Chapter 4
“Kate, I don’t care about your lover’s child. If you refuse to divorce me, then we’ll settle this in court.” Kate trembled with fury. “Mike, are you seriously threatening me with a lawsuit? You’re willing to drag both of our families’ reputations through the mud just because you can’t stand Andrew?” Her voice turned sharp, laced with scorn. “In today’s world, people like me have male models on the side. I didn’t even hide it from you—doesn’t that show how much I respected you? And you still want a divorce? Maybe it’s you who needs to reflect.” With that, she wrapped her arms around Andrew and stormed off, not sparing me a second glance. I let out a low, bitter laugh. Years of tolerance. Years of sacrificing my pride for her. It had only fed her arrogance and turned my love into something she trampled without thought. And just like that, everything I once felt for her… disappeared. For an entire week, Kate never came to see me at the hospital. But Andrew’s posts were filled with her presence—photos of her strolling the ancient city walls with him, wearing an apron as she prepared homemade soup, smiling as he photographed her and posted her pictures like trophies. It was ironic. She had once claimed to hate posting on messanger. Said it was childish. Undignified. I had begged her once to take a photo with me—just one—and she had turned pale, snatched my phone and deleted it before ten seconds passed. And now? There she was, beaming in Andrew’s arms beneath the historic stone arches, her smile brighter than I’d ever seen. Love and indifference, it turned out, were plain as day. On the eighth day, Kate finally returned to handle my discharge. I didn’t say a word. I simply followed her out. As we stepped into the villa, shrill, panicked screams rang out from inside. Before I could process what was happening, Kate bolted forward like a gust of wind. I ran in after her. Inside, two scruffy men were dragging Andrew across the floor, their grip forceful and predatory. “Come on, handsome,” one of them sneered, “I was paid to serve you, so stop playing hard to get.” Andrew collapsed to his knees, sobbing as he pleaded. “Don’t touch me—please, I’m begging you!” His clothes were torn, his face streaked with tears, his body trembling. With a shout, Kate lunged forward and punched one of the men square in the jaw. He stumbled back and she quickly gathered Andrew into her arms. Bodyguards rushed in behind us, armed with sticks. The two men bolted in fear, scrambling over the courtyard wall and disappearing into the distance. Andrew clung to Kate like a lifeline, his voice ragged. “Kate… someone sent them. Someone paid them to come.” Then, turning his tear-streaked face toward me, he pointed with trembling fingers. “Mike, how could you be so cruel? I was nearly ruined—and you brought men to humiliate me like this!” He suddenly pushed himself out of Kate’s arms, stumbling over to me and collapsing to his knees. With a guttural sob, he began slamming his forehead against the floor. “Mike, please—I’m begging you. It’s all my fault. Just don’t hurt my child. Once he’s born, I’ll disappear forever. I’ll go to the mountains, to the desert—anywhere. Just… just let my child live!” The thud of his head against the ground echoed through the hall. His forehead swelled rapidly and blood trickled down in thin red streams. Kate wrapped her arms around him again, cradling him like a mother with her child. “Andrew… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t protect you.” Andrew looked up at her with trembling lips, his face pale and streaked with tears. “Sister… please. Let me go.” Then he buried his face in her lap and sobbed until his voice broke. Kate’s tears fell silently as she stroked his hair and kissed his bruised forehead over and over again. “Andrew, I won’t let you go. I can’t. Don’t leave me.” “I thought this life would last forever,” she whispered, voice thick with sorrow. “You were so gentle. So kind. Heaven brought you into my life. And you are the one I love most in this world.” Her words pierced me like an icy blade, clean and merciless. Even though I had already let go of hope, something deep within me still shattered.