Tides of Betrayal

Back then, he had held me tightly after almost losing me, swearing he would protect me for the rest of my life, never letting me suffer again.

I tried to use that guilt to awaken what was left of his conscience.

He only lowered his head, avoiding my gaze, and repeated quietly, "Iris, even if you give birth to this child, no one will love it. Its existence is unnecessary."

In that moment, I had to grip the doorframe just to keep myself from collapsing.

It wasn’t just his judgment of the child. It was the way he tore open the deepest wound in my heart without hesitation.

From the moment I was born, I had always been the unnecessary child in this family. No one loved me except my grandmother.

My parents and everyone around me favored the lively, cheerful Selena.

Until I met him.

Thirteen years.

Thirteen years to heal me.

He was the one who said I was never unnecessary and that I was the most precious treasure in the world.

After a lifetime of being ignored, scolded, and discarded, I had finally begun to make peace with myself, to forget the pain.

Yet I had forgotten that even the person closest to you can stab you the deepest.

He knew.

He had promised to protect me.

And yet he still stood with them, carving into my heart piece by piece, reopening every scar I had tried to bury, leaving me shattered, in unbearable pain.

Just as I was sinking into despair, Selena stepped in, blocking the others and appearing to defend me.

However, where they couldn’t see, she smirked and whispered, "Iris, so what if you’re pregnant? No one will love you. You didn’t know, did you? Every time Lucian said he was busy, he was with me.

"You and that whelp inside your belly are both unnecessary. See? With just a flick of my finger, I can make them abandon you and choose me."

Meeting my desperate gaze, she enunciated each word clearly. "I’m not sick at all. I just don’t want you to have a good life."

She slammed her elbow into my stomach.

I shoved her away in panic. A heavy pain dragged through my abdomen as a wave of indescribable fear swept over me.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

My baby. My baby—

Mom rushed over and slapped me again.

"You’re a monster! Your sister is still sick, and you’re hitting her? How did I give birth to something like you?!"

My face burned, cold sweat drenched my body, and the pain in my abdomen nearly made me pass out. I bit down hard on my tongue to stay conscious, grabbing Lucian’s arm.

"Save the baby… please, save the baby… Lucian, I’m begging you…"

Selena suddenly started bleeding, letting out a terrified scream.

Lucian shook off my hand and rebuked me, "If the baby’s gone, that’s your own fault. If you hadn’t been so vicious and pushed Selena, would this have happened?"

I could barely stand, yet it felt like a dull blade was carving my heart open, blood pouring endlessly.

"No… Lucian, please… save the baby. I’m begging you. Save our child. Just call a doctor—"

"No way." He didn’t even look at me. He threw out the words coldly, then scooped Selena into his arms and ran off to find a doctor.

My parents followed immediately, their worried eyes fixed entirely on her.

As if her suffering alone mattered.

As if the sky itself would collapse if something happened to her.

Now that I was a mother, I understood that kind of love. Their concern for her was instinct.

But wasn’t I their child too?

Abandoned by my husband and my parents, I curled up on the floor. It took over ten minutes for a hospital orderly to find me.

By some miracle, the baby was saved.

Lying alone in the hospital bed, I watched the young couple in the next bed laugh and chat happily, discussing what they would name their child. The hope and sweetness in their eyes pierced me, yet stirred something tender inside me as well.

I placed my hand over my stomach and whispered silently, "Even if you weren’t wanted by others, I will love you with everything I have."

Lucian, who had disappeared for an entire day, finally came to my room.

I thought that even if nothing else, he would at least ask how I was. Instead, he frowned the moment he saw me.

"Stop pretending to be sick, Iris. Selena is bleeding again. Can you really stand by and watch your sister die? Or watch your parents bury their own child?"