When True Love Blossoms

I had no idea how many times I drove around the riverside highway in Santerra City. The sky had already begun to turn bright with the first light of dawn.

I thought about so many things.

Willow wasn't my biological sister.

Her mother used to work as a housekeeper in our home. She passed away suddenly from a severe illness, and no one could reach any of Willow's other relatives.

She was just a little three-year-old back then, always chasing after me and calling me "Eve".

Eventually, my parents just decided to raise her. They thought she could be a companion for me.

We grew up together with the children from the Hiltons, and over time, I had come to see her as my real family.

So, I never imagined—not once—that the two of them would betray me. That my little sister was now pregnant with my fiancé's baby.

As I drove with nowhere to go, lost in uncertainty, my phone rang.

It was the hospital.

"Ms. Langley, your premarital medical checkup results are in. You are currently five weeks pregnant."

It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. This baby had come at the worst possible time. I couldn't bring it into a world like this.

I returned home to get my ID, preparing to have an abortion. But when I walked in, Zachary was sitting on the couch.

Seeing me, his eyes lit up with joy.

"Yvonne, where did you go? I've been waiting forever. I finished working late and came straight home to wait for you.

"I didn't sleep all night, and I even brought your favorite cake."

If he truly loved me, he would've noticed the bed was still perfectly made.

I looked worn out and exhausted, like someone who had been out all night. Compared to him, I was the one who looked like they'd been working overtime.

He pulled me down to sit with him on the couch and cut a slice of cake for me.

"We're getting married next week. Today marks exactly one week before our wedding."

The way he looked at me, so full of emotion and attention—it was nothing short of ironic. But maybe this was a fitting end. A perfect close to a rotten chapter.

The cake touched my tongue—cheap cream, greasy and cloying, sticking to the roof of my mouth. Just like this relationship—cheap and sickening.

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. Cold sweat broke out all over my body, and it felt like something was lodged in my throat. Red rashes began to break out across my hands and body.

Zachary panicked and quickly apologized.

"Yvonne, I'm sorry! I forgot you're allergic to peanuts! I'll take you to the hospital right now!"

He grabbed the car keys and was about to rush out, but at that moment, a call came through.

"Zachary, my stomach really hurts. I think something's wrong with the baby. Can you come check on us?"

Zachary froze.

After a moment of hesitation, he leaned toward me and said softly, "Yvonne, the project data is all messed up. I'll call you a ride. Just go to the hospital yourself, okay?"

My face was ashen, the severe allergic reaction twisting my stomach into knots. I was quickly losing strength.

"Zachary, save me. Take me to the hospital..."

Then, from the phone, Willow's voice suddenly grew louder. "Zachary, I'm bleeding!"

Zachary didn't hesitate anymore. He looked at me once, dropped a quick "I called you a car," and disappeared from sight.

Two silent tears slid down my cheeks.

I wanted to live. I had to!

I would never let that vile pair keep humiliating me—openly or in the shadows—ever again.