After Jim Upton went bankrupt, everyone started kicking him when he was down.

His first love married someone else, and for just 150 dollars, Jim was forced to kneel and bark like a dog.

His own friend said he would give Jim some money for hospital bills if he crawled under his crotch.

Just when everyone thought he had hit rock bottom, I was the one who pulled him out of hell.

I used all my savings to pay off his debts, lived with him in a cockroach-infested basement, and stuck by him through his comeback.

I even stayed in the hospital day and night to take care of his parents, getting so worn out that I suffered a miscarriage.

However, in the third year after he had made it big, Jim brought his first love, Sadie Henderson, back to his villa and showed her off in front of everyone.

He told me, "Sadie's pregnant, but her husband is abusive.

"So, she's going to live here from now on.

"You are good at taking care of others, so you'll be the one taking care of Sadie. I don't trust anyone else."

I burst into tears.

When he looked at me, all I saw was irritation.

"It's just for now. Who do you think you are?

"I'm not cheating on you anyway, so don't be so petty."

I did not tell him I had overheard his mother in the room a few days ago, telling Sadie to take good care of the pregnancy and her grandson.

His whole family treated me like a fool.

However, I didn't want to be that fool anymore.

And I didn't want the baby inside me anymore.

***

When I was packing my bags to leave, Jim completely lost it.

He threw me to the ground, and the sharp pain in my knees hit me hard, but the first thing I thought of was the baby in my belly.

Jim had no idea that I was pregnant.

I only felt a bit of relief when I noticed my abdomen rising and falling steadily, without pain.

"Hayley Bronson, are you out of your mind?

"You can take care of me, but not Sadie?"

The servant stood by the door and watched like it was entertainment. They were holding the blueberries Jim had specially asked to be washed for Sadie.

Not just the servants, honestly, I felt like a joke myself.

"Jim, what do you even see me as?

"A free ride who let you sleep with her and gave you money when you were drowning in debt?

"A stand-in nanny who took care of your parents in the hospital more attentively than you ever did?

"Someone who pushed herself so hard for your comeback that it cost her a child?"

Jim frowned, clearly not getting what I was even questioning him about.

He looked irritated.

"Can't you just take care of her for three months? Her pregnancy is a little unstable early on. It's just three months, isn't it?"

I stared at the man I once loved deeply, and let out a bitter laugh.

"Just three months?

"Last time at the office, you made me apologize to Sadie in front of all your staff because I didn't pick out her food for her. You even made me shine her shoes as an apology.

"You said it was just one apology.

"But I said it again and again, and who knows how many more.

"Jim, compromising like this really sucks.

"There are so many servants in this house. Once I'm gone, you can hire as many as you want to wait on your precious first love."

I slumped to the floor, completely drained.

I just want my baby to be taken away safely and without making a scene.

Right then, Sadie waddled over, holding her belly. The servants all stepped aside for her like she owned the place.

"Jim, how could you let Hayley sit on the floor? What if she catches a cold?"

Sadie scolded, acting all righteous.

Jim immediately rushed to help her sit on the bed, even tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as if he had done it a thousand times before.

He did not even glance at me.

It was like the past three brutal years never happened. It was as if Sadie was the one who stuck with him through all of it and not me.

Then came his calm, almost casual words.

"It's fine. She's healthy so she can handle a bit of cold. But you're newly pregnant. The windows are open. Can't have you catching a chill."

Hearing that made my chest ache.

Jim forgot how I used to load cargo every night till dawn just to help pay off his debts. Forgot how I ran myself ragged taking care of his parents until I lost my baby.

Cold is the thing I fear most now. Even in the heat of summer, I never dare to wear anything that exposes my skin.

The servants were whispering behind my back, and I could see their mocking smiles.

I pushed myself up with my elbows and silently continued packing.

Jim stepped forward, grabbing my arm, his voice tired but firm.

"Hayley, come on. If you leave now, you'll walk away with nothing."

I looked at him, calm as ever, and nodded.

"Good."

