The moment my pregnancy test came back positive, Chloe was already on the rooftop.
She sobbed to my husband, Liam Sterling:
You promised me, Liam! No kids with *her*.
I don’t need a title, but the next Sterling heir absolutely cannot be hers!
Liam rushed to reassure her:
Anya’s pregnancy was just an accident, I swear. Don’t worry, I’ll make her go to the hospital and get rid of it right away.
“Chloe, I know I’m married to Anya, but you know my family forced this business alliance on me. You’re the only one I truly love. Please, don’t do anything stupid!”
Then, Liam whirled around, his face a mask of furious urgency, and roared at me:
“What are you standing there for? Go to the hospital and get that abortion! If anything happens to Chloe, I swear I’ll never forgive you!”
Liam’s shameless words made me laugh, a bitter, hollow sound.
Forcing *me*, the ‘Investment Queen’ who controlled the Sterling family’s wealth, to get an abortion? Who gave him the guts?
Liam and I arrived at the hospital’s entrance.
Chloe was standing on the balcony, threatening to jump.
A crowd had already gathered in front of the hospital, all craning their necks to stare at Chloe, perched on the rooftop edge, weeping.
Many uninformed onlookers started whispering.
“So young, and already giving up on life?”
“I heard she just found out she’s pregnant, then discovered her husband has a mistress. She just can’t face it anymore.”
“That’s wild! Is it really true?”
“Absolutely. That woman saw the same specialist as me. She’d just finished her check-up when she started crying and calling her husband, threatening to jump…”
Listening to the crowd’s gossip, I cast a meaningful glance at Liam.
Liam, however, was completely focused on Chloe, oblivious to the whispers from the street below.
He anxiously grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the main building’s rooftop.
On the roof, several high-ranking hospital officials were present, their brows furrowed as they tried to reason with a sobbing Chloe.
The police had also arrived, cautiously attempting to comfort Chloe while slowly approaching her.
Chloe’s face was a picture of wronged sorrow, as if she were completely broken. She cried out to the police and hospital officials:
“Don’t come any closer!”
“If you take another step, I’ll jump right now!”
Liam rushed forward, yelling at the police and others:
“Don’t go near her! If anything happens to her, I swear I won’t let any of you off the hook!”
Then, Liam turned to Chloe, his face etched with frantic worry:
“Chloe, please don’t do anything foolish!”
“Just come down, and we can talk about anything you want!”
Watching Chloe clutch the railing with such desperation, I knew this woman wasn’t really planning to jump. It was just a performance.
I spoke calmly:
“It’s pretty windy today. You better hold on tight. If you accidentally slip, no one’s gonna save you then!”
Before Chloe could respond, Liam glared at me, his eyes spitting venom, and roared:
“Anya! Are you serious? At a time like this, you’re still being sarcastic? Do you have any conscience?!”
The hospital officials and police also frowned, looking at me with clear disapproval.
Chloe shot me a vicious glance, then turned back to Liam, sobbing with righteous indignation:
“You promised me, Liam! No kids with *her*.”
“I don’t need a title to be by your side, but I absolutely cannot tolerate her carrying your child!”
“I’m pregnant too! You swore to me that the next Sterling heir could only be *my* child!”
Liam hurriedly tried to explain:
“Anya’s pregnancy was just an accident, I swear. Don’t worry, I’ll make her go to the hospital and get rid of it right away.”
“Chloe, I know I’m married to Anya, but you know my family forced this business alliance on me. You’re the only one I truly love. Please, don’t do anything stupid!”
Then, Liam spun around, his face contorted with rage, and screamed at me:
“What are you standing there for? Go to the hospital and get that abortion! If anything happens to Chloe, I swear I’ll never forgive you!”
The hospital officials and police watching were stunned, staring at Liam and Chloe in disbelief.
The conversation between this pathetic, cheating duo must have completely shattered their preconceived notions.
Meanwhile, Liam and Chloe’s shameless remarks just made me laugh again, a colder, sharper sound this time.
I spoke to Chloe, my voice icy:
“Liam and I are legally married. You’re nothing but the other woman, the one who inserted herself into our marriage. What right do you have to tell me not to have children?”
“I’ve met plenty of audacious people, but a mistress who stages a suicide attempt to force me into an abortion? That’s a new low, even for me!”
Before Chloe could retort, I turned my cold gaze to Liam, my voice dripping with scorn:
“Didn’t you claim Chloe was just like a sister to you?”
“Is this how you ‘take care’ of your ‘good sister’? So much so that you got her pregnant?”
“Do you think the world’s gone crazy, so now you want her to pop out a kid to take over the Sterling empire?”
“Liam Sterling, what a master schemer you are!”
“What do you take me for?”
“I’m making this clear right now: even if we divorce, there’s no way I’m getting rid of this baby!”
The moment my words left my lips, Chloe’s eyes flashed.
Then, she started sobbing even harder, as if she’d been subjected to the deepest insult and grievance.
She put on a show of being so emotionally distraught she might jump at any second.
Liam, meanwhile, yelled urgently at me:
“Anya, shut up!”
He whispered quickly:
“This is a life at stake! I was just saying that to calm Chloe down, afraid she’d actually jump.
“Just play along for now, and I’ll explain everything later!”
I scoffed.
