An Ongoing Farewell

When my morning sickness became unbearable, I instinctively grabbed my phone and dialed Christian's number.

But the person who answered was Christian from three years in the future.

Watching the little girl in his arms babbling and calling him Daddy on the video call, a sweet smile spread across my face, and even my physical discomfort seemed to fade.

"So our baby is a girl. She looks just like you."

He had been quiet, but upon hearing my words, his expression grew cold.

"She is not your child. She is the daughter I had with Amy, your father's illegitimate daughter."

"You always loved to call her a homeless stray, didn't you? So I decided to give her a family."

I froze in place, utterly incredulous.

Christian didn't even blink, his tone as casual as if he were discussing a minor detail.

"Our own child died right after birth. You didn't even get to see his face."

"Later, when you stumbled upon my wedding with Amy, you lost your mind right there on the spot."

"For Amy's safety, I had no choice but to send you to a mental institution, locked away for the rest of your life."

My brain exploded with a loud buzz, and my hands shook uncontrollably.

But on the other end, he smiled, his expression one of pure relief.

"Laura, I have told you everything now. Whether you want to continue this marriage is entirely up to you."

The air seemed to freeze.

I could no longer hold my phone, letting it slip through my fingers and clatter to the floor. The morning sickness I had just managed to suppress surged back with a vengeance.

But the voice from the speaker on the floor wouldn't let me go, continuing relentlessly.

"I remember this day. You were suffering from morning sickness and begged me to take you to the hospital for a check-up."

"But Amy was already in labor, and I couldn't leave her side. I stayed with her the entire time."

"By the time I came home, you had fainted on the floor, and you almost lost the baby."

He let out a heavy sigh, sounding as if he had been entirely helpless in the matter.

"But you didn't even blame me. You thought I was just too busy with work, and you hugged me to comfort me."

"At that moment, I really wanted to confess everything to you, but I was afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it."

The brutal truth kept piercing my ears, causing a sharp, physical pain in my chest.

Suppressing the nausea, I asked with a trembling voice, "Why?"

"Why, of all people, does it have to be her?"

He knew Amy was the illegitimate daughter of my father's mistress. He knew Amy had deliberately shown up at our house to humiliate my mother, causing her to suffer a stroke. She was still lying in a coma in the hospital because of her.

Back then, Christian was the one who had stood firmly in front of me, slapping Amy across the face to defend my family. Now, he was sleeping with her behind my back, and they even had a child together.

"Amy isn't a bad person at heart. She was just never loved, which made her desperate."

"Laura, you have a complete family and the love of your parents, but what does she have?"

"She had to hide in the dark, watching you be happy while she had nothing."

When he spoke of Amy, his voice was filled with deep tenderness, as if being with me had been nothing but a sacrifice.

On our wedding night, he had been so excited that he couldn't sleep, holding me tightly and whispering how happy he was to finally marry the girl of his dreams. But now, he didn't even care about the woman who had put my mother in the hospital.

Tears blurred my vision. Before I could find my voice to confront him, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen.

I didn't call out to him for help again. Instead, right before I lost consciousness, I managed to dial emergency services.

When I woke up, I was staring at the sterile white ceiling of a hospital room.

I tried to move my hand, only to find it held tightly in a warm grasp. Sensing my movement, the man beside me quickly leaned forward, his eyes filled with intense concern.

"Laura, you're finally awake."

"How are you feeling? Does your stomach still hurt?"

"Thank goodness you called the ambulance in time. The baby is safe."

I stared at him for a long time, my mind struggling to process the scene.

Only then did I realize that the man in front of me was the present-day Christian. This was the expectant father who, just last night, had pressed his ear to my stomach to listen for a heartbeat. This was the devoted husband who had taken massage classes just to soothe my swollen legs.

I looked at his face, my mind flooded with memories of his gentle care.

When Amy had ruined my family, taken my father away, and tried to cast me out, Christian had held me close, promising he would make up for all the love I had lost. He loved me so much, and he had always protected me from the slightest harm.

How could he ever conspire with the person who had put my mother in the hospital?

Feeling the warmth of his palm, I began to doubt the reality of that future video call.

"It doesn't hurt anymore. Don't worry," I said, forcing a small smile as I looked at him.

He was wearing the same clothes he had on when he left the house, and he carried that familiar, comforting woody scent. His eyes held only me, with no trace of guilt.

I was about to let out a sigh of relief, but then my gaze fell on his hand.

His ring finger was bare. The wedding band he had sworn never to take off was missing.

I pressed my lips together and spoke softly. "Christian, I feel a bit uncomfortable again."

"Could you go find the doctor for me?"

Christian's expression tightened instantly, and he scrambled to his feet. "Yes, I will go right now. Wait for me."

