Chapter 4

I was stunned by the slap.

“What?”

Before I could process what was happening, Gwen suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me.

She cried out desperately, as though I were some unforgivable criminal.

“Olivia, I know it was wrong of me to fake my death and leave you with an injured hand that means you can never perform surgery again. But no matter what, you can't take your anger out on the baby.”

“The baby is innocent. Please, for the sake of all the years we've spent as sisters, let her go.”

As she spoke, Gwen suddenly began banging her head against the floor. The dull thuds echoed through the room, and blood soon seeped from her forehead.

“Gwen!” Freddie hurried over and helped Gwen to her feet.

Then he turned to me, his eyes bloodshot.

“Olive, how could you be so heartless? This is between you and me. How could you bring an innocent baby who isn't even a few months old into our feud?”

“I didn't!” I stubbornly raised my head to look at him, my voice hoarse. “Freddie, I'm a doctor. No matter what happened between us, I would never hurt a child.”

“You're lying!” Gwen cut me off, her eyes red as tears streamed down her face. “Who else could possibly hate this baby enough to do something like this besides you?”

She grabbed Freddie's arm, her voice trembling. “Freddie, the baby’s so little. She hasn't even had the chance to see much of the world… If anything happens to her, I don't want to live anymore.”

With that, she seemed to lose all strength and collapsed to the floor.

“Gwen!”

Everyone around them rushed over.

Dad finally seemed to lose his patience. He grabbed me by the throat and rasped, “Tell me! Where did you hide the baby?”

The air around me felt thin. I could barely breathe.

I struggled with all my strength, but I'd just had surgery. Against a grown man, my resistance was utterly futile.

“I told you, I didn't hide her. I don't even know where the baby is now…”

“Olive!”

Mom's voice rose sharply as she pulled me away from Dad and grabbed my right hand.

The moment I could breathe again, I broke into a violent coughing fit. A faint metallic taste of blood rose in my throat.

“After all these years, why are you still so heartless? First, it was your sister's toys, birthday cakes, new dresses…”

“Now you won't even spare a baby. Do you really have to destroy her, too? Tell us where she is, and I'll let you off.”

My whole body was trembling as I said, “I didn't do any of those things. And I didn't do anything to the baby either.”

When I denied everything, she seemed to make up her mind. Gritting her teeth, she said, “You forced me to do this.”

A terrible feeling washed over me as I struggled to speak. “What are you going to do?”

Suddenly, excruciating pain shot through the hand she was holding. In an instant, cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

“Ah!”

The searing pain made my ears ring. I could barely hear anything anymore.

All I could see was Mom's face, twisted with the force she was using.

Meanwhile, Freddie was only concerned with holding Gwen in his arms.

The look he gave me was ice-cold, as though I were some irredeemable criminal. That Hello Kitty sticker was still stuck to the back of his hand.

For a moment, I was lost in a haze.

I suddenly remembered how, years ago, Freddie had looked at my injured right hand with such heartache after I hurt it protecting Gwen.

“Olive, as long as I'm here, I'll protect you. I'll never let you get hurt again.”

I guess time really could change a person. The boy who had once looked at me with nothing but love could now look at me with nothing but disgust.

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through my lower abdomen, followed by a warm liquid flowing down my legs.

Everyone's expression changed at the sight.

Freddie stood up, staring at me in shock.

“Olive…”

Just then, the door suddenly flew open, and an urgent female voice rang out.

“We found the baby. A nurse had taken her to get vaccinated. Come to the nurses' station and see if she's yours.”

In an instant, everyone sprang to their feet.

Even Gwen, who had been unconscious, woke up. She exchanged a glance with Freddie, their eyes filled with joy.

Everyone rushed out of the room, no one paying any attention to my hospital gown, already soaked in blood.

The room fell completely silent.

I stared at the blood on the floor. There were no tears left in my eyes. All that remained was numbness.

A notification popped up on my phone, reminding me that my flight was about to depart.

I changed out of my bloodstained clothes, as if I were shedding the relationship that had been tainted beyond repair.

Then I grabbed my documents and left the city without looking back.

The moment the plane soared high above the clouds, all I felt was freedom.

From now on, I would live only for myself.

Goodbye, Freddie. I never wanted to see you again.

When I stepped off the plane, my senior was waiting for me with a bouquet of flowers.

The professor standing beside him came over and shook my hand, smiling warmly.

“Welcome to the team.”

Meanwhile, the moment Freddie saw the baby, the weight in his heart finally lifted.

But in the next instant, my face suddenly flashed through his mind.

A terrible feeling came over him.

“If the baby is here, then… Olive didn't hide her…”

He had wrongfully accused me, and the realization made Freddie's heart pound.

But he quickly reassured himself. “No. Olive is strong, and she loves me. Once I apologize, she'll forgive me.”

Even so, his feet instinctively carried him toward my room.

“Freddie?” Gwen called after him, her voice filled with concern.

“What's wrong?”

Freddie shook his head instinctively and forced a smile. “Nothing. I'm just going for a walk.”

With that, he hurried away.

The farther he went, the faster his heart pounded.

It wasn't until he reached the door that he finally calmed down.

Freddie took a deep breath and pushed the door open, pretending to be casual.

“We found the baby. I'm sorry, Olive. We really did misunderstand…”

The rest of his sentence caught in Freddie's throat.

The hospital room was completely empty. Apart from the pool of blood on the floor, there was no sign of me anywhere.

Freddie stared at the blood, panic taking over as he frantically called my name.

“Olive?”

“Olive!”

Then something on the hospital bed caught his attention. It was a document confirming the abortion.

With trembling hands, Freddie picked it up.

His face turned deathly pale.