Jim snapped—his rage boiling over.

"Will it kill you to take care of Sadie for a bit? You didn't have a problem fawning over my parents! When did you become so unreasonable?

"Three years ago, you promised you'd help me with anything!"

I dug my nails into my palms, holding in the storm inside me for a few seconds. Then, I suddenly grabbed the cup from the table and hurled it to the ground.

"I regret it!

"Jim, I regret everything! Do you hear me?"

He always had a bad temper. After the bankruptcy, the golden boy turned bitter and broke, drowning himself in alcohol every day.

To keep him from spiraling, I used to hold him after work and tell him stories just so he would not have nightmares.

When debt collectors came knocking, even if I was splashed with chicken blood, I would stand in front of him and tell him that as long as he was still Jim Upton, I would stand by him.

Even when he looked at me in disgust.

I still smiled and said, "At least the blood didn't get on you."

The cup shattered into jagged pieces, and pain burned along my calves where shards had landed.

At that moment, Sadie suddenly clutched her stomach and howled in pain.

Jim froze, panic written all over his face as cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Call the doctor, now!" he shouted.

After a quick check, the doctor said it looked like she was just startled. Jim let out a shaky breath and immediately turned that panic into anger and aimed it at me.

"Hayley, I don't care what your problem is, but Sadie is pregnant. What if something happened to her because of you?

"You know what you need to do, right?"

I let out a cold laugh.

"Oh, I know exactly what I should do."

Just like that time, my project got shut down for no reason. When I went to confront Sadie about it, she burst into tears and said she was scared.

And what did Jim do? Made me take off my work badge in front of the entire company, apologize to her, and get out of the building like I was garbage.

Fine.

I bent down, zipped my suitcase, and looked up at him calmly.

"I'll leave. I won't get in your way again."

However, something in my calm must have unsettled him because his eyes darkened.

"You think that's enough?

"Take her to the ice cellar. Let her cool off."

I panicked and tried to run, but three maids grabbed me, yanked my hair, and shoved me down in front of Jim.

My mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood. My whole body trembled with humiliation and despair.

"Jim, I'm not going to the ice cellar! Why are you doing this to me?"

That broke something in Jim. He hesitated for a second and reached out like he was going to fix my hair, but Sadie's face shifted.

"Jim, don't be mad at Ms. Bronson She just wants to leave. I'm fine, it was just a stomachache," she said gently.

Jim's face darkened.

"Hayley, quit the theatrics."

At his signal, the maids began to drag me again.

I clutched my stomach, terrified, and blurted out, "I'm pregnant. Jim, I'm pregnant!"

Jim just looked at me like I was being ridiculous, like I was making a scene for no reason, while I was being dragged farther and farther away.

And as I was sinking into despair, I saw him gently patting Sadie's back to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Sadie," he said softly. "Hayley's been with me for three years. I know what she can handle. I'm doing this so she won't dare come at you again."

I shut my eyes and a single tear slid down.

"Unbelievable.

"Jim, you're truly the worst."

I was locked in the ice cellar for three full days and nights.

When I finally came out, my eyelashes were frosted over, my fingers and toes were numb and bluish, and my whole body felt disconnected from reality.

Jim's rage had clearly passed by then, and for once, there was a flash of pity in his eyes.

As the maid draped a blanket over me, she accidentally tugged on my hair. I let out a soft hiss and immediately heard Jim snap.

"Can't you be more careful?" he barked.

"Where's the doctor? Why isn't he here yet?"

The maid fumbled, "The doctor's with Ms. Henderson. She's been coughing since she caught a cold three days ago."

She hesitated. "Sir, should I call him over?"

As soon as Sadie's name was mentioned, Jim went quiet.

After a long pause, he finally said, "No need. Hayley, Sadie's pregnant, so don't take the doctor away from her."

I looked at him, numb and blank.

"Okay," I said flatly. "I won't compete with her for anything."

Inside my heart, I added, "I will not compete with her for you."

