Chapter 1I had been born with a high libido, yet somehow developed a severe allergy to men after I got married. Every time I was intimate with my husband, my whole body broke out in hives, and more than once I nearly suffocated.
But I wanted a baby so badly that one night, driven by desperation, I sneaked into my husband Charles Weston's bed in secret. Strangely, nothing happened. When I realized I was pregnant, I naively thought everything would return to normal.
Eight months along, another allergic attack hit me after sharing a bed with him, and I was rushed to the ER. When the surgery was over, I couldn't find Charles anywhere. Instead, from down the hallway, I heard him laughing with his buddies.
“Did you see her face? She looked like a damned pig's head, ridiculous!” Charles casually twirled the “supplement drink” he had personally mixed for me, his voice dripping with disdain. “That serum was something I designed on purpose. It triggers a reaction the moment she comes near any man. This way, she stays far away from me. But since she's so desperate for a kid, I let her carry mine and Emily's baby. Think of it as doing her a favor.”
My blood ran cold. The child I had held so close to my heart… wasn't mine at all.
“But Charles, aren't you afraid she'll flip out if she ever finds out?” one of them asked.
Charles snorted, tapping his cigarette and scattering ash. “Flip out? She was born craving men's touch. That night I didn't drug her, so she got what she wanted. She should be thanking me. She moaned under me all night, and I found a way for Emily to become a mom without pain. Two birds, one stone.”
One of the men rolled the bottle of serum between his fingers, laughing mockingly. “Ever since you got married, this stuff's been mass produced at the hospital. Your wife actually thinks you brewed it just for her. What a joke.”
“Right? As if Charles would waste that kind of care on her. Emily's the woman he wants so badly he's afraid he'll so much as bruise her.”
Their laughter exploded through the corridor, loud and vicious. I stood hidden in the dim light, frozen to the core as if all my blood had turned to ice.
So many times, accidental contact between Charles and me had almost killed me. A rash at best, full-body swelling at worst, sending me to the hospital again and again. Our families had been bound by generations of arrangement. I had blamed myself for years for failing to fulfill my duties as a wife. Charles had always comforted me with calm patience, telling me it was okay, telling me not to worry. Eventually, I learned to live with the loneliness and kept a safe distance from him.
Now I knew the truth: he had been protecting his precious childhood sweetheart all along. I wasn't a wife. I was their incubator.
My palm trembled over my swollen belly. Bile surged up my throat, and I wanted nothing more than to vomit out every drop of “nutrient drink” I had swallowed over the years.
Around the corner, Charles continued complaining to his buddies. “If I could've invented another tool to help Emily get pregnant, I wouldn't have had to stomach that night. Just thinking about it disgusts me.”
“No kidding!” his friend cackled. Laughter followed, mean, sharp, relentless.
Tears burst from my eyes before I could stop them. I should've known. Charles was one of the best physicians in the country. If he had wanted to cure my allergic reactions, he could've done it effortlessly. I had been too stupid. Too blind to his obsession with Emily Harpe, the woman he loved but couldn't have.
So why was I the one who suffered? Five years in a sexless marriage. Five years of humiliation. Friends whispered behind my back, calling me a pretty ornament who was useless in every way, who wasn't even worthy of being a woman. My in-laws had never allowed me through the door of their family estate. “A wife who can't be touched and can't bear children? An insult to all our ancestors!”
I had swallowed every insult, struggling in a pit of misery, praying things might return to normal someday. Charles, how were you ever going to repay me for five years of genuine devotion?
I couldn't confront him. I didn't have the strength. Numbly, I dragged my feet to the nurse's station. “Hi… I'd like to schedule an abortion.”
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Chapter 2
It was confirmed that the miscarriage occurred three days later. I turned around and nearly ran into Charles, panting and hurried.
