If I hadn't overheard his conversation with the doctor, I'd never have doubted his love for me and our son.

"Mr. Kaufman, he was your flesh and blood. We could have saved him. Why did you stop us?"

"He was born with that destiny because Grace Parrish was his mother.

"Plus, my son with Noemi is turning one year old. I've promised Noemi that only our son can be my heir."

It turned out that our happy marriage was just my own perception.

Since that was the case, I should leave.

After Antonio said so, a trace of compassion flickered in the doctor's eyes.

He said, "Mr. Kaufman, what if Mrs. Kaufman learns the truth about what you did to her?"

Antonio replied, "She won't. Just do exactly what I've told you to.

"Keep your mouth shut and never mention a word to Grace. Oh by the way, when you do the surgery, remove her womb."

The doctor was shocked. "Mr. Kaufman, since you've already decided to adopt your other son, why do you need to do this to her? This is too cruel!"

The doctor's words gave me a glimmer of hope. However, the next moment, Antonio shattered it.

"I've promised Noemi that I won't have kids with another woman, including my wife.

"Though we can't make our relationship public, I'll do my best to give her a sense of security."

As he spoke, his eyes brimmed with happiness, which was something that never belonged to me.

The doctor fell into silence for a long time.

Perhaps feeling sorry for me, he suggested, "Mr. Kaufman, I gotta remind you again, once her womb is removed, she'll never be able to conceive again."

"For Noemi, it's all worth it. As for Grace, I'll try to make it up to her later."

Then, Antonio's phone rang. A familiar voice came through.

"Mr. Kaufman, I've made the payment, so we'll get the court verdict by tomorrow. Don't worry, Mrs. Kaufman would never know that we were behind that car accident."

My blood ran cold as I listened to Antonio. I put my hands over my mouth, trying my best not to cry.

Turned out it wasn't an accident.

My beloved husband was why my baby boy died.

Then, I remembered my son's little body lying in that morgue 3 months ago. And my heart died together with him.

I heard the sound of Antonio's footsteps approaching, so I quickly lay back down on the bed, pretending that I just woke up.

Antonio looked at me, worry written all over his face, just as usual.

"Honey, the doctor told me that you passed out due to the after-effects of the car accident. So, I've asked him to arrange surgery for you."

"Antonio, I don't want surgery. I'm scared. Can we go home?"

?With the last shred of hope, I looked at him with imploring eyes.

?His face darkened as soon as my words died away.

"It's gonna be OK. I've chosen the best doctors for you this time. And I'll be there with you too. I don't want you to pass out like this again. I'll be worried."

Looking at my red-rimmed eyes, he couldn't bring himself to blame me.

So he dragged me into his arms and kissed my cheek to soothe me.

In front of me, Antonio was gentle and considerate, just as usual. But I knew he was just pretending. He did so all because of another woman.

For her, my beloved husband murdered our son, and he even wanted to deprive me of being a mother ever again.

I held back the bitterness in my heart and nodded at him.

Since all he cared about was Noemi Knox, there was no point for me to stay anymore.

While I was waiting for the surgery, I canceled my documents and booked a plane ticket for 3 days later.

I would use these 3 days to put an end to my love and marriage.

I prepared everything and pretended as if nothing had happened.

However, I couldn't stop shivering when I lay on the operation table.

Antonio noticed that something was off with me, but there wasn't a trace of regret in his eyes.

The effect of anesthesia kicked off, and I lost consciousness.

I woke up and was a little groggy and I heard the doctor speaking to Antonio.

"The surgery was a success. I've removed her womb and she can never be pregnant again."

Antonio let out a sigh of relief, but I couldn't hold back my tears, and they streamed down my face.

After the doctor left, I pretended that I had just woken up.

Antonio looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. He said in pain, "Honey, the doctor just told me that your condition was bad. During the surgery, there was a hemorrhage in your womb, so he had no choice but to remove it..."

Antonio covered his face in agony, as if it took all his strength to finish the sentences.

I would have been so touched and hugged him in tears if I heard this one day ago.

