The Void of Love: Living Without Her

They held a banquet in the mansion, and many distinguished guests had been invited.

Everyone spoke flattering words, and no one questioned where the child came from.

It seemed as if it was normal for me to have a son like Doran.

I sat aside, watching the lively scene silently.

Suddenly, someone handed Doran to me and said, "He wants his mother!"

I snapped out of my thoughts and instinctively took Doran over.

As soon as Doran was in my arms, he started crying. I hurriedly soothed him.

But suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and I instinctively let go.

As a result, Doran fell to the ground.

The maid beside me quickly caught Doran and asked pitifully, "Mrs. Alwyn, how did the child offend you? Why did you drop him like this?"

I covered my chest and found that this maid was actually Estelle.

Her face looked gentle, but her eyes were full of venom.

Estelle lifted Doran's clothes and raised his arm.

There were several pinholes on Doran's tender skin.

The hall suddenly fell into silence.

Then, the guests began to whisper.

"Well, well. I didn't expect the child's legitimate mother to be so malicious towards him."

"Well, I'm not that surprised. After all, he's not her biological son. She pricked the child with needles and dropped him on the ground, obviously wanting the child dead."

I knew that I was set up.

That needle was probably somewhere on me. It just pricked me.

There were so many people in the hall, and I couldn't prove my innocence by taking off my clothes.

Besides, who would believe that a three-year-old child would be part of this scheme?

I straightened my skirt and looked at Estelle, saying calmly, "I've been sick recently, and I'm still weak. I just couldn't hold the child steadily. Why did you frame me by saying I deliberately dropped him?

"Besides, he is my son. He was just bitten by mosquitoes. You're just a maid. Who do you think you are to make a fuss and accuse me at the banquet? Guards, get her out!"

Estelle quickly knelt down and kowtowed, apologizing, "I...I'm sorry. Please spare me, Mrs. Alwyn!"

Estelle dared to cause trouble for me in public, but she didn't dare to admit in front of everyone that she was Doran's birth mother.

With her current identity, she couldn't afford the consequence of damaging the Alwyn family's reputation.

But I forgot that there was a person who dared to.

"Mildred! How dare you! You, kneel!"

Cheryl walked out of the crowd, looked at Doran's wound with concern, and asked her maid to call the doctor over.

Then, she turned to look at me coldly.

I stood up and bowed slightly, saying, "I don't know what I did wrong, let alone why I should kneel."

Cheryl was strong-willed, but I refused to comply with her order in public.

This made her feel embarrassed and angry.

Cheryl snapped, "You harmed an innocent child, you malicious woman. Why can't I punish you and make you kneel? Besides, you've married into our family for so many years, but you still haven't got pregnant. I can directly let Armand divorce you if I want!"

Since I married into the Alwyn family, I had taken care of everything in the mansion perfectly all along.

When Cheryl was seriously ill, I tried to ask a highly skilled doctor to treat her five times.

But Cheryl didn't appreciate that. She even thought I was malicious and blamed me.

Ignoring the curious gazes around me, I straightened my back and said, "No."

"Good! Good! Very good! You don't even listen to my words now, huh? Kneel down! Now!"

Cheryl's chest heaved, and she was so angry. Estelle supported her, trying to let her calm down. "Madam Alwyn, don't get angry. It won't do any good for your health."

The guests all spoke up.

"Madam Alwyn asked you to kneel. You should listen to her," a man said to me.

"This is really an eye-opener for me. Mr. Alwyn's wife doesn't respect the elderly, and she even wants to harm a child," a woman remarked.

At this moment, I became the target of everyone's criticism.

Standing in the crowd, I felt so hurt in my heart.

Suddenly, Armand came to hold my hand and stood in front of me.

He instructed Cheryl's maid directly, "Madam Alwyn needs some rest. Send her back to her room."

Then, he turned to face the guests, apologizing, "My son was just bitten by mosquitoes. Sorry to make you misunderstand it."

With just a few words, Armand solved the problem and settled the commotion.

After the banquet, I made Estelle kneel in the courtyard and had a servant slap her.

Armand hurriedly came.

He tried to persuade me, saying, "She's Doran's birth mother after all. She suffered a great deal during childbirth, so she has always been very weak. You don't have to punish her like this, do you?"

I was unmoved and said, "If you didn't come today, I would be the one to be punished."

Armand sighed helplessly, "Mildred, when did you become so heartless?

"Forget it. You can't give birth, so you naturally don't understand the pain of having childbirth, and you don't care about the child as much as his real mother does."

Hearing Armand say so, I looked at him in shock and disbelief.

I couldn't believe that he would actually say something like that.

"Do you think I really did those things at the banquet?" I asked.

Armand took out a silver needle from my robe and threw it on the table.

With disappointment in his eyes, he said to me, "You should calm down. I'll give you a moment."

Then, ignoring my call, he got up and left.

He also took Estelle with him.

That night, Armand sent someone to inform me that he would sleep in the study.