Chapter 1: Pregnancy

Mia Wilson held her fresh pregnancy test report, happily touching her belly with a blissful expression. "Little one, daddy will be here to pick us up in just a few minutes. Let's go downstairs and wait for him."

Today was her first wedding anniversary with James Smith. What a surprise - an unexpected big surprise had come along.

She had just found out she was six weeks pregnant.

As Mia walked, she pulled out her phone and called her husband James.

After a long dial tone, someone finally picked up. "Hello, James, I'm done with my checkup. When are you coming to get me?"

"Go back by yourself. I'm a bit busy."

James's cool voice came through. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but there seemed to be a hint of impatience in his tone.

"James, I have some good news to tell you..."

"Mia!"

As Mia was walking back, she suddenly heard James shout her name loudly. Startled, she immediately stopped in her tracks and asked worriedly, "James, what's wrong?"

There was no response from the other end - just the sound of the call being disconnected.

Mia's face turned pale with worry. She immediately called back, and a mechanical voice rang in her ear: "Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off."

Her heart instantly tensed up. All her thoughts were on James, and she didn't notice someone rushing toward her.

Mia was knocked heavily to the ground. Sharp pain shot through her lower abdomen.

Her face turned deathly pale. Trembling desperately, she kept one hand firmly protecting her belly while the other gripped the man who had bumped into her. Her face full of pain, she said, "Take me to the hospital..."

...

When Mia was carried down from the ambulance, she was semi-conscious from the pain.

In her daze, she seemed to hear James's voice.

She struggled to open her eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.

Through her blurry vision, she really saw James looking anxious.

Her strength instantly crumbled. Tears rolled down in big drops as she called out weakly, "James..."

But the James she called out to didn't rush toward her. Instead, he opened the passenger door and carefully lifted out a woman from inside.

She recognized her as his friend who had just returned to the country - Amelia Martinez.

The ambulance passed by James. His usually cold and handsome face was now filled with panic and helplessness.

Mia instantly felt like she had fallen into an ice pit. Her heart ached as if cut by knives. She closed her eyes, drained of her last bit of strength, and lost consciousness.

...

When she woke up again, Mia found herself in the hospital.

The hospital?

"My baby!"

Mia's pupils contracted. Her face full of panic, she lifted her hand to touch her belly.

"Don't worry, the baby is fine."

James, who had been keeping watch by the bedside, looked at Mia whose lips had turned white with fear. He comforted her by patting her head, then reached his large hand under the blanket to hold hers.

Ice cold, with no warmth.

James's brow twitched slightly. "Why are your hands so cold?"

Before he could react, Mia had already quickly pulled her hand back. Thinking of that scene before she passed out, her nose stung with emotion.

James looked at the unusually behaving Mia, his eyes imperceptibly growing colder.

Normally, when her hands were this cold, she would have already been acting cute, tucking her hands into his embrace and asking him to warm them up.

"Are you uncomfortable somewhere?" His long, defined fingers reached toward her forehead.

Mia looked at James.

His tenderness right now was like a knife. Every word was stabbing into her heart, making her eyes instantly turn red with pain.

When she was little, her father's excessive suspicion had been unbearable for her mother, who ended up running off with another man, leaving young Mia behind.

Her father became addicted to gambling, drinking, and domestic violence.

So during the four years she had been with James, she had always loved him wholeheartedly and trusted him completely.

But she never expected it would lead to his heartless betrayal!

He had been lying to her all along!

Feeling wronged and heartbroken, Mia used all her strength to slap away his hand that was touching her face. Emotionally agitated, she said, "Get away, don't touch me."

Don't touch her with those dirty hands that had held Amelia.

James's hand froze in mid-air. After a moment of silence, he withdrew it and looked down at her as if looking at an unreasonable child.

"Mia, stop making a scene."

James's voice was still gentle, but his tone was much colder.

Mia bit her bloodless lips tightly. Tears swirled in her eyes, but she held them back from falling.

Fake.

His gentle affection was all fake.

For these four years, she must have looked like a fool in his eyes. How ridiculous.

Mia's heart ached to the extreme. When she spoke again, all that came out was a murmur: "Don't touch me, don't touch me..."

Her body instinctively moved backward, wanting to get far away from him. She didn't realize she had moved to the edge of the bed and was about to fall off.

James's eyes tightened. Quick as lightning, he grabbed her wrist and forcefully pulled her back. Though his eyes appeared calm, they were filled with frost.

"Mia, enough with the tantrum."

James was a master of emotional control, usually calm and composed. It was rare to see his emotions fluctuate.

But whenever he called her full name in this calm, almost indifferent tone, Mia knew he was angry.

She was someone with a sense of boundaries. When she saw his expression wasn't right, she would immediately throw herself into his arms and act cute.

Most of the time, James wouldn't hold it against her - he'd just pinch her cheek as punishment.

But this time, Mia didn't give in like before. Instead, she stubbornly bit her lip and stared hard at James.

"What are you yelling about?"

A woman in her forties wearing a uniform walked into the hospital room.

Her voice was even louder than James's. Ignoring his intimidating coldness, she scolded him bluntly, "If you're so capable, go throw your weight around outside. What kind of man takes it out on his own wife?"

The doctor had a very bad impression of him.

His pregnant wife had been in the emergency room, but they couldn't reach him, the husband. He didn't call back until midnight - how could he have the nerve to lose his temper here?

James's face darkened. If it were anyone else talking to him like this, they would have faced the consequences long ago.

But this was Mia's attending physician. James frowned and held back. "I apologize."

"Don't apologize to me. If you're going to apologize, apologize to your wife."

The attending physician saw that James's attitude was acceptable, so her voice softened a bit, though her tone was still unfriendly.

She withdrew her gaze and stepped forward to examine Mia.

Mia looked nervously at the doctor. After the examination was complete, she immediately asked, "Doctor, how is my baby?"