Chapter 2
Nathaniel knew I hated bitter things, but convinced I had drugged him, he refused to listen to my explanations, dismissing them as lies.
To punish me, he forced me to swallow an entire strip of pills without water. The bitterness spread through my mouth, making even my heart clench in pain.
Only after I swallowed the last pill, tears streaming from the bitterness, did Nathaniel leisurely dress himself and coldly remark:
“Stop acting pitiful. You brought this on yourself.”
But fate has a cruel sense of humor. I never thought that, in my last life, despite taking the contraceptives, I still conceived his child. And Vivienne, heartbroken by this, took her own life.
Before dying, she sent Nathaniel a video, her clothes disheveled, sobbing:
“Sis Ruby purged the contraceptives and got pregnant with your child. You should marry her, of
course. I only wanted to stay by your side, even without a title. Why couldn’t she tolerate even that?
She even hired men to rape me!”
“Well, I’ll just disappear completely to give her peace of mind. Nathaniel, I love you. Goodbye, and I wish you both happiness.”
Nathaniel searched all night, only to find her cold corpse. From that day on, he decided I would join
Vivienne in death.
With his vast connections, Nathaniel could have easily investigated or asked the coroner, who would have confirmed Vivienne hadn’t engaged in sexual activity before her death, proving my innocence.
But he never bothered to ask or investigate, never believed I hadn’t purged the pills. He simply
condemned me.
During the stunned silence, Mrs. Grey called the private doctor over and looked at Vivienne with a stern expression: “If she’s pregnant, test her again!”
A second test would reveal Vivienne wasn’t pregnant at all.
Not only that, among Nathaniel’s other mistresses, I was the only last one Nathaniel had
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touched–my pregnancy would surely be exposed.
Remembering how, in my previous life, Nathaniel fed my family’s ashes to dogs at Vivienne’s grave and carved into my flesh, watching me bleed to death, made me tremble uncontrollably.
I instinctively touched my belly. This child’s existence must remain secret from him.
But before I could speak, Vivienne’s eyes welled with tears. She approached me and said weakly:
“Ruby, I know you like Nathaniel, and Grandma wants you two to marry. But I’m carrying his child now. Please let us be together–don’t pressure Grandma to separate us.”
With one sentence, she painted me as a jealous schemer manipulating the elderly.
Vivienne made as if to kneel before me, but Nathaniel quickly caught her, looking at me with disgust:
“You’ve done nothing wrong and you’re pregnant–why should you kneel to her? She’s not worthy.”
“Ruby, how many times must I tell you? We’re just friends. I only let you stay at the Greys out of
respect for Grandma and your family. Have some dignity and stop clinging to me.”
He turned to his grandma:
“Grandma, the doctor confirmed Vivienne is carrying my child. What’s there to test again? Even with
eight hundred more tests, Ruby couldn’t possibly be pregnant with my child. What happened that
night was Ruby’s own shameful doing–she drugged me. I made sure she took contraceptives. No matter how many times you test, she won’t be pregnant!”
“I’ve decided. In three days, Vivienne and I will marry. All the other women, including Ruby-get the hell out of my life!”
Mrs. Grey was breathing heavily in anger:
“Ruby isn’t the kind of person you describe. That night was my…”
I hastily interrupted her and smiled at Vivienne:
“Miss Reed, don’t joke like that. You’re Nate’s beloved–my brother’s wife. How could I ever try to separate you? I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and love.”
When we were young, I always called him brother. I stopped once I realized my feelings for him, naively thinking that if I didn’t call him brother, if I wasn’t just his childhood friend–I could become
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his woman.
Hearing me address him this way after so long seemed to startle Nathaniel, but his surprise quickly turned to coldness:
“At least you know your place. Show Vivienne proper respect from now on.”
He left with Vivienne, and the remaining ten kept woman, however reluctantly, had to pack their bags and leave.
Mrs. Grey angrily tapped her cane on the floor:
“How could that bitch possibly be pregnant? There’s definitely something fishy here. Don’t worry, Ruby. I’ll uncover the truth. That ungrateful brat–how dare he to force you to take contraceptives! I’ll make him kneel and apologize to you.”
Only then did I learn that the private doctor had secretly told her about Vivienne’s multiple
abortions, which had left her unlikely to conceive.
Mrs. Grey had told Nathaniel, but he refused to believe it, assuming I had influenced her to slander
Vivienne.
Seeing her indignation on my behalf, I gratefully took her hands:
“Grandma, what happened that night was a mistake. Can’t you see? Nathaniel only has eyes for Vivienne. Whether she can have children doesn’t matter to him. There’s no point forcing what isn’t
meant to be.”
m truly exhausted after all these years. My parents arranged a marriage for me before they died. In three days, I’ll leave here to marry. Please, Grandma, let me go.”
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