Chapter 1

While packing my bags to head back to the city, a document fell out of my wife's bag.

That was how I found out she had secretly applied to stay with the rural medical team permanently.

All of this was for the sake of her first love.

Ever since they crossed paths at the clinic a while ago, she had become incredibly cold toward me.

She even used the excuse of being unwell to secretly deal with the baby I had been longing for.

While I was busy processing our paperwork to return to the city, she had already rented a house in the village and swapped her supplies.

She said her goodbyes and exchanged gifts with every colleague who came here with us.

The only person she didn't tell about her plan to stay behind was me.

On the morning of the departure, I walked out with only my own suitcase, ignoring her bewildered expression.

She looked at me in total shock, her eyes searching mine as if asking how I knew she was staying.

I didn't give her a word. I simply handed her the divorce papers along with a promotion list that had her first love's name on it.

...

"Silas! Your wife fell down the south slope! She's covered in blood, get over there now!"

The Chief's shout made the spoon in my hand clatter onto the stove.

She actually did it. She had personally gotten rid of our child.

The pain in my heart was so intense it went numb.

The Chief looked at my stunned face, sighed in frustration, and dragged me toward the south slope.

Blood stained her blue denim jacket, and Lillian's face was deathly pale.

Yet, I couldn't find a single ounce of pity in my heart.

The only thing that stung my eyes was the deep crimson soaking into the yellow dirt beneath her.

"Silas... our baby..."

As soon as she spoke, tears began to fall.

She looked so broken, as if this hadn't been her own deliberate choice.

I didn't offer a single word of comfort.

I just knelt beside her calmly and checked her pulse.

A part of me was still desperate. I hoped the child might be strong enough to survive.

But in the end, there was only disappointment. I couldn't feel a trace of the life that had been there.

"Chief, please use the tractor to take Lillian to the town hospital."

Seeing that I hadn't said a word to her, Lillian's tears fell even faster out of perceived grievance.

She reached out and grabbed the corner of my jacket. "Silas, are you blaming me for not taking care of our baby?"

I let out a cold laugh, my hands clenched so tight they shook as I looked at her frowning face.

It wasn't blame. It was hate.

I had waited for this child for so long.

I thought I would be taking the woman I loved and our child back to a home that belonged to us.

I told myself I had been happy all these years.

Now I realize it was all just a pathetic delusion.

"No. Right now, your health is the priority. We can talk about other things later."

"I really didn't mean it. Please don't be angry, okay?"

Lillian's humble, pained act was more than the Chief could stand.

He punched me lightly on the shoulder, signaling for me to wrap her in a blanket.

I did it, but with zero warmth in my heart.

The moment we reached the hospital, she was rushed into the emergency room.

Looking at the dried blood on my hands, I let out a bitter laugh.

Did she really think saying she was sorry or that she didn't mean it would earn my forgiveness?

A while back, when she was gagging during dinner, I knew she was pregnant.

To make sure both she and the baby were okay, I suggested going for a check-up.

Lillian had jumped up aggressively and thrown a pack of sanitary pads at my face.

"Silas, have you gone crazy wanting a kid? I'm on my period, how could I be pregnant?"

She even punched her own stomach twice to prove her point.

I had rushed forward to stop her, terrified she might hurt herself.

I thought she just wasn't ready to be a mother yet and decided to wait until she was comfortable before bringing it up again.

But last night, I found those permanent residency papers in her bag.

Only then did I realize she refused to admit the pregnancy because she didn't want me or the baby to be her burden.

I spent the whole night tossing and turning, wondering if there was some misunderstanding.

This morning, I decided to go to the village office to confirm things.

At the bend in the road, I ran into a local woman who waved at me from a distance.

During our chat, I found out that while I was busy with the relocation paperwork, Lillian had already rented a house.

She had even given out farewell gifts and had a private dinner to celebrate staying behind.

I don't even remember how I walked back. My head was filled with what I was going to say to her.

But before I could speak, she severed our last connection herself.

Tears blurred my vision, and a wave of agony washed over me.

Just as I was about to punch the wall in rage, the doctor walked out.

"The baby was already gone by the time she arrived. The mother needs a lot of rest, or it might be hard for her to conceive again."

Hearing the confirmation that the child was gone made me stumble back.

That baby could have seen the world. He wouldn't have had to suffer.

Everything was supposed to get better, but because Dominic showed up, my happiness turned into a shadow.

Since she loves Dominic so much that she's willing to trash her own body for him, why should I keep trying?

I pulled the paperwork for her return to the city out of my pocket and tore it into pieces.