Elisabeth Aurelie sat on the edge of the bed, her tears not yet dry after losing her baby. The front of her nightdress was soaked because her breast milk was still flowing heavily.
"Ahh… why is my milk still coming out…? My baby is already gone. If only you had survived…" Elsa whispered painfully in her heart.
Her mind suddenly drifted back to what happened yesterday.
Flashback
"William will definitely be happy if I come to his official residence. We haven't seen each other for two months," Elisabeth murmured with a soft smile.
Her brown hair was neatly braided, and her hazel eyes sparkled with excitement.
She carried a small cake box while stepping out of a taxi.
"Happy second anniversary, my husband. He'll be so happy if I surprise him like this," she said cheerfully to herself.
Elisabeth took out her spare key and unlocked the door.
She quietly stepped into the official residence provided for her husband, a city official.
"Huh? Why is it so quiet? Where is William?" she wondered, glancing around the living room.
She walked further inside.
Suddenly her steps stopped.
On the floor she saw a man's shirt and trousers scattered carelessly.
Those were William's clothes.
But beside them…
There was also a woman's dress… and lingerie.
Elisabeth frowned deeply.
"Whose clothes are these…? Why are they here, in William's residence?" she muttered, her chest tightening.
Her heart began to beat faster.
Step by step she walked toward the master bedroom.
The door was slightly open.
From inside, she heard faint sounds breathing, soft moans, the creaking of the bed.
Her hand slowly pushed the door open.
The moment she looked inside
Her eyes widened in shock.
Her heart pounded violently.
On the bed, her husband… and her best friend… were naked together, tangled in each other's arms.
The cake slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.
So did her tears.
"William…? Angelica…?" Elisabeth's voice trembled.
"What… what are you doing?!"
William immediately froze.
"Elisabeth?!"
He quickly got off Angelica's body and grabbed the blanket.
"Elisabeth, wait! Please listen to me!" William shouted nervously as he rushed after her.
But Elisabeth had already turned away, her body shaking with rage and heartbreak.
"Listen to you?" she snapped, her eyes burning with tears.
"You want me to listen after what I just saw?"
"It's not what you think!" William said desperately.
Elisabeth let out a bitter laugh.
"Not what I think?" she repeated slowly.
"Do you think I'm blind, William? Or deaf? I saw everything with my own eyes!"
William opened his mouth, struggling for words.
"I… I…"
"You what?" Elisabeth cut him off sharply.
"Say it! Are you going to say it was a mistake? That it 'just happened'?"
William lowered his head.
Elisabeth turned to Angelica, her eyes filled with betrayal.
"And you…" she said coldly.
Angelica avoided her gaze.
"I trusted you," Elisabeth continued, her voice trembling.
"I helped you. I gave you a job as my husband's assistant because you said you wanted to hide from your abusive boyfriend."
Her fists clenched tightly.
"I defended you. I believed you were my best friend."
Angelica remained silent.
"And this is how you repay me?" Elisabeth's voice rose.
"You stab me in the back? You steal my husband and sleep with him in the house I trusted you with?"
Tears streamed down her face.
"Angelica… you're even lower than a dog."
"Enough, Elisabeth. Stop blaming Angelica. This is all your fault," William said coldly.
"My fault?" Elisabeth stared at him in disbelief. "How can you blame me when you're the one cheating, William?"
William let out a scoff.
"Ever since you got pregnant, you've lost all your charm. I don't feel any desire anymore," he said bluntly. "Luckily Angelica was willing to replace you and keep me satisfied.Honestly, you should be grateful. I'm not even calling this an affair… we're just having fun."
Elisabeth's face turned pale with anger.
"Are you insane, William?!" she cried. "I'm carrying your child, and you're sleeping with my best friend. And you call that 'fun'? Where is your conscience?!"
Angelica slowly walked out of the bedroom, wrapping the blanket around her body.
"You should be grateful, Elisabeth," Angelica said with a faint smirk. "At least someone is taking care of your husband."
Elisabeth clenched her fists, her whole body trembling.
"What the two of you did is unforgivable," she said firmly. "I want a divorce."
William's expression instantly hardened.
"A divorce?" he repeated dangerously. "You think you can divorce me just like that? You're carrying my child right now. Don't even think about leaving."
He grabbed Elisabeth's shirt roughly.
"Let go of me!" Elisabeth shouted, struggling. "Let go! I'm disgusted by you, William!"
She pushed him with all her strength.
William lost his balance and fell to the floor.
"William!" Angelica rushed to him and helped him up. "Are you okay?"
William glared at Elisabeth with burning anger.
"See that, Angelica?" he sneered. "You're gentle and understanding, unlike her."
He pointed at Elisabeth with contempt.
"If our parents hadn't arranged this marriage, I would never have married you."
Elisabeth laughed bitterly.
"Good. Because I never wanted to marry you either," she shot back. "I'll tell your parents everything how their perfect son cheated on me."
She turned to leave.
But suddenly William grabbed her wrist.
"How dare you, Elsa!" he growled. "Do you want me to lose my inheritance?!"
In his rage, he shoved her hard.
Elisabeth stumbled backward.
Suddenly a sharp pain twisted in her stomach.
"Ahh…!" she gasped.
Her hands clutched her belly as warm liquid began to run down her legs.
Blood.
Her water had broken.
"William… Angelica…" Elisabeth cried weakly, panic filling her voice. "Please… help me. My stomach… it hurts… I'm bleeding…"
William frowned, looking annoyed rather than worried.
"You're joking, right?" he said dismissively. "Stop pretending. Nothing happened to you."
"Ahh… please… it hurts…" Elisabeth cried again, her body shaking.
