Tessa’s stomach twisted violently. She tried to explain again, but Noah didn’t give her the chance.

"You hurt her again and again," Noah said. "And now, you are going to pay for it."

He dragged her out of the room, not caring that she was only in that flimsy nightdress.

"Noah?" she cried. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the hospital," said Noah flatly.

Fear exploded inside her.

Tessa yanked her arm free and stumbled backward.

"I am not going anywhere." Every nerve in her body screamed in alarm.

Noah turned around.

The look in his eyes sent chills racing down her spine.

"I am not giving you a choice. You are coming with me, willingly or unwillingly."

Tessa could barely breathe. "Why are you taking me to the hospital?"

"You are sick," he replied flatly. "Don’t you remember you have a heart condition?"

Tessa blinked, still confused. Was he taking her just for a check-up? Or did he have something else in his mind?

"With your condition, you are not fit to continue this pregnancy."

As soon as those words escaped his mouth, Tessa’s heart sank to the bottom of the pit. Her hands moved to her stomach, as if she were trying to guard her unborn child.

"No... You can’t hurt the baby. This is your child, too."

"Elena also lost her baby," Noah hissed. "It was all because of you. You couldn’t stand the thought of her carrying my child. You even tried to hurt yourself to stop my wedding with her."

He jabbed a finger toward her. "You forced me to choose you."

Tessa swallowed. Back then, when she had heard Elena was pregnant with his child, jealousy had consumed her. She had been afraid he would abandon her.

In desperation, she had staged the suicide attempt. She had only wanted to frighten him, to keep him by her side.

And the accident had happened. When Elena miscarried, she had secretly felt relieved. And now that she was pregnant, she believed Noah would never leave her.

But he wanted to kill her child as well.

She took another step backward.

"Because of you, I caused that accident," Noah added. "To make you happy, I killed my child."

Tessa had always known the truth. She had simply pretended not to. But hearing him admit it aloud made her blood run cold.

At the time, she believed he would never harm her. But she had forgotten that a man who had already killed his child once could hurt hers, too.

"I fulfilled your wish," Noah’s voice grew harsher. "While she was recovering in the hospital, I neglected her completely. I stayed by your side. I even ignored her calls. All to make you happy. But you—you went after her."

He grabbed her arm, and she flinched.

"I believed everything you said. I gave you everything you wanted—the vice president’s post, the pendant Elena’s father left for her. I never said no to you. And still, it was not enough. Your greed and insecurity only grew."

As he spoke, guilt wrapped around his heart like chains.

"You kidnapped her while she had not recovered fully," he growled. "She almost died. And you think you deserve to get all the happiness you want?"

"I am the woman you love," Tessa exclaimed in a frenzy. "How could you think of hurting our child and me for her?"

"If you had listened to me and stayed in your place, I would’ve protected you for the rest of your life." His voice was merciless.

"But you wouldn’t listen. You wanted to kill Elena. And now, you will pay the price. Come with me."

He pulled her toward the door.

Tessa shoved him away with all her strength.

The force startled Noah. He looked back at her with a stunned expression.

Tessa’s breathing turned ragged. Fear and desperation filled her eyes. "You won’t hurt this baby. I won’t let you."

Her skin pricked with uneasiness, but she stood there firmly.

"Why are you blaming everything on me?" she barked. "You just admitted it yourself. You hurt her."

Tessa pointed at him accusingly. "You orchestrated her accident and caused that miscarriage. Did I force you to do that?"

The words struck him like a hammer. A jolt of shock ran through him.

Yes, it was him. No one had forced him. He had made those choices himself. He had killed his child with his own hands.

"And you are blaming me for hurting her?" Tessa muttered. "You crushed her heart again and again. Only a few tears and lies were enough to deceive you. You believed every word I said because you wanted to believe them. You said you vowed to protect her. But it was you who hurt her the most."

The truth crashed on him in a force that almost stole his breath away. Noah clutched his chest and stumbled backward.

"You set up that accident that could have killed her," Tessa went on. "You don’t love her. You only kept her beside you out of pity. So what was wrong with me trying to remove her from our lives?"

His eyes turned glacial.

"You should be happy that she left on her own," Tessa said. "Finally, we don’t have to hide our relationship. You don’t have to carry the burden of the promise you once made to her father. She let you go."

Her gaze turned pleading. "She threw away all your care and protection just to be with that man. But you still have me."

She put her hand on her belly. "And our child. Let’s make our relationship public. The baby deserves to be born in the Sinclair family."

"The baby can’t be born," he said decisively. The chillness in his tone left no room for argument. "Elena is the only daughter-in-law of the Sinclair family. She is the only woman I acknowledge as my wife. She is the one who will give birth to my children."

Tessa sucked a cold breath in shock. Then fury overwhelmed every other emotion.

"Is that so?" she shot back like a madwoman. "You legally married me. I am your wife, the true daughter-in-law of your family."

"No, you misunderstood. You are the other woman I keep."

Tessa’s chest caved. Her lungs burned with each breath she took. "What? I am the other woman?"

"Or else?" he said mercilessly. "You left me back then, remember? You took money from my father and left me without hesitation. I kept you around because I wanted to see you live under my mercy."

Tessa’s heart stopped. His words fell one after another.

"When I lost my and Elena’s child, I had already paid you back whatever I owed you."

She gazed at him in total shock. Her eyelashes trembled.

"You were never my future. From now on, we are done. I’ll divorce you and terminate your pregnancy."

The world around her seemed to collapse.

"What...?" Her voice barely came out. "No... You can’t do this to me."

"You should’ve been satisfied with what you already had," he hissed in a threatening way. "But you were greedy. You wanted everything. And now, I am snatching everything I gave you."

He lunged forward and dragged her out of the house.

"Noah, no," she broke down completely. "You can’t do this to me. I am begging you."

But he didn’t listen to her pleas. He hauled her toward his car.

"The child is innocent," she pleaded yet again. "Don’t hurt it. If you want, I’ll apologize to Elena. I swear I’ll stay away from her. I’ll never trouble her."

"From today onward, you won’t have the opportunity." He shoved her into the car.

Tessa collapsed onto the backseat. A dull ache spread across her abdomen. But fear drowned out every other sensation.

She whipped her head toward him.

The steely look in his eyes terrified her.

"I’m sending you away from here. You will never be allowed to return. But before that, we will go to the hospital."

After a brief pause, he delivered the final blow. "You are terminating the pregnancy."

"No... Please."

Noah looked at her without emotion. "It’s over, Tessa."

He slammed the door shut.