“I’m not interested in playing along with your little charade, you pathetic cheating duo!”
“Liam Sterling, we’re getting a divorce!”
Chloe ultimately didn’t jump.
Feigning exhaustion, she pretended to faint.
Liam darted forward, his face etched with concern and urgency, scooping Chloe into his arms.
The hospital officials and police breathed a sigh of relief. I, however, simply turned and walked away.
The moment I declared I wanted a divorce from Liam, Chloe’s goal was achieved.
Naturally, she no longer needed to pretend to be heartbroken and perform on the rooftop edge.
Back home, I started packing my personal belongings.
When I said I wanted to divorce Liam, I wasn’t joking.
Though we’d been married for less than three months, I’d seen Liam Sterling’s true colors.
A man like that isn’t worth a lifetime of commitment!
This kind of relationship needed to be severed quickly.
When faced with a betrayer, if you don’t act fast, you’re only going to get hurt worse.
I’m not the type of woman who just cries or complains when faced with relationship problems.
It’s like investing; if the returns aren’t satisfactory, I cut my losses immediately.
Looking at our wedding photo in the living room, a self-mocking smile touched my lips.
Love is blind!
I once thought I’d found the right man to spend my life with. Only now do I realize I was blind.
This emotional investment was probably the biggest loss I’ve ever taken.
But Liam Sterling and that Chloe won’t win either.
I’ll make sure they understand the consequences of betraying me!
As I finished packing and pulled my suitcase, ready to leave, Liam returned.
With him were several Sterling family elders.
Clearly, Liam was once again bringing his family members to beg for mercy.
Just like the time he spent our entire wedding night with Chloe, he’d brought them to plead my case then too.
Seeing my packed suitcase, the Sterling elders immediately swarmed me, trying to talk me out of it.
“Anya, we’ve given Liam a severe dressing-down. He knows he messed up. Just forgive him this once!”
“Chloe will absolutely not threaten your position in the Sterling family. If she weren’t also pregnant, we’d have taught her a harsh lesson ourselves.”
“You’re pregnant too now, so you absolutely mustn’t get upset!”
“Anya, you’re a reasonable woman. You know Liam is the Sterling family’s only child. Now that Chloe is pregnant too, even though she made a mistake, the child in her belly is, after all, a Sterling descendant. Just be magnanimous and let it go!”
“Don’t worry, after Chloe gives birth, we’ll have that child recognize you as its mother. We’ll send Chloe abroad and make sure she never returns.”
I had expected the Sterling elders to beg for Liam’s forgiveness as they had before.
But when they uttered those words, I finally understood their true purpose in coming here.
I said, my voice cold: “You want to protect a bastard child born to a mistress who destroyed another’s family?”
“It seems you never cared about my feelings at all!”
“Do you think the Sterlings are doing so well lately that you’ve grown arrogant and forgotten how your family almost went bankrupt?”
“Back then, would any of you have dared to say these things to me?”
My words instantly made the Sterling elders’ faces flush with shame, and their gazes toward me turned much colder.
Liam frowned and said:
“Anya, how dare you speak to your elders like that? What’s with that attitude?”
“My family is only thinking of our best interests, you…”
I cut him off directly, a cold laugh escaping my lips:
“They’re thinking of *your* best interests!”
“Liam Sterling, you’re not a child anymore. You mess up, and then you drag your family here to watch the circus? I honestly don’t know what’s rattling around in your head!”
“Alright, I’m done wasting my breath on you. I’m getting this divorce, and no one can talk me out of it.”
“You and your family are so attached to the child in Chloe’s belly? Then let *her* child be your Sterling heir!
“From this day forward, I want nothing to do with the Sterling family!”
The moment I spoke, the Sterling elders dropped their pretense, revealing their ugly true colors.
“You ungrateful wretch! Do you really think the Sterling family can’t survive without you?”
“You ignorant fool from the sticks, no upbringing at all! I’ve disliked you from the start.”
“If we hadn’t thought your Rockwell family could benefit us back then, why would we have ever pushed you and Liam together? You weren’t even good enough!”
“Don’t threaten us with divorce! Anyway, your Rockwell family’s assets have already been absorbed by the Sterlings. If you divorce, we’re not the ones who’ll suffer the loss.”
“Liam, don’t hesitate. If she wants a divorce, give it to her. Chloe is much more compliant than her. After you divorce her, go marry Chloe and let this one regret it till she cries blood.”
The Sterling elders’ words were vile. Liam’s voice dropped, firm now:
“Anya, I’m giving you one last chance, you…”
I simply cut him off:
“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear a word I just said? If you don’t want a quiet divorce, I’ll take you to court!”
“Marital infidelity. Based on that alone, how do you think a judge will rule?”
Liam scoffed furiously.
“Fine. If you’re determined to divorce, I won’t stop you.”
“However, I have two conditions: one, you leave with nothing!”
“And second, the child in your belly will have no relation to the Sterling family from this day forward. Don’t even think about trying to claim a share of the Sterling family assets as my illegitimate child after it’s born.”
Liam’s shamelessness made me laugh again, though it was a humorless sound.
I couldn’t be bothered to say more. I simply nodded. “Fine!”
↓ ↓ Download the Novel Master app, Search 【 303553 】reads the whole book. ↓ ↓
NovelShort
