chapter 3

In order to see their intentions clearly, I gritted my teeth and followed Vivian to the hospital.

The hospital corridor was blindingly white.

I sat alone on a cold bench.

Victor, Grandma, and Tristan were all gathered at the emergency room door.

They all had the same look of anxiety on their faces.

No one paid any attention to me.

Vivian sat a few meters away from me, looking down at her phone.

The door to the emergency room opened.

The doctor came out.

A group of people immediately surrounded him.

"Doctor, how is my daughter?"

"Is the child okay?"

The doctor took off his mask, looking a bit strange.

"The patient is fine, just a little scared."

"As for the child..." he paused.

Everyone held their breath.

"The ultrasound shows that the gestational sac is developing normally, it's already six weeks."

Six weeks.

I remembered - that was the week Tristan was away on a business trip.

Turns out, he was with my dear sister.

Grandma let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."

But Victor's face still looked grim.

He walked up to Tristan, lowering his voice, "So, what are you going to do now?"

Tristan glanced towards the emergency room, then at me, and leaned in to my dad's ear, saying:

"Uncle, this is my fault. We were indeed confused for a moment. But I will take responsibility."

"Responsibility?" Victor sneered, "How will you take responsibility? You're about to marry Sienna, and now you've gotten Luna pregnant!"

Tristan hung his head, his voice strained, "My marriage with Sienna... will have to be put on hold. I have to take responsibility for Luna."

Grandma immediately chimed in, "At this point, this is the only way. We can't let Luna have the child without a name or status, can we?"

She turned to me, her eyes turning cold and sharp:

"Sienna, you heard it too. This is how it's going to be. It's your own misfortune, don't blame others. From now on, Tristan is your brother-in-law, you need to know how to avoid rumours."

At that moment, Luna was wheeled out by a nurse.

She lay on a stretcher, her face pale.

"Dad, Grandma..." she weakly spoke, "Don't blame my brother-in-law, or my sister. It's all my fault. If my sister is unhappy, I... I can have an abortion."

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke.

"Nonsense!" Grandma immediately got upset, "This is the first grandson of our Ashmore family! How can we have an abortion!"

She glared at me, "If your sister dares to be unhappy, I'll kick her out of the house!"

Victor's face darkened. "Luna, take care of yourself and don't think about anything else. This child must be born."

He turned to Tristan. "Tristan, come home with us today and discuss your marriage with Luna."

Tristan nodded vigorously. "Okay, Uncle."

They surrounded Luna and left in a grand procession.

Throughout it all, no one looked at me again.

Vivian put away her phone, stood up, and walked over to me.

"Sienna, your mother was just like this, forced to death by your father and grandmother."

I looked at her in shock. "What are you saying? Didn't my mother die of illness?"

She pulled me aside and whispered, "It's not convenient to talk here. If you want to know the truth, come with me."

I followed Vivian to an apartment.

I never knew she had property outside before. It looked like she had been hiding money from my dad, this greedy woman.

"How did my mother really die?" I got straight to the point, not wanting to waste words with her.

"Your mother did die of illness. But if they hadn't told your mother about me and Luna, she could have lived at least ten more years."

"Vivian, you're a murderer too!"

I stared at her, squeezing the words out through my teeth.