Angelica crossed her arms, watching coldly.
"She's probably just trying to get your attention," Angelica muttered quietly.
William suddenly crouched down when he noticed something.
"Angelica… there's blood… there's blood coming from her thighs!" William said in panic.
Angelica's eyes widened as she looked closer.
"Wait… her water might have broken," Angelica said quickly. "Elisabeth is already nine months pregnant!"
William ran a hand through his hair nervously.
"What should we do now?!" he asked, his voice shaking.
"Take her to the hospital. Now!" Angelica snapped. "Hurry!"
"Go start the car. I'll carry her," William said quickly, bending down to lift Elisabeth. "If something happens to that baby, my inheritance could be gone!"
Elisabeth weakly opened her eyes as William carried her.
"So… you're only helping me because of the inheritance…?" she murmured weakly. "Not because your wife's life is in danger…?"
William frowned impatiently.
"Stop being dramatic," he said coldly.
He placed her roughly in the back seat of the car.
Angelica had already run outside, grabbing the car keys. The engine roared to life.
"Hurry up!" William shouted as he got into the car. "Drive faster, Gel!"
"I'm already speeding!" Angelica replied from the driver's seat. "Just relax!"
Elisabeth groaned softly, clutching her stomach.
"Ahh… it hurts… it really hurts…"
"Be quiet," William snapped. "Don't exaggerate. We're already on the way to the hospital."
The car screeched to a stop in front of the Emergency Department (ER).
William quickly got out and lifted Elisabeth from the back seat.
"Take her inside! I'll park the car," Angelica said hurriedly from the driver's seat.
William carried Elisabeth toward the emergency entrance.
"Doctor! Nurse! Please help!" William shouted loudly.
"My wife is about to give birth!"
Several nurses immediately rushed over with a stretcher.
"Sir, put her here," one nurse said quickly.
William carefully laid Elisabeth on the stretcher.
"It hurts… my stomach… please help my baby…" Elisabeth cried weakly, clutching her belly.
"Ma'am, try to stay calm. We're taking you to the emergency obstetric room," the nurse said gently.
The nurses quickly pushed the stretcher toward the ER doors.
"Sir, please wait outside," another nurse said firmly, stopping William at the entrance.
"But doctor ."
"Please wait outside. The medical team will handle it."
The ER doors closed.
Inside the emergency room, the doctors and nurses immediately examined Elisabeth.
"Doctor, patient female, approximately 27 years old," a nurse reported quickly.
"Pregnancy around 39 weeks. Patient arrived with heavy bleeding and ruptured membranes."
The doctor checked Elisabeth's condition and listened to the fetal heartbeat using a Doppler.
"Fetal heart rate?" the doctor asked.
The nurse frowned.
"I can't detect the heartbeat, Doctor."
"Check again. Use the ultrasound," the doctor said seriously.
A portable ultrasound was quickly brought in.
The room fell silent as the doctor examined the screen.
After a moment, the doctor sighed heavily.
"There's no fetal cardiac activity," he said quietly.
"The fetus has no heartbeat."
The nurse looked shocked.
"Doctor… could it be intrauterine fetal demise?"
The doctor nodded slowly.
"The amniotic fluid appears contaminated. There are signs of severe infection and prolonged rupture of membranes," he explained.
"The toxins likely caused fetal distress and death."
Elisabeth weakly turned her head.
"My… baby…" she whispered with trembling lips. "Is my baby okay…?"
The doctor looked at her with sympathy.
"Ma'am, please stay strong. We still need to treat you first," he said gently.
Some time later, the doctor came out of the ER to meet William.
William immediately stood up.
"Doctor, how is my wife? And the baby?" he asked quickly.
The doctor removed his mask and looked at him seriously.
"Sir… I'm very sorry," he said.
William frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Your baby has been declared deceased," the doctor explained carefully.
"The cause appears to be complications from prolonged rupture of membranes that led to infection in the amniotic fluid, which poisoned the fetus."
William froze.
"The baby could not be saved."
Flashback ended.
Elisabeth was still sitting on the bed. Her eyes were swollen, her breathing heavy. Her chest still ached every time she remembered the cry that her baby never had the chance to make.
The bedroom door opened.
William walked in with a flat expression, as if nothing had happened.
He approached the bed and looked at Elisabeth coldly.
"Enough. Stop pretending to cry," he said with a sneer.
"You're actually happy, aren't you? Our child is dead."
Elisabeth slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were red with anger.
"What did you just say?" her voice trembled.
"I just lost my baby… and you dare to say I'm happy?"
William crossed his arms over his chest.
"If you hadn't caused a scene yesterday and asked for a divorce, none of this would have happened," he said coldly.
"Our child wouldn't have died."
Elisabeth stared at him in disbelief.
"So now you're blaming me?" she said softly, but her words were sharp.
"You were the one cheating… you were the one who pushed me… and now you blame me for our baby's death?"
William scoffed impatiently.
"If you hadn't started the problem, I wouldn't have lost my temper," he replied.
"This happened because you're too stubborn."
Elisabeth let out a bitter laugh as tears streamed down her face again.
"You really have no heart, William."
She looked at her husband with a cold gaze.
"Answer me one thing."
William frowned.
"What now?"
Elisabeth looked straight into his eyes.
"Are you truly sad because our baby died…" her voice shook,
"…or are you just angry because you failed to get your family's inheritance?"
William fell silent for a few seconds.
Seeing his reaction, Elisabeth smiled bitterly.
"Answer me, William," she said quietly, but her words cut deep.
"Are you mourning your child… or the inheritance you failed to get?"