His Voice Behind the Wheel

Seven months pregnant, I was hit by a car right at my own front door.

But instead of stopping immediately, the driver dragged me for dozens of meters.

I endured the pain and called my husband, only to hear the line was busy.

After the driver finally stopped, she was sobbing on the phone:

Xavier, I think I messed up bad. I... I hit a pregnant woman... What do I do? I'm so scared!

Clutching my belly, I looked at her pleadingly, my voice desperate:

"Help me... Please save my baby..."

She cautiously approached me, but through her phone I heard my husband's voice:

"Is she dead? Half-dead is more trouble than just dead."

"Don't worry, I'll cover the compensation."

Pain blurred my vision. I forced my eyes open, trying to see the driver's face clearly. My voice trembled:

"Xavier... is that you?"

My husband Xavier's voice came through the phone:

"Mia, who did you hit?"

Mia clamped her hand over my mouth, panic flooding her eyes, her voice shaking:

"I told youI hit a pregnant woman on Riverside Drive."

"Xavier, I'm so scared. Please come find me, okay?"

I made muffled sounds, finally suffocating and passing out under her palm.

Only then did Xavier relax. He rubbed his temples, grabbed his car keys, and headed out.

I was seven months pregnant. Xavier remembered that when he left this morning, he'd told me to stay home and rest. I always listened to him.

Riverside Drive and our villa were on opposite ends of the citynorth and south. The pregnant woman Mia hit couldn't possibly be me.

It must have been the shock making him hear things.

Half-conscious, I was taken to the hospital. I heard Xavier's friend Adrian teasing him:

"Xavier, couldn't control yourself again? Went too far with the sex?"

"How many times this month? Look, I'm just sayingMia's only three months along, still in the danger zone. You two need to take it easy. Stop having sex all the time."

"If you really can't help it, Natalie's due soon anyway. Just wait another month or two."

Xavier frowned in displeasure:

"Stop talking nonsense. When Natalie comes for her next checkup, don't you dare say anything in front of her! If she finds out about Mia's existence, I'll tear down your whole hospital!"

Adrian immediately backed down, apologizing:

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm sorry. I'll keep my mouth shut tight around Natalie!"

"Everyone in New York knows how much you dote on Natalie. You won't even touch her during pregnancy. You're keeping another bird in a cage just to satisfy your needshow would I dare upset her!"

"You're here today to accompany Mia for a checkup?"

Hearing her name, my foggy consciousness slowly returned. But Adrian's words made my heart sink to the bottom. Tears leaked from my closed eyes.

So my marriagethe one everyone in the city enviedwas glamorous on the surface but rotting underneath, crawling with maggots!

Xavier cheated during my pregnancy. His mistress was already three months pregnant too.

How could he act so well! Making me believe he loved me to the bone!

Xavier pointed to me in the back seat and said with disgust:

"Mia hit a pregnant woman. Handle it."

Adrian leaned over and glanced at me casually, telling his staff to carry me out.

Just then, a nurse suddenly exclaimed:

"Wait! This pregnant woman is wearing a blood type tag around her neck!"

Xavier's pupils contracted. He turned and stared at me intently.

My fingers twitched. A glimmer of hope rose in my heart. I wanted to tell Xavier to save me, save our baby.

But I couldn't open my eyes no matter how hard I tried.

"Her husband must be pretty thoughtfulmade her a blood type tag to show she has a rare blood type. Let me see... he even left a phone number..."

"139-867..."

Mia nervously clutched Xavier's sleeve, saying excitedly:

"Xavier! She has the same blood type as me!"

Xavier smiled, his voice filled with undisguised delight:

"Since her blood type is rare, Adrian, make sure you save her."

"I was worried that with Mia pregnant too, if something happened to Natalie there'd be no one to give her blood. Perfecta walking blood bank just appeared. From now on, she can replace Mia."

I belatedly realized who Mia was...

The person who hit me was Miaa woman who once gave me a blood transfusion because we shared the same rare blood type.

At the time, I was so grateful. Not only did I give her money for nutrition, but when I learned she'd just graduated and couldn't find work, I had Xavier make an exception and hire her at his company.

I never imagined that one blood transfusion would cost me my entire marriage.

A flash of resentment crossed Mia's eyes, but when she looked up, her face was full of happiness:

"Xavier, you're so good to me."

"If something happens to Natalie, I'll give her blood too. After all... I only got into the company because of my blood type. I don't want people saying behind my back that I graduated from a trash college, that I'm not good enough for you, or that I seduced you. I'm afraid Natalie will kick me out."

Xavier pulled her into his embrace, his voice indulgent:

"Everyone in the company knows you're my baby. If anyone insults you, fire them on the spot! Elite university graduates aren't as important as you!"

"As for Natalie, she considers you her lifesaver. She won't kick you out. Last time she even asked if you were settling in well at the company."

