The Bear Bandage He Shared With Mistress

After my tenth miscarriage, I stumbled upon a viral post.

[My husband is a medical psychopath. To cure my fear of miscarriage, he deliberately married his enemy's daughter.]

[For ten years of marriage, he used hypnosis, staged accidents, and ten different methods to make her miscarry.]

[Now he's compiled all the observation data. My fear of miscarriage has finally disappeared.]

Someone asked: ["That's so cruel. She never noticed?"]

The poster replied: ["She's been suffering from severe depression. Every time she miscarried, my husband provided psychological counseling. She's too grateful to even suspect anything."]

["The most recent one was hilarious---I personally made the incense blend."]

["After smelling it, she rolled down the stairs all by herself. Even the surveillance cameras couldn't detect anything suspicious."]

The pen in my hand clattered to the floor.

My husband is a doctor.

Yesterday, I lost my twins after smelling the calming incense my husband lit at home---right before I missed a step on the stairs.

The poster's final update read:

["Happy anniversary, and thank you for everything you've done for me!"]

The photo showed two hands with fingers tightly intertwined.

On the man's hand was a cute little bear band-aid I'd personally drawn.

It was our unique symbol of love---something I made for him every time he got injured during surgery.

1

Tears fell uncontrollably.

I dumped all the dirty bear band-aids my husband had prepared into the trash.

A cold presence approached. Peyton stood at the door without me noticing.

"What are you freaking out about now?"

"You just had a miscarriage. Instead of resting in bed, when exactly do you plan to recover?"

Looking at his cold, aristocratic face made my stomach churn.

"Recover so I can be your lab rat for the eleventh miscarriage?"

Thinking of the children I'd lost, I grabbed the incense and threw it at his face.

"You never let her go!"

"All ten of my miscarriages---you orchestrated them for her, didn't you?!"

Seeing my pale face, Peyton frowned slightly and stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Yes."

He removed his glasses and wiped them methodically.

"Noelle has severe miscarriage phobia. I need to put her at ease."

"Your pain after each miscarriage, your depression levels, your recovery cycles---they all help her desensitize."

I could barely stand.

Just because Noelle feared miscarriage, I had to lose eleven children to cure her!

"So what am I to you?"

"A test subject?"

"This is murder!"

I grabbed my phone and dialed 91

Peyton snatched the phone away.

"You have no evidence."

"The forum post is deleted. Screenshots can be faked."

"You have a history of severe depression and have been on psychiatric medication long-term."

"And I'm your attending physician."

Every sentence cut off my escape routes.

I remembered how, starting from my third miscarriage, he told me I was depressed and signed all those treatment documents for me.

How he made me undergo psychological evaluations over and over.

How he said:

"Olivia, it's okay to be sick. I'll always be with you."

It turned out all that companionship was for this day.

So that when I finally woke up, he could prove I was crazy.

The last trace of love in my heart completely vanished.

Peyton, I'm done with you.

I lunged forward trying to grab my phone back.

The wound from yesterday's dilation and curettage tore open. I collapsed to the floor in pain.

He instinctively reached out to support me, but quickly let go. His voice was cold:

"Olivia, don't use your miscarriage to manipulate me. The way you look right now is truly pathetic."

"Don't blame me for being heartless. You should understand---some debts can never be repaid."

I understood.

He still believed my father deliberately killed his father on the operating table.

He still saw me as the enemy's daughter, using my children to repay my father's debt.

But he forgot.

That year when I was eight, his enemies wanted to eliminate him after his family fell apart.

He was covered in blood, nearly frozen to death in the snow.

I couldn't bear it and brought him home, saving his life.

My father had just died unexpectedly then. People said he intentionally killed someone and committed suicide out of guilt.

My mother's appeals fell on deaf ears. She died of depression. I barely survived on what little savings remained.

Unable to afford band-aids, I cut up the softest old clothes and wrapped his wounds.

I drew a little bear on the cloth strips and comforted him:

"Don't be afraid. The little bear will protect you, and I'll stay with you too."

From then on, we depended on each other.

Huddled under one blanket shivering with cold, sharing a single piece of bread.

When people bullied me for being an orphan, he stood in front of me, covered in blood but refusing to back down.

I could only cry as I wrapped him with the bear cloth strips. That little bear became our lifelong token.

That's how we slowly grew up together in the mud.

2

After the SATs, I gave up my future to support his study abroad.

Working during the day, drawing illustrations at night.

He held the plane ticket I'd saved three months to buy and cried while hugging me:

"Olivia, you're my life!"

"When I come back, I'll marry you in the grandest way possible!"

For those words, I waited five bitter years. He really did return as a top doctor.

I thought everything had finally turned around.

But he came back with another woman.

I went to the airport holding the little bear. Peyton knocked it out of my hands.

"Olivia, the man your father killed back then was my father!"

"Noelle is my childhood friend. She's kind-hearted and would never lie to me."