The moment he left the room, I reached for his phone on the bedside table.

The passcode was still my birthday, the wallpaper was still our wedding photo, and his notes app was filled with lists of my favorite things. Everything seemed perfectly normal, brimming with love.

I breathed a sigh of relief, a small smile returning to my lips. Thank goodness I hadn't misjudged him.

But just as I was about to lock the screen, my finger hovered over the photo gallery. Christian always took screenshots of my online shopping cart to surprise me by purchasing the items. Curious to see what he was planning next, I opened the album.

As I tapped the screen, hundreds of photos of him and Amy flooded my vision.

The restaurants we had dined at, the vacation spots we had visited, they had already been to all of them together. Even the wedding dress Christian had personally selected for me was one that Amy had already tried on.

I scrolled to the very last photo.

Christian had brought her into our home, holding her close on our sofa while I lay asleep on the adjacent couch in the background.

I stared at the image, my mind going entirely blank. My hands shook so violently I could barely breathe.

Right then, my phone buzzed. It was a call from the future Christian.

"You must have found them by now."

"You almost found out three years ago too, but you chose to deceive yourself."

"Laura, our child didn't die of natural causes. He died because his heart was harvested for a transplant."

His tone was incredibly casual, as if he were discussing a minor detail.

My brain shut down, and the blood in my veins ran cold. He continued without caring about my shock.

"It was hard for me too. He was so small, after all."

"He didn't even get to open his eyes before he stopped breathing."

"To make sure you wouldn't find out, I had his body cremated immediately. I didn't even leave you his ashes."

My eyes widened, and I screamed into the receiver. "That's impossible!"

"That was our baby! Christian would never do that!"

"Never? Why don't you walk downstairs then? Amy is currently staying in the VIP ward on the third floor."

His absolute certainty shattered the last of my denial.

I forced myself out of bed, every step a painful struggle. The moment the elevator reached the third floor, I heard a familiar, cold voice coming from the hallway.

"From this moment on, you must monitor her twenty-four hours a day."

"Nothing must go wrong with Laura's pregnancy."

"If the heart transplant for Lily isn't successful, I will make sure none of you ever work in this industry again!"

The doctors bowed repeatedly, not daring to make a sound.

I clutched the hallway handrail, my knees buckling. The man who had just looked at me with such tenderness was now calmly planning to take my baby's life.

Only after Christian walked into the VIP suite did I gather the strength to step out of the elevator.

I walked to the glass window of the room, my fingers digging into my palms. Inside lay Amy. Next to her bed was an incubator containing a tiny newborn.

Seeing Amy's worried expression, Christian leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry. I have already instructed the doctors."

"Laura is gullible. We will just tell her the baby was stillborn, and she will believe it without question."

Amy frowned, still uneasy. "What if she finds out?"

"Even if she does, what can she do about it?" Christian chuckled softly, entirely confident. "Her father has abandoned her, and her mother is paralyzed in a hospital bed. Without me, she is absolutely nothing."

"You just focus on recovering your health." He pinched her nose affectionately, his tone light.

I leaned against the wall, covering my mouth to stifle my sobs.

As I reached for the door handle to confront them, another message popped up on my phone.

Laura, I suggest you don't make the same mistake you made three years ago.

You have nothing right now. Confronting him will change nothing.

His words felt like a mockery of my helplessness.

When you were pregnant, I used the excuse of your health to convince you to step down from the company.

In reality, I handed your position over to Amy. The business you spent eight years building was given to her by my own hands.

I stood frozen in the hallway.

I quickly messaged my assistant to verify the claim. The reply came back instantly: on the very day my pregnancy was confirmed, Christian had stripped me of my executive duties. Amy, a high school dropout, had been appointed Vice President on her first day at the firm.

The man who had stayed up with me to revise business plans, who had run himself ragged to secure investors, and who had held me close promising to protect me, was now ready to kill our child and give my life's work to my enemy.

A wave of profound grief and anger washed over me. I bit my lip so hard the taste of copper filled my mouth.

Hearing footsteps approaching, I forced myself to pull away from the wall and slip back to my room before Christian could find me.

By the time he returned, he had put his gentle mask back on. He brought the doctors in to perform a detailed check-up.

Seeing the sweat on my forehead and my red eyes, Christian panicked, grabbing my hand. "What's wrong? Does your stomach hurt?"

At his signal, the medical team began examining me with utmost care. Christian held my hand the entire time, looking as if he wished he could bear the pain for me.

"Mr. Faerch, your wife is fine. It is just hormonal fluctuation, likely caused by stress."

Hearing this, Christian let out a sigh of relief, his face filled with self-reproach. "It is my fault. I have been so busy with work lately that I haven't taken proper care of you."

"Once we go home, I will make some soothing tea for you."

