliate me. He doesn't have the guts to actually kill anyone. But Chloe's medical condition is too fragile. I can't take that risk." "Stop fighting me! I usually let you get away with everything, but this is different. I swear I will make this up to you later." With a harsh screech of brakes, he parked the car outside an abandoned warehouse. He opened the door, dragged me out, and without a word of explanation, bound my hands and feet with zip ties and shoved a greasy rag into my mouth. I fought back with everything I had, my muffled sobs breaking through the rag. He gently wiped the tears from my face, a brief flash of conflict crossing his eyes. "Maya, I'm sorry. You'll have to endure this for a little while." "Just stay quiet and cooperate. Do not provoke him. I already called the cops on the way here. Once I successfully get your sister out, SWAT will breach the building and rescue you." With that, he hoisted me over his shoulder and marched into the warehouse. I shook my head frantically. My surgical wounds had torn open and were bleeding profusely, and my stomach was twisting in violent, agonizing cramps. "Hahaha! The great Ethan Wright finally admits he can't let go of Chloe!" To exact his revenge for being blacklisted, Dave brutally smashed Ethan over the head with a steel pipe before honoring the deal and releasing Chloe. Chloe shot me a triumphant, mocking glare, subtly exchanging a knowing look with Dave. The next second, she threw herself into Ethan's arms, sobbing. "Ethan, I knew you loved me the most! My stomach is cramping so badly, please, get me to a hospital." Seeing her looking so pale and close to fainting, Ethan didn't dare waste a second. Ignoring his bleeding head wound, he practically carried her out the door. Dave gripped a hunting knife, walking toward me with a malicious grin. "Hahaha! Ethan dumped you! And since I took your sister's money, I have to make sure you get the VIP treatment!" I shook my head in absolute terror, trapped and defenseless. I could only watch helplessly as the blade plunged deep into my stomach. When he ripped the knife out, my blood splattered across the concrete wall like dark paint... After rushing Chloe into the ER, a deep, suffocating sense of dread settled in Ethan's chest. The image of my desperate, terrified eyes flashed relentlessly in his mind, accompanied by waves of blinding headaches. Unable to stand any longer, he slid down the hospital wall and collapsed onto the floor. A flood of strange, fragmented memories violently pierced his brain, making it almost impossible to breathe. But he forced himself to stay conscious and called the police captain. "Hello? Did you rescue Maya?!" The answer on the other end of the line drained every ounce of blood from his face, leaving him looking like a corpse.
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