"You're the dirty daughter of a murderer, the daughter of my father's killer. We're done!"

I refused to accept it.

I desperately chased after him to explain that my father wasn't that kind of person. I fell on the escalator covered in blood, but he didn't care.

I showed him the childhood bear bandage begging him to come back. He was indifferent.

I blocked the entrance to his apartment for three days and nights without eating or drinking. I cried until I fainted, but he remained unmoved.

Not until I stood on the rooftop threatening to jump did he reluctantly compromise.

He agreed to break ties with Noelle and marry me.

For ten years, I wanted to give him a complete family.

I got pregnant again and again, only to miscarry again and again.

I always thought I wasn't doing enough.

But I never imagined this was an experiment he conducted over ten years, using my eleven children for Noelle's sake.

Peyton's phone screen lit up. The caller ID read:

Noelle.

His expression softened considerably. He didn't avoid me.

Soft crying came from the other end.

"Peyton, did Olivia find out?"

"Will she hate me? I really didn't mean to post it. I was just so happy to finally be desensitized..."

I stood there, my whole body going cold.

So happy.

She killed my eleven children, destroyed my life, and she said she was so happy.

"So what if she found out? They're just lumps of flesh. Gone is gone."

"As long as it helps you overcome your fear of miscarriage, even if she miscarries ten more times, she deserves it."

Peyton glanced at me and gently consoled her:

"Don't be afraid. I'm here."

"I absolutely won't let her hurt you."

I suddenly laughed.

A woman who just lost twins and could barely stand.

In his eyes, I'd become the villain who would hurt Noelle.

A piercing pain shot through my abdomen. Hot blood instantly stained the floor.

Peyton's fingers paused slightly. He instinctively took half a step toward me.

But when his eyes met my reddened ones, his face showed disgust. He coldly withdrew his foot.

"Olivia, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"Deliberately reopening your wound to create a bloody scene---do you think this pathetic sympathy ploy will make me soften and care about you?"

The scene before me brought me back to that winter.

Peyton's enemies found him and wanted to silence him.

At the critical moment, I wore his coat to lead the killers away and took a fatal stab for him.

Back then, Peyton's eyes were bloodshot. Like a madman, he carried me running through the snow.

He knelt crying and begged doctors to save me, saying he'd trade his life if necessary.

But now, with all this blood I'd lost, his eyes only showed impatience.

Just then, a piercing scream came through the phone:

"Ah! Peyton! It's blood! I'm so scared! I'm hallucinating again... Save me..."

3

Peyton immediately spoke soothingly into the phone:

"Noelle, don't be afraid. Close your eyes. I'll come right away."

When he looked at me again, only coldness remained in his eyes.

"You caused this yourself. Call a doctor yourself."

He threw my phone into the pool of blood and turned to leave without hesitation, not sparing me an extra glance.

The moment the villa door closed, my phone received an anonymous text:

"Tonight is Peyton's 35th birthday party. If you want to know the truth about your father, meet me on the top deck."

Trembling, I fumbled for my phone with its shattered screen from the pool of blood and dialed 120 myself.

When I woke up, I was already in a hospital room.

The doctor informed me the remnants weren't completely cleared. I needed an immediate second procedure.

I probably would never have a baby again.

The hospital room TV was broadcasting gossip news:

Harbor City's top doctor Peyton was hosting his 35th birthday party on a luxury cruise ship.

The camera panned across a giant screen on the cruise ship playing intimate images of Peyton and Noelle on loop.

Below was a prominent line of text:

"Congratulations to Noelle for overcoming ten years of miscarriage phobia and beginning anew!"

I bit my lip until it bled. With no family to accompany me, I had to sign the consent form myself.

After the surgery, the pain nearly shattered my teeth.

The doctor told me to stay in bed or risk my life.

But to uncover the truth and end all this.

I had to drag my broken body and force myself to leave.

In the evening, following the text message's directions, I brought the divorce agreement to that luxury cruise ship.

The place was brilliantly lit, filled with the wealthy and powerful.

At the center of the crowd, Peyton gently held Noelle's hand as they cut into a seven-tier custom cake worth a fortune.

What a ridiculous scene.

On his 19th birthday, we were so poor we couldn't even afford heating.

I'd stayed up three nights drawing illustrations to buy a small strawberry cake.

Back then, Peyton had tears in his eyes as he held me tight and swore:

"Olivia, when I'm rich, I'll buy you the biggest cake every day. Everything I have will be yours."

But now that he had everything, there was a different woman by his side.

As I entered the banquet hall, mocking laughter arose.

"Oh, isn't that the crazy stalker who won't let go? Begging again?"

"The murderer's daughter really has no shame!"

Seeing the blood on my clothes, Noelle immediately cowered into Peyton's arms screaming:

"Peyton! She has blood on her... I'm scared!"

Seeing my deathly pale face, the slight smile in Peyton's eyes instantly froze.

He strode over and grabbed my wrist, gripping so hard he nearly crushed my bones.