These gestures, which once filled me with warmth, now only highlighted his terrifying acting skills. His care wasn't love. It was a calculated performance. The last lingering shred of affection in my heart died completely.

On the drive back, Christian kept fussing over my comfort. He adjusted the air conditioning vent away from me and placed a soft pillow behind my back. I stared out the window, refusing to look at him.

Suddenly, his phone began to ring repeatedly. He glanced at the screen, quickly silencing the call with a troubled expression. But the caller persisted.

"Is there an issue at the office?" I asked, acting completely oblivious. "You can just drop me off at home and go handle it. I will be fine."

Christian smiled, patting my head. "Alright. You are always so understanding."

After dropping me off with a few hurried instructions, he sped away.

Once his car disappeared around the corner, I called a taxi and headed straight to the company headquarters.

But when I reached the lobby, my facial recognition failed to open the security gates.

User not recognized as an employee. Access denied.

I let out a bitter, mocking laugh. At this point, what was I still trying to prove to myself? Christian had betrayed me completely, aligning himself with my worst enemy. Why was I still trying to search for excuses?

Just then, another text arrived.

I knew you would go to the office, but it is useless now.

The first time Amy and I slept together was right there in your office.

There was no remorse in his words, only a smug recollection of the affair.

I was pretending to help you revise a business proposal while she was hidden under your desk. You didn't suspect a thing, and you even ran out to buy me medicine because you thought my flushed face was from a fever.

Every word felt like a knife twisting in my heart. All along, my care had been nothing but a joke to them.

Suppressing the lump in my throat, I dialed my lawyer's number.

"Initiate a full audit of the company. I want every single transaction examined."

By evening, I returned to our dark, empty apartment and sank onto the floor. Christian was still out.

After a long hesitation, I dialed the future Christian's number again.

"Christian, did you ever regret what you did to me?"

"I thought we had built a life together through so much struggle, and that we were the most important people in each other's lives."

The line went quiet. After a long pause, his voice came through, raspy and low.

"I did regret it."

"The baby's death and the loss of the company broke you completely. You lost your mind."

"To protect Amy, I committed you to the asylum."

"But I forgot that Amy's mother was also in that facility. The moment she saw you, she decided to make you pay."

He sent a photo to my phone. I was covered in blood, my limbs severely bruised, hooked up to a ventilator just to stay alive.

"You shouldn't have targeted Amy back then. Her mother went to extremes to get revenge."

"In the end, you were left in a vegetative state, and Amy's mother was partially paralyzed from the struggle. To get even, Amy slipped into the hospital and pulled the plug on your mother's ventilator."

"To cover up her crime, I signed the consent form to withdraw life support, letting your mother pass away early."

He let out a long sigh, as if he had been a mere bystander in the tragedy, ignoring the fact that his actions had paved the way for every single bit of it.

I was so consumed by fury that my chest heaved violently, and I screamed into the phone. "Christian, you are an absolute monster!"

I grabbed a glass from the coffee table and shattered it on the floor just as the front door opened.

"Laura, what happened!"

Christian rushed over, his eyes widening as he saw the blood dripping from my cut hand. He looked genuinely devastated. "Who did this to you? Tell me, and I will make them pay!"

Looking at the concern in his eyes, my tears fell silently.

Christian, how do I tell you that the monster is you?

"No one," I whispered, shaking my head. "I am just... tired."

He pulled me into his arms, gently stroking my back. He stayed by my side the entire night, terrified that something would happen to me.

Even before leaving the next morning, he kept kissing my forehead and murmuring instructions.

"If you feel upset, call me immediately."

"I will drop everything and come home to be with you, okay?"

I knew his "work" was actually at the hospital with Amy, but I no longer cared.

After he left, I opened the files my lawyer had sent. During my pregnancy, Christian had repeatedly embezzled corporate funds to secure a luxury postpartum suite, a villa, and high-end baby items for Amy.

He was willing to sacrifice my career, my child, and even my mother just to make her happy. And there I was, happily rubbing my stomach, waiting for the day our family of three would be complete.

I remembered how joyful he had been when we first found out I was pregnant, spinning me around the hospital lobby before making a solemn promise.

"I will be the perfect father and husband. I will never let you down."

But reality had shattered that promise, leaving me with nothing but a bitter lesson.

I wiped my tears, gathered my resolve, and took a taxi to the hospital.

Lying on the cold operating table, I rested my hand on my stomach, feeling the faint flutter one last time.

At the same moment, my lawyer submitted all the audited evidence to the police.

While Christian was busy peeling fruit for Amy in her VIP suite, the door was thrown open.

Before he could react, officers stepped into the room. "Christian Faerch, you are under arrest for corporate embezzlement and illegal asset transfer. Please come with us."