However, now, I only felt cold throughout my body. Now I knew that there were people in the world who could feign such deep affection for someone they didn't love at all.

"But it's OK. As long as we still have each other, everything is gonna be OK.

"If we can't have children, we can always adopt one. Don't worry, I'll never leave you."

Antonio dragged me into his arms, and at the same time, my tears streamed down.

I didn't know why I cried. Did I cry for myself or my late son?

After Antonio brought up this idea, he kept staring at me and was worried that I wouldn't agree.

"OK. Let's do it tomorrow. I'll go with you."

Antonio's face lit up with joy since I agreed with him.

But, it changed color when I said I wanted to go with him together.

I knew he was worried that I would find out that he was actually the baby's real father.

?On the pretext that I had just had surgery and should rest, he wanted me to stay. But I refused.

?I said that since I had just lost my son, I wanted to meet the kids at the charity house and that it would make me feel better.

Since I said so, he found it hard to refuse.

After he settled me down, he received a call from his assistant and said he had work to do.

I knew he was going to see Noemi. I smiled and watched him leave.

I followed him secretly.

Antonio twisted and turned through the corridors and finally entered a ward upstairs. Once he entered the room, a woman hugged him. I recognized her. It was Noemi.

?She threw herself shyly into Antonio's arms, and he clasped her back and gently tapped the tip of her nose.

"You said you were not feeling well. Why don't you stay in bed and rest?"

"I'm fine. I just need to see you."

Antonio didn't dwell on her lie and gently carried her to the bed.

"Is that Mrs. Kaufman in the room? Mr. Kaufman is so sweet to her," said a nurse in the corridor.

"It's so true. Mrs. Kaufman fell from the stairs and twisted her ankle. It was no big deal, but Mr. Kaufman summoned all the experts in the hospital to examine her," another one added.

"Wow, that's so considerate of him! She's such a lucky woman," they exclaimed.

I listened to the nurses' conversation and felt bitter inside.

I said to myself inwardly, "It's not lucky to be his wife."

I watched them hug each other inside the ward, and what they said made me feel even colder.

"Did you tell her about it? Did she agree?" she asked.

"She wants to visit the charity house tomorrow, and I'm worried that..." Antonio said.

"Don't be. Just bring our son to her, and I'll do the rest," she said again.

"Sure, I know you can handle it."

Antonio was peeling an apple for Noemi. I bet he had done this many times for her since he looked really good at it.

?It reminded me of the time I spent in the hospital before my baby was due. I had a bad appetite and wanted something sweet.

So, I asked him to peel an orange for me, but he refused me coldly.

"It's the caretakers' job. You should ask them to do it for you."

I thought he simply didn't like to do such trivial things. But now I knew, I was not the right person for him to do so.

"Antonio, you have no idea how much I missed you."

Noemi leaned against Antonio's chest, her hand touching his Adam's apple.

Slowly, they were getting intimate. He looked as if unable to suppress his desire for her and kissed her lips.

Leaving the door ajar, they began kissing each other passionately.

I pulled out my phone and recorded it.

I thought I would have no more illusions about him anymore, but my tears still streamed down.

After they started to undress each other, I couldn't bear to watch them anymore and ran away.

Till midnight, Antonio returned to my ward.

He printed his lips on my forehead as usual.

He brought me some soup and asked me to rest. The concern in his eyes made me confused.

Once I thought about what he had just done with her, I felt like throwing up.

Then he received a message and his face changed color.

"Did you cancel your account?"

"My bank account was locked since I didn't update my personal information on time, but I got lazy, so I simply canceled the account."

After I said so, Antonio didn't ask further.

He washed up and then lay down on the bed next to me and fell asleep.

I took his phone, which was charging. Back then, when we were still dating, he used my fingerprint to unlock his phone, so I could check it anytime.

But now, my fingerprint didn't work anymore. So, he had deleted it a long time ago.

After I made several attempts, I used Noemi's birthday to unlock it. He must be so confident that I would not check his phone that he would set such a pin.

I didn't find any evidence in his phone, thinking that they must be cautious and would only meet in person to get intimate. But then, I accidentally clicked on Twitter.

