“You? You two are dating” Victoria let out a cold laugh, then turned to Orlaith. “Miss Orlaith, you might not be aware, but I’ve been pregnant for more than three months. If you want to become a stepmother as soon as you walk in, I don’t mind handing the child over to you to raise.”
Orlaith’s face was ashen, and she raised her chin high, looking at them with disdain. However, she looked quite disheveled, with a bruised mouth and her hair in a mess, resembling a peacock with its feathers plucked, far from her usual pride.
“Caleb, is this your actress fiancee? Coming from such a humble background, she really lacks manners.”
“How could she compare to you?” Caleb took the opportunity to hold Orlaith’s hand and compliment her.
Orlaith snorted through her nose and turned to Caleb, saying, “Didn’t you say you want to be with me? I’ll give you a chance now. Slap her a few times, hard and viciously, until I’m satisfied, and I’ll agree to be your girl friend. As for the bastard in her belly, if she wants me to raise it, I don’t mind. Whether it lives or dies, I can’t guarantee.”
Upon hearing this, Caleb’s brow furrowed slightly. Though not a paragon of virtue, he wasn’t in the habit of hitting women, especially one he had once shared a bed with. But he knew Orlaith’s temper well. If he missed this chance, he could forget about getting close to her again.
Caleb’s face still showed hesitation, while Victoria instinctively took two steps back. She knew Caleb even better than he knew himself. As long as there was something to gain, there was nothing he wouldn’t do. The fact that he had sent her to the bed of that old man Finlo without hesitation was the best proof.
“Caleb, we’ve been together for so long. Even if the love is gone, there’s still affection. And I’m carrying your child. Do you really have the heart to hit me?” Victoria looked at Caleb with tearful eyes, subtly tugging at Charlotte.
A Taylor family heiress was not someone they could easily offend. Staying any longer would only lead to more trouble.
Charlotte understood Victoria’s signal and immediately rushed towards Orlaith, ready to kneel. “Miss Orlaith, you come from a noble background, unlike us from a humble household. But my daughter is already pregnant, I beg you to show mercy and spare my son-in-law!”
Charlotte cried so hard that she was covered in snot and tears, putting on an incredibly realistic performance. The surrounding onlookers kept whispering. Emily added fuel to the fire, “Everyone, judge for yourselves. A young lady from one of the four great families insists on being a mistress, stealing someone else’s husband, and acting so self-righteously. How shameless can one be?”
“You…” Orlaith, after all, had her own dignity to consider. If things got out of hand, how could she face the public in the future? Besides, her father was not a man of good temper. When her sister Scarlett had an affair, she was kicked out of the house and disowned. Orlaith didn’t want to follow in Scarlett’s footsteps.
“Caleb, you coward, you don’t even have the courage to hit a woman. I warn you, stay away from me in the future, or I’ll find someone to break your legs.”
Orlaith, mortified, threw one last disdainful comment, “You can have this man. I don’t care for him.”
She finished speaking and strode towards the elevator. Caleb, however, didn’t want to let her go easily, and they continued to tussle.
Frustrated, Orlaith reached the elevator but found it was taking too long. She pushed open the door to the emergency stairs and took the stairs instead.
“Orlaith, Orlaith, let me explain…” Caleb still held onto her.
“Caleb, you can’t abandon Victoria. What will happen to her and the child if you leave them?” Charlotte clung to Caleb’s shirt, clearly determined to break up Caleb and Orlaith.
“Brother-in-law, what’s so great about this woman? How can she compare to my sister?” Emily chimed in, adding to the chaos.
As the involved party, Victoria followed closely beside them the whole time.
The group continued their tussling in the stairwell, and Orlaith became increasingly impatient, her swollen cheek throbbing with pain.
She and Emily began arguing again in a few words, and soon they were fighting once more.
Caleb squeezed between them to protect Orlaith. Charlotte and Victoria were busy trying to separate them unfairly.
In the midst of their struggle, they reached the staircase landing. Charlotte, noticing the stairs behind Victoria, loudly warned, “Victoria, watch out for the stairs.”
It would have been better if she hadn’t shouted. After she did, Orlaith’s eyes gleamed with an idea. She seized the moment and forcefully pushed Victoria.
Victoria stumbled, unprepared, and fell down the stairs, tumbling down several flights before crashing into the hard wall at the landing.
“Ah! It hurts so much!” Victoria curled into a ball, screaming in pain.
“Victoria!”
“Sis!” Emily and Charlotte screamed, rushing down the stairs.
Charlotte cradled Victoria in her arms and noticed her skirt was stained with blood. Her voice trembled with fear, “Victoria, Victoria, are you alright?”
“My stomach, my stomach hurts so much. Call an ambulance,” Victoria said weakly, her face pale from the pain.
“Ambulance, call an ambulance now!” Charlotte shouted at Caleb.
However, under Orlaith’s intimidating gaze, Caleb didn’t dare move.
Orlaith stood at the top of the stairs, a cold, triumphant smile playing on her lips. She looked down at the three women in their sorry state, finally feeling avenged.
In the end, it was Emily who called for the ambulance, and Victoria was rushed to the hospital.
When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the doctors and nurses were ready and immediately took her into the operating room.
Charlotte and Emily were stopped outside. Charlotte grabbed the doctor’s arm, crying and wailing, “Doctor, my daughter has been pregnant for over three months. Please, you must save her baby.”
“We’ll do our best,” the doctor replied before quickly heading into the operating room.
Caleb and Orlaith also followed to the hospital, with Orlaith looking smug and making a cold remark, “Isn’t it better that the baby is gone? Caleb didn’t want it anyway.”
“What did you say, you wicked woman, you murderer!” Emily nearly started another fight with Orlaith right outside the operating room.
The surgery lasted over an hour, and ultimately, Victoria lost the baby. After the procedure, she was moved to a regular ward. Though she had regained consciousness, her mood was extremely low.
Lying on the white hospital bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling. Outside the ward, there were faint sounds of arguing and crying. Emily’s sobs were especially loud.
“You evil woman, you pushed my sister down the stairs and killed her baby. I’ll find a lawyer and sue you. Just wait to go to jail!”