Maybe my face looked too calm and too numb, which made Jim uncomfortable for a moment.

"You're pretty obedient now. Looks like the ice cellar really taught you something."

"Sadie has to watch her diet in her first trimester. She cannot take meds either, so you need to keep an eye on her at home."

There was even a hint of smugness in his voice.

"Take care of Sadie the way you took care of my parents these last three years. Got it?"

His casual arrogance made me feel physically ill.

So Jim was not blind, he was just unbelievably ungrateful.

Was he seriously referring to the three years I spent helping his half-paralyzed parents with everything?

Did he know how those "kind" parents of his would scold me like garbage right to my face?

Or how they made me serve them on my knees in front of guests?

Did he know they used to urinate on my clothes just to humiliate me?

No, it didn't matter anymore.

Jim, I don't want to love you anymore.

I closed my eyes, utterly drained. My head was still foggy from the cold, and out of habit, I gently placed my hand over my belly.

I whispered to myself, "Just rest.

"Once I have rested enough, I'm walking away for good, Jim."

Somewhere in the background, I heard Sadie's voice, soft and syrupy.

She sounded so pleased, almost giggling.

"Jim, I think I felt the baby kick. Touch it. Come feel it.

"Jim, are you happy that I'm pregnant?"

It took a while before I heard Jim's slow and calm voice.

"If you're happy, Sadie, then I'm happy too."

And with that, everything went dark.

In the haze of unconsciousness, I had a dream. The child in my belly showed up in my dream, shivering and crying, "It's so cold. Why doesn't Daddy like me?"

I stood there in silence for a long time before finally whispering, "It's not that he doesn't like you...

"It's that he hates your mom. He hates her so much that anything that comes from her—whether it's love, money, or even life—is worthless in his eyes.

"But Mom changed her mind.

"Mom chose not to bring you into this world."

After I got out of the ice cellar, I came down with an illness that kept me bedridden for nearly two weeks.

Sadie casually mentioned it to Jim, saying she was worried I might pass on something contagious. Just like that, he moved me into the coldest, most remote utility room in the entire villa.

The servants, always quick to take sides, did not hesitate to follow her lead. While I was burning up with fever, they took away my quilt just because Sadie said so.

That room was damp and dark, and the cold wind seeped through the cracks in the window, making every bone in my body ache.

I was curled up, shivering, when Sadie strutted in.

Wrapped in thick fur and dressed to perfection, she did not bother hiding her true self this time as Jim was not around.

"Hayley, you're going to be a mom soon. How are you still this fragile?"

I looked at her, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're using those three years of so-called devotion to guilt-trip Jim, aren't you? Just to make him marry you. Well, congrats. He said you'll be his wife no matter what now."

Her face twisted for a second like she could not quite swallow that fact. Immediately after, she smirked again like she had already won.

"But too bad," she added smugly, "you can trap a man's body, not his heart.

"Jim said once my baby is born, he will give his last name to it.

"And as for yours, he hates you so much, so he probably doesn't even want it. Once your baby's gone, mine will be the only child of the Upton family."

In the end, she gave a soft, dreamy sigh.

The fur around her swayed gently as the cold wind blew through the room. It was as if the wind cut through me like knives but did not even ruffle her warmth.

I let out a quiet laugh. No sound. Just a bitter smile.

Yeah. She was right.

In Jim's eyes—and in everyone else's—I will always be that pitiful woman who clung to him out of gratitude, doing everything just to marry him.

At the same time, I also felt relieved that Jim still did not know about my pregnancy.

I pressed my lips together, trying to ease the burning dryness in my throat from going without food or water for so long.

"Sadie, come here for a second."

She walked over with an annoyed look on her face.

"What now, Hayley?"

As she got closer, I used the last of my strength to force out the words through clenched teeth.

"Sadie, take that illegitimate monster in your belly and get out."

Before I could even take in her shocked expression, a cold, angry voice cut through the air behind me.

"Hayley, you just won't learn.

"I should've known better than to treat you with even the slightest bit of kindness. The second I do, you go after Sadie again."