?It was a separate account that I had never seen before.

He started to update it 3 years ago, and it was all about his longing for his unforgettable love.

?On the day she got married, he posted a video clip of him getting drunk. People commented with deep sympathy under it.

?Then, 2 years ago, he began posting about his sweet life with Noemi, just as I was happily planning our wedding.

Antonio never missed Noemi's birthday parties, yet I could only receive gifts prepared by his assistant.

He traveled with her but kept declining my requests to do so, using the excuse of work.

?He could not wait for their baby to come into the world, yet repeatedly missed my prenatal checkups.

After reading his posts, I felt as if my heart was torn apart.

I was overwhelmed with pain but dared not make a sound to wake him, so I had to cover my mouth tightly with my hands.

I put his phone down, pulled the blanket over my head, and cried.

After we arrived at the charity house, Antonio introduced me to the child we were about to adopt passionately.

At first glance, I could tell that he resembled Antonio. His eyes and nose somehow took after his mom.

The director of the charity house told me that his name was Luca, who had just turned one year old.

Doing the math, I realized that Noemi and I got pregnant around the same time.

Luca wouldn't even look at me, but he would reach out to Antonio.

Antonio was a little embarrassed and explained that he had visited a few times before, which was why Luca was familiar with him.

"Well, in that case, just spend more time with him."

After those words left my mouth, Antonio hugged him eagerly, his eyes filled with such tenderness that I had never seen before.

This reminded me of when my son was born. I tried to get Antonio to hold him, but he refused, saying that he didn't know how to hold a baby properly.

Till my son passed away, Antonio only held him a few times.

My eyes turned red as I thought about my poor boy.

Antonio noticed the change in my expression and realized that I must be thinking about my son again.

He put Luca in front of me and looked at him lovingly.

"Honey, cheer up. From now on, Luca is our son."

In the end, we signed the papers and adopted Luca.

I was about to take Luca home, but Antonio looked unsettled and said that Sonia, his mom, wanted to see the kid too.

So we took Luca to Antonio's parents' house.

As I entered, I saw Noemi sitting on the couch with Sonia, chatting joyfully.

Sonia's face darkened as she saw me.

"Grace, what are you doing here?"

Sonia had always believed that I wasn't good enough for his son. Shortly after we got married, she had urged him many times to divorce me because I hadn't got pregnant.

?Each time, Antonio rejected his mom for various reasons, but not this time. I wonder if it was because of Noemi.

Towards Sonia's malice, Antonio chose to ignore it and simply pushed Luca in front of her.

"Oh, mine! Is this Luca? What a beautiful boy!"

She exclaimed with huge affection as she saw the toddler.

Perhaps, Sonia knew the existence of Luca all along.

"Mommy, hug me."

Luca reached out to Noemi.

"Grace, please don't get it wrong. I bet he just felt a connection with me, so he called me like that."

Noemi sounded as if she was explaining herself, but her eyes were filled with provocation.

"You don't need to explain yourself to her. She relies on my son yet is good for nothing. In my opinion, you're more suited to be Luca's mom and my daughter-in-law."

Sonia rolled her eyes at me and completely ignored my dignity in front of others.

I cast a pleading glance toward Antonio, but he was only focused on Luca affectionately.

I was desperate and my heart shattered. I knew it was time for me to leave.

I found an excuse to leave and took a deep glance at Antonio one last time.

Then, I returned home where we had spent 3 years together. After I finished packing, I noticed that it only took 1 suitcase to pack everything I needed.

For the rest of my things, I burned them all. I was leaving for good, so I shouldn't leave anything behind.

Antonio told me that he would spend the next few days with Luca at his parents' house to help him get comfortable with the new environment.

It was fine with me. That way, I could get everything settled before I left.

I went to a law firm to consult about divorce matters and put the divorce agreement on the coffee table.

I also canceled some of my documents. The staff suggested not to do so because it would be hard for me to get them reissued. But, I didn't hesitate, because I knew I would never come back again.

After I handled everything, I got on a plane heading abroad.

This time, I was determined to leave.