SPF on Her Skin, A Knife in My Heart

My heart sank. "Ted Cohen! What the hell are you up to?"

Ted stood outside the door and scoffed. "I shouldn't have relented and brought you to meet my friends. You were so eager to come home, right? Enjoy staying at home."

Suddenly, a stabbing pain shot through my belly. Warm fluid gushed down my legs and pooled on the floor.

Feeling terrified, I pounded on the door and screamed, "Ted! Let me out! I think I'm going into labor."

Ted burst out laughing and sneered, "Stop using the baby as an excuse. You're only seven months pregnant. There's no way the baby is out so soon.

"I promised Suzy to drink with her all night. It's just for a night. Go to sleep, and it'll be over soon."

With that, Ted slammed the door and left.

Seeing the amniotic fluid spreading across the floor, I hurriedly called my mother, who was overseas. She moved fast.

Ten minutes later, the Moore family's bodyguards arrived, forced the door open with their tools, and rushed me to the hospital.

At the hospital, Ted's older sister, Larissa Cohen, looked at me in disbelief. She immediately arranged for a medical examination. "What happened, Nina? I-It looks like the baby is in distress. Hang on. We are going to rescue—"

I caught her hand and interrupted, "Larissa, the baby's gone, right? I can feel it."

The baby had stopped moving when Ted left.

Holding back her tears, Larissa nodded and explained, "The baby's already fully formed. Although you still have to deliver him. It'll be okay. You and Ted will have more children in the future."

I stayed silent. Did Ted deserve that?

By the next morning, the baby was born. When they placed him in my arms, I finally broke and cried aloud.

Unable to hold back her fury, Larissa called Ted. He said in annoyance, "Did you speak to Nina? Just ignore her. She's faking it."

Larissa fought to keep her temper in check. "Faking it? Do you know she's in the hospital right now?"

Just then, Suzy's slurry drunken voice drifted through the line. "Brat, get this bra off me now! I'm burning!"

Muffled, intimate sounds filtered through the line. When Ted finally spoke again, his breathing was heavy and ragged.

"She's just worried I'll forget what day it is tomorrow, right? Fine. I'll be at the hotel tomorrow. Tell her to stop bothering me."

With that, the line went dead.

After I tucked my baby, my gaze turned cold as I spoke to the bodyguards standing behind me. "I want to hold a proper, dignified funeral for my child tomorrow."

Tomorrow was supposed to be Ted and my wedding anniversary.

I logged into Instagram at night and saw Suzy's latest post. "Fifteen years of close friendship. How could anyone else steal him away?"

The photo showed her lying on the bed with a man pressed against her. Their fingers were entwined, their faces flushed.

After I blacklisted their contacts, I went ahead and filed for divorce.

Since Suzy and Ted were so deeply in love, I decided to give them a huge gift tomorrow.

The next morning, I carried my child's ashes with me. I had just reached the hotel's private dining room when I ran into Ted.

He pushed the bouquet of roses he was holding into my hands and said, "Don't be angry. I already taught that troublemaker a lesson for you last night. See? I still remember our anniversary."

Suzy suddenly jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're the troublemaker. Who was the one being punished last night? I'm gonna beat you up!"

I saw the red marks on his neck and laughed. "Looks like the session was very intense. Were your fingers long enough to go all the way inside her?"

Ted was stunned by my question. "Why does everything that comes out of your mouth have to be so disgusting?

"Suzy was so worried about upsetting you, so she made a point to come to our anniversary celebration. Why are you being so rude to her?"

When Ted saw the urn in my arms, his brow furrowed. "What are you holding?

I pulled the urn closer, shielding it beneath my coat, and glared at him. "You're the least qualified person to ask that."

Suzy scoffed and said, "Cut the act. Are you playing hard-to-get with the little brat?"

Then, she lunged forward and snatched the urn from my arms. "Let me see what it is."

Suzy moved so fast that I didn't even have time to react. By the time I came back to my senses, my child's ashes were scattered all over the floor.

"No!" I sprawled onto the floor and tried to sweep the ashes back into the urn. However, Suzy swung her foot, kicking and smearing the ashes across the floor.

"Damn it, brat. Is she going to extort me? I don't care. You're going to pay for this."

I couldn't tolerate it any longer, so I slapped Suzy hard across the face. "Do you have a death wish?"

I hit her with all my strength, and the corner of her mouth swelled instantly.

Before I could slap her again, Ted grabbed my arm and snapped, "That's enough. Are you crazy? Isn't it just flour? I could—"

He looked at my flat stomach and paused. "N-Nina, what happened to your stomach?"