To cover my mother's high hospital bills, I, blessed with a body that easily conceived, married Noah Stinson, a powerful CEO who was rumored to be infertile.

The moment I found out I was pregnant with twins, someone leaked Noah's fertility test results online, proving he has weak sperm.

Although the post was deleted quickly, Noah never stepped into my room again. Instead, he began spending his nights wrapped around the models from his company.

For my mother's sake, I never dared to question anything.

That was until one day, I walked in on one of those models seducing a photographer in the fitting room. I stepped in, told her to leave, and ordered everyone to keep it quiet.

But the next morning, word had gotten out. The entire industry was buzzing with the news that the model had attempted suicide by slitting her wrists.

Noah sneered in public, calling her shameless. But behind the scenes, he secretly pulled my gravely ill mother out of the hospital—and dumped her into a vat of industrial chemicals at a factory.

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been jealous of Chloe and spread nasty rumors about her.

"I've arranged ten men lined up for you. If you strip and seduce them, I'll let your mother go."

To save my mother, I had no choice but to take off my clothes and let them film countless humiliating videos of me.

But by the time I got to the factory, it was too late—my mother had been corroded by the chemicals, leaving behind nothing but bones.

I swallowed my grief and gave her a proper burial, but soon after, the videos of me—pregnant and forced to be with different men—spread across the internet at a terrifying speed.

***

"Mr. Stinson, you're smart to have Adeline take off her clothes on her own. No one will think that AI video is fake."

"No wonder she's known for being so fertile. Look at her body, even while pregnant, she looks great. Mr. Stinson, you must be enjoying her a lot!"

"But all this trouble for a model... Aren't you scared Adeline might lose it and file for divorce?"

Noah and his friends sat in the study, watching and laughing over those shameful videos of me.

They talked about my body without any shame, making dirty jokes and laughing now and then.

Noah sat proudly in the main chair and scoffed.

"She won't dare.

"Don't forget the reason she married into my family.

"I'm heading out to visit Chloe.

"Keep your mouth shut. Once you leave this room, I don't want to see those videos show up anywhere."

He got up from his seat, unaware that I was just outside the door, trembling uncontrollably.

He had no idea that the videos weren't fake or AI-generated at all.

I had actually been humiliated and assaulted by ten men.

With my teeth clenched, I called Noah's grandmother, Sarah Stinson.

"Madam Stinson, I'd like to end our agreement early."

Sarah looked surprised.

"Why the sudden change?"

I inhaled deeply, ready to explain. But before I could speak, Noah showed up behind me.

There wasn't even a hint of regret on his face.

"You're home?

"Good timing. I was just going to check on Chloe. You should come too.

"Apologize to her, and we'll consider the matter settled."

When I didn't say anything for a long while, Noah started to scowl loudly.

"Come on, it's just taking off some clothes. Just pretend you're doing a photoshoot.

"You're acting like your mom has died. If people saw your face, they'd think I hurt you or something."

Before he could continue, I cut him off and said slowly, "My mom really did pass away.

"And those videos... they weren't AI-generated."

For a moment, the room went completely quiet.

Then Noah gave a cold smirk that I knew too well.

"I had someone get your mom a long time ago. There's no way anything bad happened to her.

"And those videos, I was the one who had them AI-generated.

"Adeline Devlin, you lie so much. It makes me sick!"

In the three years we'd been married, I'd lost count of how many times I'd heard those exact words from his mouth.

Even when I first moved in, he made rude jokes about my good fertility.

He only started treating me a bit better after I got pregnant.

But the next day, someone leaked his fertility test result online, saying he had weak sperm.

Even though the Stinson family managed to have it erased quickly, Noah still blamed it all on me.

He called me fake and disgusting, saying I'd do whatever it took to stay part of the Stinson family.

That was the day he started bringing other women back to our house without a care in the world about me.

At first, I cried and begged him to stop. But over time, I grew numb.

I even helped him deal with the women he dumped—those who refused to leave him.

Everything kept spiraling until the day I accidentally fired his new favorite.

I still remember the pain of being assaulted by ten men, and the hopelessness when I saw my mother's body reduced to nothing but bones.

I took a slow breath, raised my head, and looked at Noah.

I said, "Let's get a divorce."

A brief look of shock crossed Noah's face, but it quickly changed to a sneer.

"Don't act like it's a big deal. Your mom is still depending on my family's doctor to stay alive.

"You want a divorce? That basically means your mom won't make it."

But my mother had already passed away.

She died because Noah was convinced I'd spread false rumors about his new favorite.

