Chapter 1
“Aria, don’t worry. When the baby is born, I’ll personally take it to the operating room.”
“It’s an honor for her and the baby to contribute to your recovery.”
Overhearing Gabriel’s phone conversation through the door, my stomach churned violently. Fighting back nausea, I opened the agreement I had found in his drawer - Agreement for Directed Blood Donation During Pregnancy and Cord Blood Donation.
The agreement clearly stated:
Party B, Olivia Chen, will provide 200cc of blood every 15 days during pregnancy for Miss Aria Song, who suffers from aplastic anemia.
Party B will voluntarily donate the child’s cord blood after delivery for Miss Aria Song’s emergency treatment.
…
So all that blood the nurses had been drawing wasn’t for tests, but for Aria.
And the date on this contract was the day after I found out I was pregnant.
I remember Gabriel running back excitedly that day, hugging me and spinning me around.
It turns out he wasn’t overjoyed, but had finally found the cure to save his true love’s life.
My whole body felt drained of blood, chilled to the bone.
I flipped from the first page of the agreement to the last.
Supplementary terms were printed in bold black font.
“If cord blood typing fails, Party B Olivia Chen must agree that when the child meets surgical conditions, they will undergo bone marrow transplant surgery for Miss Aria Song.”
“As compensation, after successful surgery, Mr. Gabriel Gu will pay Miss Olivia Chen a one-time mental anguish fee of $1 million, and immediately terminate their marriage.”
“Custody of the child will belong to Mr. Gabriel Gu.”
My child.
The child I risked my life to conceive.
From before they were even born, their own father had put a price tag on them, turning them into a walking blood bag and bone marrow bank!
Seven years of love, all that time he was good to me.
I thought it was belated happiness.
I never imagined it was actually cold-hearted calculation!
“Thud.”
The agreement slipped from my hands. My whole body went limp, and I had to grip the desk to keep from falling.
The study door opened.
Gabriel walked in carrying a bowl of bird’s nest soup. Seeing my pale face, he frowned slightly.
“Olivia, why are you in the study? The doctor said you need more rest.”
His voice was as gentle as ever, but I couldn’t help feeling nauseated.
I had originally wanted to confront him about the agreement, but instead overheard that conversation.
My heart burned with a thousand questions I wanted to ask him, but I trembled, unable to speak.
His gaze followed mine to the agreement on the floor. He froze for an instant.
But in just a second, his eyes returned to their usual calm, without even a hint of panic.
He calmly walked over, picked up the agreement, put it back in the drawer, and locked it.
The whole process was smooth and fluid, as if he was just handling an unimportant document.
Then he came to stand in front of me, looking down with a tone of resignation and condescension.
“You heard everything?”
“Olivia, it’s not good to touch other people’s things without permission. But since you already know, I won’t hide it from you anymore.”
“Aria is very ill. The doctors say this is her only chance.”
“Olivia, you’ve always been kind-hearted. You’ll help me, won’t you?”