I finally struggled out of the dark chaos and opened my eyes to see them embracing.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Three months ago, Xavier always worked late and never came home. Worried about him and concerned he wasn't eating properly, I made dinner myself and brought it to his office.

When he saw me, he inexplicably flew into a rage, smashing the soup in front of me and scolding me for not staying home to rest during pregnancy.

After that, I never went to the company again.

So everyone at the company already knew. Mia had replaced me, becoming someone no one dared offend.

As I passed Xavier, I reached out with all my strength and grabbed his sleeve.

My trembling fingertips were covered in blood. Each word seemed squeezed from deep in my chest, shaking with emotional collapse:

"Xavier... I want a divorce."

A trace of coldness flashed across Xavier's brow. His eyes turned sinister. He violently shook off my hand and said with disgust:

"Who told you to touch me!"

"Filthy thing!"

I looked at him in shock, unable to believe this was the same Xavier who always looked at me with such loving eyes.

His disgusted gaze became iron nails, driving one by one into my heart, making me wish for death.

Mia immediately explained:

"Xavier, she must have heard about her rare blood type and is trying to manipulate us on purpose!"

Xavier's eyes filled with revulsion. He said viciously to the doctor:

"When you treat her, don't use anesthesia!"

"Let her hurt. Let her learn her place. Does she really think someone like us rich people can be manipulated by the likes of her?"

The doctors and nurses nodded, showing reluctant expressions. They immediately carried me away, afraid of angering him further.

Cold instruments worked on my body. Alcohol stung my cheeks.

I screamed in pain again and again, then fell unconscious once more.

Xavier heard the screams coming from the emergency room. His footsteps paused. He said hesitantly:

"Why do I keep hearing Natalie's voice?"

Mia threw herself into his arms:

"Xavier, thank god you're here. I was so scared!"

Xavier pushed down the doubt that had just surfaced and held her, coaxing:

"Mia, it's okay. I won't let you get hurt."

"If that pregnant woman tries to make trouble over this..."

A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes:

"I'll make sure she never leaves here alive!"

When I woke again, my face was covered in bandages.

Xavier stood at the hospital room door, face full of anger, eyes darkened with rage, staring at me intently.

He was holding something. He walked to the bedside and looked down at me from above, as if I were an ant beneath his notice!

Meeting his gaze, I curled up in fear.

Before I could speak, he forced a bottle of hard liquor down my throat without a word.

Then Xavier threw a piece of paper at me, his tone ice-cold:

"Today you were drunk, confused, and stumbled into the path of Mia's car."

"This is a settlement agreement. Sign it."

"Take the five hundred thousand and you can go."

I looked at him in disbelief, my voice hoarse with rage:

"Xavier! Are you insane! This is illegal!"

His face darkened. He leaned down, grabbed my throat, his eyes sinister:

"What are you? Just because your voice sounds a bit like my wife's you think you can scold me?"

Suffocation set in. Tears burst forth like a broken dam, falling in streams onto Xavier's hand. Through my blurred vision I stared at him intently.

Xavier froze for a moment, then suddenly released his grip, staring at my eyes with hesitation:

"Natalie?"

I clutched my throat, gasping for air.

I pulled the ring off my ring finger and threw it at him, saying angrily:

"Xavier, I want a divorce!"

The ring bounced off his chest and fell to the floor. Xavier stared at the ring, frozen in place. He suddenly looked up, staring at me in disbelief.

Just then, Mia opened the door and came in, slapping me hard across the face.

"Thief!"

The slap froze the air.

Mia picked up the ring from the floor, threw herself into Xavier's arms, pointed at me and cried:

"Xavier, she's a thief! I kindly helped her into the car to take her to the hospital, but she stole my ring!"

Xavier's eyes flickered with hesitation. He looked down at Mia's hand.

The ring fit perfectly on her finger, the huge pink diamond gleaming brilliantlyit even looked better on her than on me.

Xavier's expression turned cold instantly. He stepped forward and viciously broke my fingers, his low voice filled with displeasure:

"This is a ring I had custom-made for my wife. Someone like you doesn't deserve to covet something you could never have!"

The pain in my fingers shot straight to my heart. Cold sweat ran down my temples.

Looking at Mia's smug face, tears filled my eyes and wouldn't stop.

I couldn't understand. When Xavier proposed with this ring, he clearly said he designed it himself.

Using the most beautiful pink diamond in the world. One of a kind.

But why did Mia have one too! Why couldn't he recognize me!

Just then, sharp pain shot through my belly. A warm flow gushed from between my legs.

I took a deep breath and weakly grabbed his hand with my broken fingers, screaming in despair:

"The baby's coming! Xavier, the baby's coming! Call a doctor!"

"Call a doctor!"

Xavier looked down. The sight of blood and amniotic fluid mixed together caught him off guard.

His face went pale. He instinctively ran out of the room to call a doctor.