They heartlessly dipped her in highly corrosive chemicals, ignoring my screams and begging.

Just then, a phone call broke into our conversation.

"Mr. Stinson, I think someone is following me. I'm really scared..."

A soft expression appeared on his face as he gently spoke to the caller.

"Don't be afraid... Tell me where you are, I'll come right away."

He rushed downstairs in such a hurry that he left his coat behind.

Still, he made sure to give me a warning before walking out.

"I'm going to pick Chloe up now. When I come back, you need to apologize to her.

"Adeline, I'm running out of patience. Don't test my limits!"

After he left, I quickly went to see Sarah.

Once she saw the videos and my mother's miserable condition, she couldn't hold back her anger.

"That bastard! How could he do such a thing...

"Adeline, don't worry. I promise I'll get justice for you!"

But I slowly shook my head, a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Madam Stinson, you saw it too. Noah never loved me.

"If you keep forcing this marriage, I'm afraid the babies I'm carrying won't survive..."

My throat tightened, and my voice broke.

Sarah reached out and gently held my hand.

"Adeline, you've been through too much.

"Come stay with me for now. Once the babies are born, I'll give you money to help you leave this family."

I thanked her sincerely and got ready to return home to pack my belongings.

But just as I got out of the car, Noah grabbed my wrist tightly.

"So is this what you've been up to? Running to Grandma to get support?

"Chloe had just been discharged from the hospital, and now she's back in there because of you. Happy now?

"Go apologize to her at the hospital. Now!"

But I stood my ground.

"I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?" I shot back.

Noah's anger exploded during our argument. He gave me a cold look.

"If you won't get in the car, then walk there!

"Guard! Strip off her clothes and shoes!"

I tried as hard as I could to fight them off, but Noah's men still stripped off all my clothes.

The shame I felt that day came rushing back, and I started shaking, begging him to stop.

But Noah only gave me a wicked grin.

"Now you regret it? Too bad, it's already too late.

"Go to the hospital and apologize to Chloe. After that, I'll have someone bring you new clothes."

As he spoke, he lit my clothes on fire with a lighter right in front of me.

In the blazing fire, my dignity burned away along with the shredded fabric of my clothes.

Without another word, Noah stepped on the gas and sped off.

"You've got 30 minutes. If I don't see you in Chloe's ward by then...

"Then the next time you'll see your beloved mother will be in the morgue."

Right next to me was the surging Missouri River, and for a moment, I felt the urge to run over and throw myself in, to end all the pain and humiliation.

But I couldn't do it.

Holding onto my bulging belly, I lowered my head and slowly made my way toward the hospital.

A few people recognized me from the viral videos online. They pulled out their phones, excited to snap pictures.

When I finally reached the hospital, Chloe Kimmit caught sight of me and let out a loud scream.

"Ah! Why don't you have any clothes on?"

"Mr. Stinson, isn't Mrs. Stinson being a bit too outrageous? There are people everywhere. If someone sees this..."

Noah looked annoyed and said, "Adeline, this is a hospital! Even if you like showing off your body, can't you pick a better place?

"Why aren't you dressed yet?"

He acted like he didn't remember setting my clothes on fire with his own hands just an hour earlier.

I didn't want to argue. I just asked quietly, "Can I leave now?"

Before he could answer, Chloe, lying on the hospital bed, tugged at his sleeve.

"Mr. Stinson, it doesn't seem like she wants to apologize to me.

"Maybe we should just forget it. She is your wife, after all. I'm just afraid..."

Her voice trailed off as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Noah gently wiped them away, clearly worried about her.

"She wouldn't dare!"

His eyes landed on me, and he snapped again, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and apologize to Chloe!"

The words "I'm sorry" were right at the edge of my lips.

But when I saw the smug smile on Chloe's face, I just couldn't say it.

I took a deep breath and turned to face Noah.

"I went to talk to Madam Stinson about getting a divorce.

"What happened with Ms. Kimmit isn't my fault..."

A look of grievance appeared in Chloe's eyes again as she reached for Noah's sleeve like she always did.

Noah suddenly stood up and grabbed my chin tightly.

"This lie is a little more creative.

"But sadly, it's still just pathetic.

"If you actually go through with the divorce, your mom will die. Can you live with that?"

But my mother... she had already passed away.

I looked down, hiding the pain inside, and spoke softly, "Noah, this whole marriage was a mistake from the start.

"You like Chloe, don't you? Once we're divorced...

Before I could finish, he cut me off and told his assistant to prepare divorce papers, which he then tossed at me.