I knew that voice too well. It was Jim.

Maybe it was because I was already feeling weak, but the moment I heard him say that, my chest tightened and tears welled up.

In those three years of rock bottom, Sadie, who took advantage of the chaos to step on me, was cherished and put on a pedestal by Jim, while I, the one who sacrificed everything to help him rise again, was the one he personally ground into the dirt.

"I told you to kick her out ages ago, son. Now look what's happened.

"If she's already acting like this in front of us, who knows how she's been treating Sadie and your unborn child behind our backs."

That cold, scolding voice came from Petra Crowley, Jim's mother, as she wheeled herself out from behind him. Her sharp eyes, full of disdain, locked onto my frail figure lying on the bed.

Sadie stepped forward with a soft sigh, trying to look pitiful.

"Mrs. Upton, don't be upset over me. I'm fine. I just felt a little wronged, that's all."

And right in front of me, the woman who constantly looked down on me turned into a helpless little girl.

Petra grabbed Sadie's hand and shot me a fierce glare before snapping, "Silly girl, even if the whole world wrongs someone, it won't be you!

"You're not just one person anymore—you're two.

"And you? Just an infertile good-for-nothing."

Sadie's lips curled in satisfaction, and she turned her smug gaze right back at me, not even trying to hide it.

"Mom, can you not stir things up?"

Jim rubbed his temples, clearly annoyed.

Getting snapped at by her own son only made Petra more furious, and of course, she took it all out on me.

"Hayley, why are you still standing there?"

Petra shot me a glare that held no trace of the woman I had cared for over the last three years. It was not disappointment but full-blown hatred.

"You think repaying the debt makes you some kind of savior to our family? Ha! You are nothing compared to my future grandson.

"Let me tell you something, Hayley. We might've gone bankrupt, but we still had plenty set aside. That little money you brought? We didn't need it.

"We just wanted to see who'd come crawling in to take advantage."

My heart stopped.

I turned to Jim. His expression was vague, but it told me enough.

My voice trembled as I turned to question Jim.

"Jim, is that true?"

Jim's face twitched slightly with discomfort, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he snapped in frustration.

"Does it even matter if it's true or not? Hayley, the real issue here is that you're picking on Sadie. Don't try to shift the focus."

Sadie bit her lip and looked apologetic, tears brimming in her eyes. "Mrs. Upton, I never meant to treat Jim that way three years ago. I really didn't... Now that you're bringing it up again, I just feel so ashamed I could cry."

She sniffled and added, "Please don't get upset at Ms. Bronson because of me. I'm too embarrassed to even bring up what I did three years ago."

I watched her play the victim, and I just smiled quietly.

Yes, three years ago, when Jim went bankrupt, it was Sadie who humiliated him by making him kneel like a dog for just 150 dollars. In the end, it was me who handed over the money to preserve what little pride he had left.

"Silly girl, don't say that. You're still carrying..."

Before Petra could finish, Jim cut her off.

"Mom, that's enough."

He looked at Sadie and said gently, "Sadie, I don't blame you for what happened back then. Just stay here and take care of yourself. Don't worry about anything else."

He was clearly trying to steer the topic away.

Then, without warning, he bent down and scooped me up from the bed like I was nothing more than dead weight.

The sudden force made my vision spin. I staggered once and leaned against the wall to steady myself, feeling the dizziness wash over me.

From inside the room, I could faintly hear Petra and Sadie whispering.

"Sweetheart, your only job right now is to focus on having that baby."

Then, I heard Sadie asking quietly.

"Mrs. Upton, are you really not angry with me?"

"Of course not. I said all that just so Hayley would hear it. I can't stand that she used that filthy money to help my son and still had the nerve to force him into marriage."

Thinking back to how grateful Jim's mom looked when I was the only one helping them during their downfall three years ago... It honestly felt laughable now.

Jim must have heard their conversation too, because after a moment of silence, he said, "Don't take what Mom said too seriously. You know her temper's been worse ever since she got sick.

