Spring Without Return

However, that time, for the first time in my life, I argued back.

“No! I am not giving up my baby no matter what! Even if I have to raise this child alone, I will never get rid of him!”

I tried to run away in tears. During the struggle, I lost my footing and fell down the stairs.

When I woke up, I lay in a hospital bed.

The baby was gone, and Ethan was not there.

There was only one message on my phone. He said an important overseas meeting had come up and that he would be away on a business trip for a few days.

Back then, I believed something serious must have happened for him to leave me alone at the weakest and most painful moment of my life.

I finally understood the truth.

He had not left because of work. He had gone home with Olivia and their child so he could tell the world that she was his rightful wife.

The realization cut through me like a blade. My chest tightened, and tears blurred my vision.

I wandered back to Stormbay in a daze. I did not go home. I went straight to the immigration office. I wanted to transfer my identity registration back across the ocean and withdraw the savings I had spent years building through work.

After the employee entered my information into the system, she looked up at me with suspicion.

“Ms. Quinn, the Crownland ID card you are carrying is fake. Your official identity registration has always been tied to your overseas citizenship. All these years, you have only stayed in Crownland on a tourist visa.

“And this bank card does not belong to you either. The account holder is a woman named Olivia.

“In other words, if you want to withdraw any money, you will need her permission.”

My mind went blank.

On my first day in Crownland, Ethan had handed me that local ID card. He told me he had arranged long-term residency for me so I would not have to worry about visas. I never doubted him.

The bank card?

The gallery’s finance department gave it to me during my second month of work. It was supposed to be my payroll card.

I had lived carefully for years, saving every penny so I could have a little security of my own.

I thought that if Ethan ever stopped loving me, at least I would not be left with nothing.

Ethan knew better than anyone how much stability and that job meant to me. I could not understand why he would do that to me.

I stumbled out of the office in a panic, flagged down a cab, and rushed to the art gallery where I had worked for five years.

The gallery owner was a gentle middle-aged local woman named Cooper.

She had always treated me politely. When I burst into her office, she was organizing a collection of award-winning artwork from previous years.

In the past, she never allowed me to look through those files. She always said artists should not be influenced by outside opinions.

This time, I ignored all manners and pulled the folder from her hands.

The moment I saw the name listed under the awards, my breathing froze.

Olivia.

Every award-winning painting I had poured my soul into for five years, every sleepless night, every ounce of effort and passion…

The final signature on all of them belonged to Olivia.

My knees nearly gave out.

“Sophie, why are my payroll card and all the competition entries registered under Olivia’s name?

“The copyrights to those paintings, the awards, the recognition… they all became Olivia’s? Then what was the point of all my hard work these past years?”

Sophie gave an awkward laugh and avoided my eyes.

“Ms. Quinn, this was arranged according to Mr. Ferguson’s instructions from the beginning.

“Ms. Lynch is family to him. Registering everything under her identity made management easier and avoided trouble. It also saved her the effort of creating artwork herself.

“We are a small gallery. There are many things we cannot decide. Please do not make things difficult for us…”

As I listened, the last trace of hope inside me shattered.