"The child is mine. It has nothing to do with you."
Gu Liang's words echoed in Emma's mind like a curse. Each syllable carried icy barbs, scraping against her already frayed nerves.
Nothing to do with her? How could that be possible?
This was her blood. Her Alpha instincts screamed to protect it. The bond forged by the mark had never felt so vivid, so visceral— Because of the fragile life growing inside Gu Liang.
She could almost feel it— That faint but resilient presence in his womb.
This primal tremor clashed violently with Gu Liang's cold severance. It tore her apart.
The days that followed were hell.
She couldn't stop watching him. His slim waist, now hidden beneath looser clothes. The subtle furrow of his brow when nausea hit. The unconscious way he shielded his belly with his hand.
Each detail stabbed her. A reminder of the child. And of Gu Liang's rejection.
She tried to talk to him.
One evening, after dinner, as he stood to leave, she called out.
"Gu Liang… can we talk about the baby?" Her voice was dry, laced with a caution she didn't even notice.
He paused. Didn't turn around. His voice was cold.
"There's nothing to talk about."
"That's my child!" Her voice cracked, rising with emotion. "I have the right to know! To be involved—"
"Right?" Gu Liang turned sharply. His eyes were blades.
"You want to talk about rights, Emma? Did you ever exercise any responsible rights toward me? Toward this child?"
His words doused her fragile courage like ice water.
"I…" She faltered. Pale.
"When you lost control during rut, did you think about responsibility?" He stepped closer. His gaze dissected her.
"When you planned the breakup, when you got bored—did you imagine this outcome? When you signed that marriage contract, plotting how to cheat and hurt me—did you think about this child?"
Each question was a hammer. Pounding her deepest wounds.
"And now, because of a life you never expected, you suddenly want to claim your 'rights'?" His lips curled into a cruel smile.
"Emma, don't you find that laughable?"
She backed away until her spine hit the cold wall. No escape.
His white tea scent surged—sharp, suffocating.
"I will carry this child," Gu Liang said, voice clear and cold. "I will raise him. And you— You will continue playing your role as President Ai and the child's nominal father. Maintain appearances. Protect your company. Beyond that, I don't need you. And I won't allow you to interfere."
It wasn't a negotiation. It was a sentence.
"Why?!" Emma finally screamed. Her eyes bloodshot, voice trembling.
"Gu Liang! Even if I was wrong—even if I deserve punishment—this child is innocent! He needs a complete family! You need… you need an Alpha by your side!"
The last words spilled out— That ridiculous, instinctive Alpha protectiveness.
Gu Liang's eyes froze. Even the sarcasm vanished. Only pure, merciless indifference remained.
"Need?" He repeated the word softly. Like it was the world's funniest joke.
He leaned in, lips near her ear. His voice was gentle— And lethal.
"Emma, spare me your Alpha supremacy. I don't need an Alpha. Never did. Never will."
"As for this child…" His gaze flicked to her abdomen. His tone was final.
"He will have the best life. The best education. Everything he needs—I will give him. The only thing he doesn't need— Is a 'father' like you."
A father like you.
The words fell like a guillotine. Severing her last thread of hope.
She stared at his face— Cold. Unyielding. Filled with disgust.
Despair crashed over her. She opened her mouth— But no words came.
In the fortress Gu Liang had built— Forged from hatred and ice— Her efforts, her struggles, Were laughable. Futile.
He straightened. Didn't look at her again. As if even one glance would taint him.
"Remember what I said." His final warning.
Then he turned. Walked away.
Click.
The lock sounded like a tomb sealing shut. Burying Emma— And the fragile, chaotic sense of responsibility she'd just begun to feel.
She slid down the wall. Curled into herself. Her shoulders trembled.
Not crying. Something deeper. A despair too heavy for tears.
She had lost.
Love. Dignity. Freedom.
Now even her most basic, instinctive right as an Alpha— As the child's biological parent— Had been stripped away.
In this marriage born of hatred, In the face of this unexpected child, She was nothing but an unwanted outsider.
Despair blanketed her world like eternal night.
And she didn't know—
Inside the locked room, Gu Liang leaned against the door. One hand pressed tightly to his belly. His face pale. Sweat beading on his forehead.
That confrontation had drained him.
He closed his eyes. Inhaled deeply. His other hand clenched into a fist— Nails digging into his palm.
No softness.No mercy.
Any softness toward her Would be cruelty To himself. To the life inside him.
The wall had to be cold. Had to be strong.
Only then
Could he protect
What mattered most.