"You should stay somewhere else for now. Sadie's pregnant and Mom's not doing great either. Having you here might upset them.

"Pregnant women come first. You get that, right?"

I did not say anything. My face was blank, expressionless. No anger. Just calm.

Jim noticed something off and cleared his throat before adding, "Hayley, whoever you are, if I've promised to marry you, I will. That won't change."

I nodded absentmindedly.

He saw the nod and let out a breath of relief.

Yep. Still the same Hayley.

The one who just wanted to marry him.

Just like that, I was quietly pushed out of the Upton family's life.

When we left, Jim only gave me the address of the place I was being sent to, then rushed back inside to comfort Sadie—who was oh-so-"hurt" by my harsh words.

My hands were empty, and the clothes I wore were too thin for the wind outside.

Three years ago, I walked into the Upton family with everything I owned. Three years later, the only thing I took away was the child in my belly.

And now, I didn't even want that.

Because the thought of giving birth to a child with Jim's blood made my stomach churn.

I searched for the nearest private hospital and booked an appointment for a pre-abortion exam.

Better for a child to not be born than to suffer in a world like this.

Meanwhile, back at the house, as soon as Jim walked into the room, Sadie rushed over, wrapping her arms around his waist and tearing up instantly.

"Jim, is Ms. Bronson gone? I'll move out. I don't want to come between the two of you.

"You shouldn't have helped me in the first place..."

Her voice trembled as she cried harder.

Jim felt a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over him. He absentmindedly patted her on the back.

If it were Hayley, she would not break down like this every time.

"Sadie, stop crying. Hayley didn't leave," he said.

"You and my mom are both here, so I had her stay at another place for now.

"Once you've recovered a bit, I'll bring her back."

Sadie stayed in his arms, but at his words, something cold flickered in her eyes.

"Okay, Jim. Once Ms. Bronson comes back, I'll move out. I promise something like today won't ever happen again."

Jim did not say anything. He just stared at the black screen of his phone, lost in thought.

Three days later, during his sixth meeting of the week, Jim spaced out again. The project manager noticed, and Jim ended the meeting with a tight-lipped, "We'll continue this another day."

He was frustrated. He wanted to know why Hayley had not called him.

He had given her the address of the new place, but not the door code.

Would she really rather freeze outside than just ask him?

It was just a small thing. Was it worth being that stubborn over?

If she was not going to call him, was she expecting him to reach out first?

It was just like her. That infuriating silence of hers.

The more Jim thought about it, the angrier he got. He kicked the edge of the couch and stormed out of the office.

Outside, the secretaries were murmuring in low voices while holding files.

"Why hasn't Hayley shown up to work these past few days?"

"Hayley? Don't you mean Sadie? She's the one carrying the boss's baby now."

"For real?"

"Last time when Sadie went looking for Hayley and came back upset, the boss didn't say a word and just took her side without question. The way he protected Sadie, it was like she was the apple of his eye. Wasn't that obvious enough?"

The whispers made their way to Jim's ears, and his irritation flared up even more.

What useless chatter. And half of it was wrong.

"Does the company pay you to gossip? If I catch anyone talking about this during work hours again, pack your things and get out!"

The group of secretaries scattered like startled birds, unsure of what to do under his sudden outburst.

***

Later, after cooling off, Jim finally sent me a message.

"If you're not coming to work, at least have the decency to request leave.

"Sadie's only been living at home for three months. Can't you be more tolerant?

"I just remembered I didn't give you the password to the new place. Don't stay outside tonight. Go back to the old house."

While those messages came through one after another, I was already signing the consent form for the abortion.

Outside the operating room, a young doctor in a mask looked at me, hesitant.

"Hayley, does the child's father know you're doing this?"

I turned off my phone without blinking.

"He passed away. I can make this decision on my own.

"Dr. Finnegan, let's begin."

Four hours later, when I was wheeled out of the OR looking pale and drained, the only person waiting for me was Daniel Finnegan.11