Chapter 2

Ophelia’s POV

“What nonsense are you talking about? How could the baby I’m carrying possibly be yours?”

The man on the other end sounded way too calm, unhurriedly explaining, “I’m very sorry, but the baby you’re carrying is indeed mine. The doctor made a mistake during the procedure… and this is the result.”

Then he added, “Because of my family situation, I need a child—and a wife. I believe you could also use my help right now.”

When I heard that, my heart dropped so hard it felt like it hit the floor.

In the dead silence, the only thing I could hear was my own strangled voice.

“Who exactly are you? Why do you know so much?”

The man on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then explained everything clearly to me.

Because of my health issues, when Conrad said he wanted a baby with me, I was so excited.

But for some reason, years passed and I still couldn’t get pregnant.

Back then, I was very discouraged. Now, it seems that everything had been planned by Conrad and Estelle from the very beginning.

Because she was afraid of pain and didn’t want to give birth, they decided it would be simpler to let me be the surrogate.

And it was exactly because of this that I prepared for pregnancy for several years but still couldn’t get pregnant.

It wasn’t until this year that I finally made up my mind to go to the hospital. I didn’t expect the doctor to mess up and use Zane Montrose’s sperm with my egg. And that’s how this baby happened.

If I had gotten this news earlier, I would probably have been extremely furious, and might even have directly aborted the child.

But after knowing all the truth, the fact that this child is not Conrad’s instead made me incomparably relieved.

Zane said that if I agreed to become his contract wife, he’d help me deal with Conrad and Estelle.

And honestly, I could not do that on my own.

My family company had already been infiltrated by Conrad. He was just waiting for one month later, when I would have an “accident,” and then he could completely swallow the rest.

Thinking of this, I agreed to Zane’s request without any more hesitation.

In one month, I’ll take my baby and my new fragrance line to join Montrose Corporation.

And the Hollowells Group would be completely destroyed in my hands!

That night, I prepared the divorce agreement, ready for Conrad to sign it.

But even late into the night, he still hadn’t come back.

I moved my stiff body, tugged at the corner of my mouth, and silently sneered.

Just as I was about to make a phone call, my phone suddenly rang.

An anonymous number sent me an address, along with a message.

My phone’s auto-reader started playing it out loud.

“Your husband is here with another woman. Maybe you should come see. But you should just know your place and back off. After all, you’re just a blind woman.”

I didn’t need to think twice; that message was definitely from Estelle.

I didn’t want to pay attention to it, but in the end, I still grabbed the divorce agreement and went to the address.

Before I even stepped inside, I heard Conrad’s buddies laughing.

Different from the shy politeness they showed in front of me before, inside the private room they seemed to have let go of all restraints.

“Bro, when are you gonna bring Estelle home? Isn’t it time to get rid of that blind woman? Though… she’s still pregnant. That’s a bit of a problem.”

“The baby’s no issue. She can give birth, and then Estelle can raise it. Estelle is so kind-hearted. If it weren’t for that blind woman guilt-tripping Conrad into marrying her, the two of them wouldn’t have been separated in the first place.”

Just those two sentences made all the blood in my body run backward, turning completely cold.

It turned out, everyone knew about Conrad and Estelle. Only I was kept in the dark.

I gripped the divorce agreement, my whole body trembling violently. A surge of anger and pain from being toyed with completely swallowed my heart.

Just then, my phone suddenly rang. It was Conrad calling!

In an instant, the private room went silent.

“Ophelia?”

His hesitant voice came through.

I turned around and left without thinking.

He rushed out just in time to see my back. It was familiar enough to make his heart race.

He almost chased after me. But then Estelle’s voice called him from inside the room.

He hesitated just for a second. In the end, under her increasingly urgent calls, he returned to the private room.

I didn’t even know how I made it back to the villa.

All I knew was, the second I stepped inside, Conrad’s call came through.

“Ophelia, I just called you. Why didn’t you answer earlier? Were you not home?”

His voice was still as gentle as ever, yet I could hear a trace of suspicion in it.

I stayed quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his tone carried a hint of panic.

“Did someone tell you something? Don’t listen to them. Whatever it is, I’ll explain when I get back.”

He sounded just as affectionate as he did in the beginning; there wasn’t the slightest hint of lying.

But the way he acted in front of Estelle? He was a completely different man.

Thinking about everything he’d done to me, I didn’t hesitate anymore. I finally asked, “When are you coming back? I have something to tell you.”

The moment he heard that, he simply said, “Wait for me,” and hung up.

A second later, a message from Estelle popped up.

[Did you really think calling him home like this means you’ve won? As long as I want him, all I have to do is curl my finger and Conrad will come running right back to me. You heard it yourself earlier. Neither Conrad nor his buddies like you. If I were you, I wouldn’t even want to keep living.]

After everything I’ve been through, reading that message didn’t even stir anything in me anymore.

I just closed my phone and waited calmly for Conrad to show up.

The trip should’ve taken thirty minutes. But he shoved it into ten. When he rushed up to me, he was even out of breath.

He came over like he always did, gently supporting me.

“Ophelia, what did you want to talk about?”

I subtly avoided his hand and handed him the divorce agreement.

“Sign it.”

He froze for a second, then took the documents, asking, “Is this the fragrance project contract?”

He was just about to flip it open when his phone suddenly rang.

Even though he grabbed the phone fast, I still clearly saw the caller ID. It was Estelle.

When the call connected, all I heard on her end was her saying, “Conrad… I miss you so much…”

His expression shifted slightly. He lowered the volume and whispered a few comforting words to her.

When the call finally ended, he didn’t even bother reading the papers anymore; he just signed his name quickly.

Then he grabbed his car keys, ready to leave again.

“Ophelia, something urgent came up at work. Go to bed early. And about the fragrance project, there’s no need to rush.”

He casually tossed out a few lazy, half-hearted reassurances, then walked out without even looking back.

I clutched the signed divorce agreement tightly, watching his back as he left, and tugged at the corner of my lips.

“Conrad…” I muttered, “starting now, we’re no longer a married couple.”