Chapter 5

When I woke up, I found myself lying in a hospital bed, an IV drip in my arm. My mom was sitting next to me, and the moment she saw me open my eyes, her voice trembled with emotion.

"Anstey... how are you feeling?"

I weakly shook my head, my throat dry and scratchy. She gently propped me up with a pillow behind my back and handed me a glass of water.

Outside, I could hear shouting.

"She went through hell just to have a child for your Fairclough family! And this is how you repay her?!"

It was my dad, his voice furious.

Confused, I froze. "What is he talking about? The Fairclough family's child?"

A wave of disbelief washed over me as my hand instinctively moved to my stomach.

"Mom... am I... pregnant?" I croaked, barely able to speak.

Her eyes filled with tears as she nodded.

"Yes... but... the doctors couldn't save the baby..."

A deafening silence rang in my ears as my world shattered. I had been pregnant with Nelson's child? I never even realized it with everything that had been happening lately. My cycles had always been irregular, and now... the baby was gone.

An overwhelming sadness hit me like a freight train.

From outside, I heard Nelson's voice.

"I didn't know Anstey was pregnant... she never told me..."

My dad's anger exploded.

"You heartless bastard! Don't act like you don't know! I know everything! You were fooling around with your cousin's wife, got her pregnant, and brought her here to this tiny hospital, hoping Anstey wouldn't find out. And then you had the nerve to hit her! It's your fault she lost the baby!"

Just then, Rosina barged in, immediately defending her son.

"How dare you talk to my son like that? If your daughter couldn't keep her baby, that's her bad luck! Don't you dare call my grandson a bastard!"

My dad's voice shook with rage.

"Your son cheated on his wife, and you still defend him?"

"It's because your daughter couldn't give him a child! They've been married for years and she never got pregnant. My son had no choice but to find someone else!"

"You... you're shameless!"

Rosina didn't back down, spouting her nonsense without any shame. My mom, fed up, stood up and walked toward the door.

Instead of yelling, she spoke calmly, "This is pointless. You owe Anstey an apology. Now figure out how you're going to make things right."

Rosina sneered.

"Make things right? The only thing left is a divorce! My son is marrying Olivia. My grandson deserves a real family!"

My mom turned to Nelson.

"What about you, Nelson? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Backed by his mother, Nelson's tone was icy.

"Let's just divorce, then. I'll make sure Anstey gets her fair share of the property."

My dad snapped.

"You'll leave with nothing!"

Rosina fired back, "Why should he? Nelson, don't listen to him. Just give Anstey a few tens of thousands of dollars and call it done!"

My dad glared at her.

"Tens of thousands? Are you insulting us?"

By now, I had calmed down. I knew the divorce was inevitable. But I wasn't about to let them walk away unscathed.

My mom spoke one last time.

"This isn't the place for this. We'll get lawyers involved and handle it the right way."

The confrontation ended with a heavy silence.

When my parents returned to my bedside to comfort me, I remained eerily calm.

I asked my mom for my phone and began scrolling through my contacts.

She looked confused.

"Who are you calling? A lawyer?"

I shook my head.

"No. I'm looking for Nelson's cousin, Edmund."