"Who said you could come? Playing dead during the day wasn't enough? Now you're here at night to disgust Noelle?"

I laughed coldly and shook my head. Calmly, I pulled out the signed divorce agreement from my bag.

And threw it in his face.

"Peyton, let's get divorced."

Perhaps because I wasn't hysterical as he expected, or perhaps my attitude was too cold.

Peyton's hand holding the wine glass froze abruptly, but he soon scoffed disdainfully.

"Divorce? Olivia, aren't you tired of this playing-hard-to-get routine?"

"Your father owes me a life. Without my permission, even if you die, you can only die as a member of the Lawson family!"

He lit a lighter and burned the divorce agreement to ash:

"Remember this---when our fated relationship ends is for me to decide!"

"Take her to the top deck. Without my orders, no one is allowed to let her down."

4

My numb body suddenly stiffened. I looked at Peyton in disbelief.

The top deck?!

Could it be...

The early winter wind mixed with ice shards from the sea surface cut into my bones like knives.

But from the banquet hall below came the sounds of drunken revelry and classical symphony music.

I'd just undergone a second dilation and curettage.

Under the extreme cold's assault, the pain made me curl up on the freezing deck, convulsing uncontrollably.

Time stretched infinitely in the agony. Finally, near midnight, footsteps approached.

The mysterious person who would tell me the truth had arrived.

When I saw her face clearly, my heart contracted violently.

It was her!

Noelle looked at me with a cold laugh:

"That's right. I'm the one who told you to come!"

"Peyton clearly hates you so much, but his hand trembled when he burned the divorce papers."

"I really can't let you live anymore. As long as you're alive, you'll eventually give birth to that huge problem."

Huge problem?

I stared at Noelle, my voice trembling.

"Tell me... what really happened back then?"

Noelle leaned close to my ear, her tone vicious:

"At this point, there's no harm in telling you."

"The one who tampered with things on the operating table and killed Peyton's father was my father."

"Your innocent doctor father was just a scapegoat for the Lynch family!"

"Even your mother who kept appealing everywhere---the Lynch family took care of her personally."

Noelle laughed maniacally.

"I never had any miscarriage phobia at all."

"That old man from the Lawson family converted his entire $2 billion estate into a family trust before dying. It would only unlock when Peyton had his first child!"

"Peyton was only eight then. He still doesn't know about it to this day. That's also why we didn't kill you two back then."

"My family schemed so hard for that money. How could I let you two wretches get it?"

My eyes filled with blood. Images of my parents' tragic deaths and my children turning to blood intertwined in my mind.

I lunged at Noelle like a madwoman, grabbing her throat.

I slapped her until blood seeped from her mouth:

"Give me back my children! Give me back my parents!"

"I'll kill you!"

Noelle suddenly stopped laughing coldly and cried out loudly:

"Olivia! Don't! Please spare me!"

But the steak knife in her hand suddenly stabbed through my abdomen. She kicked over the oil she'd prepared in advance.

Hearing the commotion, Peyton burst through the door onto the deck.

Flames shot skyward. The deck's edge was about to collapse.

A massive mechanical hook lost control and swung toward both of us.

With a knife in my abdomen, I was violently flung over the railing.

My chest screamed with pain. My entire body dangled above the turbulent deep sea.

I used my last bit of strength to call out:

"Peyton... save me... She's your enemy's daughter..."

"She'll kill you."

Noelle fell near the deck's edge, hysterically screaming:

"Peyton, save me! She's trying to kill me! I'm so scared!"

Peyton charged over with bloodshot eyes, looking at me with disgust.

"Olivia, you vicious woman, you can even make up such lies?"

"Just reflect here. Consider it repaying your father's debt!"

Without hesitation, he picked up the terrified-looking Noelle and rushed out of the flames without looking back.

"Dong---"

The cruise ship's clock struck midnight.

The instant Peyton saved Noelle, his phone in his suit pocket suddenly vibrated violently.

A top-secret message from a Swiss bank flashed on the screen:

[Dear Mr. Peyton Lawson:]

[The $2 billion family trust established by your father has successfully triggered the second release condition: the beneficiary has turned 35 today.]

[$2,000,000,000.00 has been transferred to your account ending in 0988.]

[Note: The original first priority unlock condition "unlocks upon birth of first legitimate heir" has been voided.]

"Trust... child..."

Peyton's brain exploded.

All the clues from these years connected. He instantly understood everything.

"Olivia!"

He shoved Noelle aside and rushed back toward me.

The next second, a massive "boom" sounded.

As Peyton let out a desperate roar, the fire-scorched deck completely collapsed.

I fell like a kite with a broken string, plummeting straight into the icy deep sea.

Swallowed by pitch-black waves.

"No---!"

Peyton stood frozen at the railing, eyes bloodshot.

Noelle was pushed to the ground. She scrambled to pick up Peyton's phone that had fallen.

She shrieked in shock.