I held my belly, enduring the pain.

Mia sneered and raised her hand to show off the ring, saying smugly:

"You must be wondering why Xavier didn't recognize you even when he saw this ring, right?"

I gritted my teeth and stared at her.

She shoved me from the bed to the floor and kicked my belly hard.

Cold intent flashed in her eyes as she said viciously:

"Because everything you have, I have a copy too!"

"The ring, the man, the status, the baby, the houseeverything you have, I have too! Monday, Wednesday, Friday he's at the villa with you. The rest of the days he's at the apartment with me!"

"Did you really think you were the only one? Don't be naive."

She condescendingly patted my face and continued:

"You got hit by me, and he still protected me."

"As long as your baby doesn't survive, the baby in my belly will be the only heir. Just die already!"

Her words shattered the world I thought was happy. Sharp pain stabbed through my heart. Tears silently streamed down my face.

My nails dug deep into my palms. I clenched my fists. The pain in my belly grew more and more intense.

The sound of doctors running came from outside.

I was pushed back into the operating room.

The baby came out of my body with a cry.

I breathed a sigh of relief, tears of joy streaming down.

But before I could even look at her, Xavier had someone take the baby away, while I was pushed to another room.

The doctor stood still, making no move. He suggested:

"Mr. Hale, this patient just gave birth and was in a car accident. She doesn't have the strength to give blood to someone else."

"If you force her to donate blood, her life could be in danger. I know you're anxious because your wife suddenly fainted, but we can expedite getting blood from the blood bank..."

"Enough!"

Xavier cut off the doctor, saying impatiently:

"Mia's life is worth more than hers. I'll give her plenty of moneyenough to buy her life!"

"The most important thing right now is giving Mia a transfusion!"

The doctor tried to persuade him again, but I looked at Xavier weakly and asked:

"After the transfusion... I can leave, right? I can see the baby?"

His brow furrowed slightly. He avoided my eyes:

"As long as you complete the transfusion and sign the settlement, I'll let you and the baby leave."

I nodded. My parched throat told the doctor:

"Do it."

Having achieved his goal, Xavier turned to leave and check on Mia.

Behind him, my eyes reddened as I called out:

"Xavier, you still don't believe I'm Natalie?"

His footsteps paused.

"I don't know what you're scheming, pretending to be my wife again and again. But my NatalieI'd recognize her even as ashes. You're definitely not her. You could never compare to her!"

The greatest sorrow is when the heart dies. I smiled bitterly and mocked myself:

"Forget it. It doesn't matter anymore."

"I don't want to argue with you anymore. I just hope you won't regret this."

After experiencing everything today, I no longer loved Xavier.

I just wanted to take my baby home, divorce him, and never see him again!

But I never imagined my fate would collapse like dominoesone disaster after another.

After the transfusion, I returned to the room and saw a bundle on the bed. I excitedly walked over and picked it up.

"Baby, Mommy's back."

But as I held the child, my body froze. It felt like a stone hammer hanging over my head had slammed into my heart. The pain made my eyes sting.

The baby's face was blue. Her eyes were closed. She wasn't moving at all.

My breathing became unsteady. My voice was so hoarse it was about to break, like a candle flame flickering in the wind:

"Baby... what's wrong?"

"Don't scare Mommy. I can take you home soon. Wake up and look at Mommy, okay?"

Holding the baby, I wanted to call a doctor, but I heard a heavy door slam behind me. The door was locked.

I desperately shouted, pounding on the door:

"Open the door! My baby is sick! Let me out!"

"Please, I need to see a doctor! The baby isn't breathing! She's dying!"

A man's cold, merciless voice came from outside:

"Stop struggling. Mr. Hale said your blood is still useful. He can't let you leave."

"Mrs. Hale said you and the baby can't leave this room until she wakes up."

My heart sank. Looking at the baby's blue face, I knelt on the floor and kowtowed.

I begged, my voice breaking:

"Please! Save my baby!"

"I won't fight Mia's baby for inheritance! It's my fault, please!"

But no one answered. My desperate wails penetrated the hospital room and echoed through the corridor.

My eyes caught sight of the call button. I stumbled to my feet and pressed it. But no matter how many times I pressed it, it was immediately disconnected.

I looked at the door in despair, letting out a heart-wrenching scream:

"Xavier!"

"I hate you!"

Xavier held Mia. Her complexion gradually became more rosy.

Hearing the noise outside, she frowned in displeasure:

"What's that pregnant woman screaming about? Did she sign the settlement?"

His secretary handed him a folder, saying as if asking for credit:

"Mr. Hale, not only did she sign the settlement, she also agreed to be a blood donor for Mrs. Hale. This is the signed contract."

Xavier casually took the document and opened it. His face instantly went pale. He immediately pushed Mia away and stood up.

He asked in disbelief:

"Why is Natalie's name on the settlement?"