"I want to truly be in love with her this one time. A feeling like that is priceless. Besides, this way I’ll know that I could lose her at any moment, which will make me cherish her all the more."

"No problem. You don’t have to, but I still need to do the research. I’m worried others might face this situation in the future."

"Okay."

Now, he could finally sleep peacefully.

*

Herman Hawthorne rushed Bianca Rhodes to the hospital, where she was immediately taken to the emergency room.

An hour later, Bianca Rhodes was wheeled out. The baby, however, was gone.

She had been under local anesthesia for the induced abortion, which went smoothly.

The woman who had just lost her child looked at Herman Hawthorne with tears in her eyes. "My baby is gone."

He didn’t know what to say. "It’s okay. You can have another one in the future."

"But it wouldn’t be *our* child."

"You should rest for now. We can talk about everything else later."

She kept crying. "Herman, you have to punish the person who killed our child! Otherwise, he won’t be able to rest in peace!"

Herman was agitated. "You need to rest now. Tomorrow morning, I’ll bring Zoe to apologize to you."

"Can an apology bring my child back?" She couldn’t believe it. She had made such a huge sacrifice, yet he hadn’t even mentioned divorcing Zoe Ellsworth.

"How can such a vicious woman be your wife!"

Outside the door, Zoe Ellsworth gave a cold laugh before pushing the door open and walking in.

She stood there proudly, looking down at Bianca Rhodes on the hospital bed.

"Don’t for a second think I’m here to apologize. If I feel any regret, it’s pity that your child was fated for the wrong womb. That’s right, I’m a vicious woman. But you? You’re so beautiful, so eloquent. You would never frame anyone. You’re a pillar of virtue. You’re the purest soul, honest and kind, never speaking ill of anyone behind their back. You’re so adorable and magnanimous. You never imagine people might discover your schemes, because you think you’re just so incredibly smart. A person as genuine and principled as you... how could anyone possibly dislike you?" She chuckled and added, "Please forgive me for those insincere words just now."

Bianca Rhodes was so enraged by the tirade that she stopped crying. Pointing a finger at her, she demanded, "Are you daring to say you didn’t hit me tonight?"

"I did hit you. So why don’t you tell my husband why I hit you?"

Zoe Ellsworth met Herman Hawthorne’s deep gaze. "A woman who describes to your wife, in detail, how she made love to you—shouldn’t I hit her? Hitting her was getting off easy. No matter how in love you two were, how entangled you were, how you couldn’t get out of bed—that was all in the past. I want you both to remember this: Herman Hawthorne is my man. And until we’re divorced, no other woman gets to lay a single fucking finger on him!"

Bianca Rhodes’s eyes went wide. She wanted to say something but couldn’t get the words out. Then, her body went limp, and she fainted from pure rage.

Herman Hawthorne took Zoe Ellsworth’s hand, his eyes clear and filled with a hint of adoration. "I knew it. My wife wouldn’t do something like this for no reason. It’s getting late, honey. Let’s go home."

She looked at him and replied in kind, "And I knew my husband wasn’t such an asshole that he’d misunderstand me."

The two of them left the hospital room. Herman Hawthorne told the nurse to take good care of Bianca Rhodes.

He held Zoe Ellsworth’s hand as they entered the elevator.

Their tightly clasped hands were warm. Suddenly, she pulled her hand free, pouted, and said, "I want a piggyback ride."

He immediately crouched down. She climbed on, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and her legs around his waist.

The elevator doors opened, and to the astonishment of the people waiting, he walked out with his little wife on his back.

Chloe Marshall had been hanging in the tree all night. She felt like she wasn’t going to make it.

Dizzy, hungry, and thirsty, she was reaching her limit.

She barely made it to dawn, hoping someone would come and rescue her.

RUSTLE... RUSTLE... The sound, sometimes faint, sometimes louder, reached her ears intermittently.

Chloe Marshall forced her eyes open.

Through her blurred vision, she finally saw a person.

Her will to live made her shout with all her might, "Help me! Please! He—Help me!"

But the young man standing beneath her just stared up at her blankly, his pure eyes filled with confusion.

Still, he pointed to the rope tying Chloe Marshall. When she nodded, he slowly walked toward the tree.

Seeing how slowly he was walking, Chloe Marshall yelled, "Can you hurry up?! Can’t you see I’m about to die?"

He was clearly startled and flinched, then quickly undid the knot tied to the tree.

Chloe Marshall’s body fell rapidly. He didn’t have time to dodge and was hit directly.

He cried out in pain, slowly got up, glanced at her barely conscious form, and then ran off at top speed.

Chloe Marshall tried to stand, but she didn’t have the strength.

She tried several times without success. In the end, she lay there for a while to rest, preparing to get up and leave this place.

The man came back.

He was carrying a chipped bowl.

It was filled with clean water, which he held to her lips.

She looked at it, then drank greedily.

When she finished, her voice was severely hoarse. "Thank you."

His face instantly turned red. Even though his face was grimy, she could still tell.

"You—You—You’re so beautiful."

’Chloe Marshall wanted to laugh. ’He thinks *I’m* beautiful? In this state? Has he never seen a woman before?’’

"I’m hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

"Yes!" He seemed very excited. "I have some at my house! I’ll take you home!"

Without another word, he forcibly hoisted Chloe Marshall onto his back and took off running, as if he weren’t carrying anyone at all.

He ran through the jungle and carried Chloe Marshall into a dilapidated little courtyard, where he started shouting, "Ma! Ma! A wife! I’ve got a wife!"

A middle-aged woman walked out of the house. Though her clothes were old and worn, they were clean. Her hair was tied back in a bun, giving her a very neat and tidy appearance.

When she saw Chloe Marshall in the courtyard, her eyes lit up. She hurried forward. "My silly boy, where did you find her?"

"She was tied up over there. Hehe." He pointed back in the direction they had come from, a goofy grin on his boyish face.

"What’s your name?"

"Chloe Marshall."

The woman said immediately, "You’ll be my son’s wife. You can consummate the marriage tonight."

It wasn’t a suggestion; it was an order.

Chloe Marshall shook her head. "No."

The middle-aged woman sneered. "It’s not up to you. Son, get her into your room."

He crouched down, smiled at Chloe Marshall, and said, "Didn’t you say you were hungry? If you become my wife, I’ll go get you something to eat."

’Chloe Marshall knew she couldn’t get away right now. ’Fine, I’ll agree for now and find a chance to escape later.’’

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Okay. Hurry up and get me something to eat first. I’m starving to death."

He helped her up. "Go inside and lie on the bed first. The ground is cold."