A Love That Couldn't Survive

"The year my father’s affair drove my mother to her death, I hated him to the core. To appease me, he personally sent Victor Young, the man I had loved for ten years, to my bed. After one night together, I fell completely in love with him. Three months into the relationship, under his persuasion, I forgave my father. Four months in, the news of my pregnancy broke. From then on, I became the most pampered pregnant woman in Beverly Hills. Every time I went for a prenatal checkup, they were always waiting in the hospital hallway. Everyone said I was treated like a princess by both my husband and my father. But on the day of the major ultrasound, neither of them showed up. “We have an important project to discuss,” my father said gently, stroking my hair. Victor Young softly rubbed my pregnant belly. “Once we’re done, I’ll bring back gifts for you and the baby.” I smiled and watched them leave, but just before the checkup, I received an anonymous video. In the video, my father was wearing a groom’s suit, standing beside Morgana Ashford—the woman who had driven my mother to death. Next to her was their illegitimate daughter, visibly pregnant, in a wedding dress, holding Victor Young’s arm. “Double happiness!” someone cheered in the video, raising a glass. “Congratulations to Mr. Hunter for finding true love, and congratulations to Mr. Young for finding such a perfect match!” At the end of the video, my father’s voice drifted in lightly. “Your fake marriage agreement with Emily doesn’t count. When the baby is born, it will be illegitimate.” Victor chuckled softly. “Emily has everything, and Isabella grew up as an illegitimate child. I can’t bear to let her child suffer the same fate.” I bit my lip and held back my tears as I left the hospital, but my phone suddenly vibrated. A sterilization certificate popped up on the screen, along with a line of text: “As long as you’re willing, the child in your womb will be the only heir of my life.”"