"Madam, please don't be too discouraged. Your situation is not too serious. The ability to conceive is closely related to one's emotional state. Please keep a positive attitude and cooperate with the treatment. I believe you will have a healthy baby."
It was the hottest season in LA, but Emily Carter, just out of the hospital, felt like she was enveloped in a chill as if a cold breeze had swept over her, causing her body to uncontrollably shiver.
Her Mother-in-law, Carol, stood at the hospital entrance, grabbed Emily's hand as soon as she saw her, and snatched the health report from her, murmuring incessantly, "Let me see. How can someone be married for so many years without having a child?"
Emily instinctively tried to snatch the report back.
But Carol pushed her away, disregarding Emily's pale face, and opened the report right there on the street.
Emily staggered back, almost falling. The recent stress had taken a toll on her, and she realized that she hadn't drunk water for a long time. The scorching summer sun made her feel dizzy for a moment.
Carol continued muttering, but Emily couldn't hear her for a moment.
"Look! This is your problem! You can't conceive at all," Carol shouted, pulling Emily back from her dizziness.
"I..." Emily felt too weak to argue with her anymore. She just wanted to go home.
Carol frowned at the words "blocked fallopian tubes" on the report, her face darkening as if she had just returned from hell.
"What else do you have to say? The hospital diagnosis gives you less than a 20% chance of getting pregnant!" Carol's anger grew stronger.
Emily shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She knew Carol had always disliked her because she had been married to Nathan for four years without getting pregnant. No, Carol had disliked her from the first day she married Nathan.
People passing by heard Carol's voice and looked at them. Emily felt like a clown.
Nathan Reed was the only heir of the famous Reed family in LA. Emily understood Carol's desire for a boy to inherit the family fortune, and since their marriage wasn't based on love, she had been silently enduring it.
"Carol," Emily tried to remain patient, "let's go home first."
"That's the Reed family's mansion, not your home. Get it straight! You're not worthy!"
Emily frowned. "Regardless, Nathan and I are legally married. You can't change that fact..."
"I can't change it? You'd better divorce Nathan right away! Don't think I don't know what you're planning. Let me tell you, you won't take anything from our family's fortune!"
More and more people gathered around, and the scorching weather and sharp looks around made her increasingly embarrassed.
Emily took a deep breath, feeling hopeless and helpless.
If she had known it would be like this, perhaps she wouldn't have agreed to marry Nathan in the first place.
She was just an ordinary girl, originally with no chance of meeting a billionaire like Nathan. But Emily's grandfather and Nathan's grandfather had been friends, and her grandfather had even saved Nathan's grandfather. Later, Emily's family declined, and Emily could only live in the slums. To take care of poor Emily, Nathan's grandfather asked Nathan to marry her before he died.
Nathan was initially unwilling. Which eligible bachelor would marry an ordinary girl like Emily? But seeing his grandfather weak in the hospital, he agreed.
This year marked their fourth year of marriage. In these four years, Nathan hadn't bullied her, but he hadn't been very enthusiastic either. Their relationship was only slightly better than that of strangers, and it couldn't even be considered friendship. Nathan's circle of friends was completely different from hers, and she didn't expect Nathan to understand her or to resist Carol for her. She just didn't expect that this marriage would end up in such a deadlock.
"Carol, our marriage was decided by our grandfathers..."
"He's dead, isn't he? Emily, do you think you can be Mrs. Reed forever?"
Carol's tone grew louder. Just as Emily thought she was about to start another round of rebuke, Carol suddenly put on a smiling face and pointed to a couple embracing not far away, saying to her, "See that? Someone is giving birth to an heir for our family. I suggest you give up the position of Mrs. Reed quickly. Someone else is more suitable for it than you."
Following Carol's gesture, Emily's gaze fell on her husband Nathan, who was tenderly holding a pregnant woman with a slightly protruding belly in his arms, lowering his head affectionately. The woman whispered something in his ear, and Nathan smiled gently, kissing her forehead.
She had never seen Nathan smile so tenderly at herself.
Her gaze fell on the pregnant woman in Nathan's arms, and a strange sense of familiarity swept over her.
The pregnant woman was no stranger; it was her cousin, Sophia.
Shock, anger, disbelief. Multiple emotions flooded her mind, and Emily almost couldn't believe her eyes.
Sophia noticed her gaze, and she slowly walked to Emily, stroking her belly and said happily, "Emily, my cousin, I'm pregnant with Nathan's child. We just had a check-up, and the doctor said the baby is very healthy. Guess if it's a boy or a girl?"
Emily looked at her already pregnant belly, trembling, unable to speak complete words. "How could you... He's your brother-in-law! How could you do this to me? How could you seduce your own brother-in-law?"
Emily instinctively raised her hand to slap her, but her hand was grabbed in mid-air.
Nathan, with a stern face, seized her hand and pushed her away forcefully. Stepping forward, he shielded Sophia behind him and said in a low voice, "Emily, you've seen it. We're getting divorced."
Emily closed her eyes, overwhelmed with exhaustion and powerlessness. "When did you two get together? As your wife, I still have the right to know."
"You dare to ask? Let me tell you, Emily, you have no right to interfere in our family's affairs, let alone Nathan!" Carol was extremely arrogant at this moment.
Emily felt suffocated, and she growled lowly, "I am Nathan's wife. My husband cheated, and I have the right to know, don't I?"
"You, with your background living in the slums, dare to think you can be the wife of the Reed family? Nathan's grandfather was confused, but I am not!"
More and more people gathered around, as if watching a real-life drama show.
She never imagined that one day she would be the protagonist of such a farce.
Sophia looked guilty, leaning softly against Nathan's chest, saying softly, "Carol, don't blame Emily. It's my fault. I... I just love Nathan so much."
Carol took Sophia's hand and smiled, "Sophia, you're different from her. You're cultured, and now you're carrying the heir of the Reed family. You're my recognized daughter-in-law."
Emily closed her eyes, hoping this was just a hallucination brought on by exhaustion.
"Sophia, I've always taken care of you. Since you came to this city to attend university, I've treated you like family! I helped you get into Nathan's company." Emily couldn't control her tears anymore. "How could you do this to me?"
"Emily," Nathan spoke up, stepping forward and shielding Sophia behind him with a firm stance, "Sophia is now my woman. If you're angry, you can talk to me about it."
Angry?
What anger could she have?
For four years, she had endured all the grievances alone, turning all her anger into pleasing. She had been trying hard to build a good relationship with Nathan and Carol, even treating the maid well. What more could she say now?
At first, she was excited to marry Nathan. She likes him. She wanted to be a good wife, take care of her husband, and have a cute child. What was wrong with that?
She didn't have any relatives. She thought she had gained new family members after getting married, but her marriage was ruined by her cousin.
Her heart felt like it was being torn apart by an invisible hand, making her unable to stand up straight from the pain.
"Go home. Don't make a fool of yourself on the street," Nathan, a famous billionaire in LA, didn't want to be recognized on the street by others.
But when Emily's hand grasped the car door handle, Nathan said, "Take a taxi, don't take this car. Sophia will sit in this car."
It's a car with four seats. He drove, Carol sat in the passenger seat, and Sophia sat alone in the back seat, apologizing with a smile, "Sorry, Emily. Nathan is just too worried about this child..."
She smiled bitterly and closed the car door.
The root of all this was because she couldn't have a child.
Nathan drove away in a black Bugatti, leaving her alone standing at the hospital entrance, pointed and talked about by passers-by.
She was Nathan's nominal wife, but also a family member not recognized by the Reed family.