"Didn't you say you wanted a divorce?

"Sign it now, and I'll give you what you want!"

The divorce agreement was incredibly unfair.

Not only did I have to move out with nothing, but I also had to repay the massive medical bills from all my mother's treatments over the years.

It was the kind of amount I couldn't repay even if I went without food or water for several lifetimes.

Still, I picked up the pen without a second thought.

Just as I was about to sign, Noah suddenly grabbed the divorce papers from the floor and ripped them up.

He said coldly, "Oh, right. I almost forgot—every meal you've eaten, every drop of water you've used, even the toilet paper—you owe it all to my family.

"Once you've paid that back, then maybe we can talk about getting divorced."

His eyes turned to Chloe, who was standing quietly nearby, and then he came up with a new idea.

"Chloe ended up in the hospital because of you. How about you work as her nurse? I'll pay you 200 dollars a day. Sound good?"

"No way!"

"Sounds good!"

My refusal and Chloe's agreement came out at the exact same moment.

Chloe grabbed Noah's arm and spoke in a spoiled tone. "This way, Adeline can earn some money, and I'll have someone to look after me. Saves you from running back and forth every day.

"You've gotten skinnier lately from taking care of me..."

She cupped Noah's face, looking deeply worried.

He gently tapped her nose with a smile.

As I watched them act all lovey-dovey, I turned to walk away until Chloe called out to stop me.

"Adeline, I've been craving the popular ravioli from the Southside."

I really didn't want to go.

But Noah reminded me about the video he recorded that day.

He said, "You don't have to go if you don't want to. But I might just show it off as the final item in tomorrow's auction."

Normally, I wouldn't care.

But tomorrow is the seventh day since my mother passed away. I can't stand the thought of dishonoring her memorial like this.

So, I had no choice but to say yes.

"Fine, I'll do it."

Chloe beamed and added, "Ravioli only tastes good when they're warm. Make sure you're back in ten minutes."

Ten minutes?

It takes longer than that just to get to the shop from the hospital.

But I have no choice.

I ended up going to the ravioli shop three times—took a rideshare, tried express delivery, even bought packaged ravioli and cooked them myself in the hospital.

Still, Chloe wasn't happy. She kept saying they were soggy or cold, or that my cooking just didn't taste like the ones from the shop.

I was exhausted and drenched in sweat during my final trimester of pregnancy, yet Noah still yelled at me.

"You can't even handle a simple task. Are you messing up on purpose?

"Or do you want me to show that video at the auction tonight?"

To avoid embarrassing my late mother, who had already suffered so much, I pawned my wedding ring and used the money to hire the ravioli shop owner to close for a day and come cook fresh ravioli at the hospital for Chloe.

This time, she finally said the food was good enough.

But just after finishing half a plate of ravioli, she clutched her stomach and screamed like she was in terrible pain.

All the doctors in the hospital rushed in.

Then, out of nowhere, Noah slapped me across the face.

"Adeline! Did you know she is pregnant? You tried to poison her food?!

"If anything happens to her or the child, I'll make sure those two bastards inside you don't survive either!"

His slap knocked me down, and my stomach slammed against the sharp corner of a wall. Blood soaked through my clothes almost instantly.

Panicking, I screamed for help, but every single doctor was busy with Chloe.

I could only lie there helplessly, watching the blood spill out from me.

Slowly, the sounds of my twins' heartbeats faded away.

After the twins' heartbeat completely stopped, Noah stormed out of the operating room and dragged me over to the doctors.

"Take her blood! Her blood type matches Chloe's!"

I lifted my head, my eyes still filled with tears.

"Noah... our children are gone."

For a second, Noah looked shocked. But his expression quickly turned cold and furious.

"Even now, you're still trying to lie to me?

"Besides, didn't you say you have good fertility? You can have another child.

"But Chloe isn't like you. She's suffered so much because of you. You must save her!"

They forced me onto the operating table and kept pulling bag after bag of blood from me.

Before long, I passed out from losing too much.

One of the doctors got scared and tried to ask Noah what to do.

But he didn't hesitate.

"No matter what Adeline says, I just want Chloe to live!"

Every drop of blood had been taken from me.

Inside the emergency room, Chloe slowly woke up.

Tears of happiness streamed down Noah's face as he grabbed her hand.

Meanwhile, in the operating room next door, my heart monitor let out a long, continuous beep.

My arm slipped lifelessly off the edge of the operating table.

After checking my eyes, the doctor gave the final statement.

"Patient Adeline Devlin, confirmed deceased."