“Olivia, why did you come out alone? It's so dangerous,” he said, worry etched across his face. I stared at him, unable to tell if he was concerned about me, or the child in my womb. A bitter smile touched my lips as I dodged his reach. “I'm fine.”
Charles's eyes flickered with something I couldn't read. Normally, he avoided me, but I had never once deliberately stayed away from him, even when it hurt me.
Back at home, Charles muttered something about having work to do, but then knelt by my belly, speaking gently to the baby. “Baby, don't kick Mom too hard. Daddy will feel it.” In the past, this would have made me dizzy with happiness, grateful for a child from the blessing of my grandfather and a loving husband by my side. Now, every word pierced me like a knife, and my heart bled silently.
Following our usual routine, Charles brought me a cup of warm milk, his eyes crinkling with a gentle smile. “Drink this and get some sleep. I'll handle some work in the study.” His tender tone and familiar expression should have been comforting, but I shivered all over. I stopped resisting. Taking the cup, I drank it down in one steady gulp, pretending nothing had happened. Soon, my eyelids betrayed me, and I drifted into a deep sleep.
From the study, faint, intimate sounds reached my ears. “Emily, don't worry. I won't touch her, and I won't let you think I'm unclean. And I'll make sure you become the top intern in the hospital. This favor, I promise, Olivia will help you with it.”
I didn't have time to analyze his words. What shocked me was that Charles, who had always claimed he would never take a female apprentice, was personally training his childhood sweetheart right by his side. And those excuses about “overtime,” “meetings,” and being “busy”? I couldn't bear to imagine what they truly meant.
The absurdity of it all hit me hard. The whole world seemed to know, yet I had never suspected a thing. A violent tremor from next door sent our perfectly happy wedding photo crashing to the floor. How ironic…
“Olivia, what happened?” Charles's urgent voice rang from the doorway. He looked genuinely concerned, but the wetness at his lips struck my eyes painfully, a cruel reminder. I forced a calm expression, pretending I had just woken. “Nothing… I just knocked over the frame by accident.”
He exhaled deeply, tugged awkwardly at his rumpled shirt, and quickly turned away. “I'll go take a shower, then.”
As his back disappeared down the hall, I couldn't resist picking up the phone he'd left behind. Unlocking it quickly, I was suffocated by the flood of messages in a group chat.
“Charles, everything's settled. Olivia has been listed as our hospital's new experimental subject. We'll stream the entire procedure, and Emily will perform the surgery herself, securing her promotion without a hitch.”
“Streaming the surgery is a brilliant idea. Emily will deliver her own and Charles's child, securing her promotion, and Olivia'll become an online sensation in the process!”
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Chapter 3
My head went boom, as if the entire world was spinning out of control. Why was Charles deliberately crushing my dignity like this? Not only had he forced me to carry a child that wasn't mine, but he also intended to use me as a stepping stone for Emily's promotion.
Fresh from his shower, Charles peeked at his phone, casually tossing out a suggestion that hid his real intentions. “Our hospital is holding a new drug launch. I'd like you to attend. You've been a major contributor to the family.”
My body trembled at the thought of their scheme. I instinctively stepped back. “I'm not going. I have my own things to do.”
His face darkened instantly. “What business could a housewife like you possibly have? All these years you couldn't even be touched, and now, finally pregnant, you dare to glare like this?” His words pierced my heart like sharp daggers, colder than any ridicule from outsiders. But who was to blame for the way I'd become this… if not him?
When I refused to budge, he issued an ironclad command. “You don't get a choice. Change your clothes, we're leaving now.” Without waiting for my consent, he rifled through my wardrobe, dressing me against my struggles. Even a brief touch sent a rash crawling over my body, my skin swelling painfully. He didn't care. All that mattered was whether Emily could succeed in securing her promotion.
Powerless, I was dragged into his car and delivered to the launch venue. People were clinking glasses and mingling, and at first glance, it seemed just like an ordinary launch. Relief washed over me, until Emily appeared, smiling sweetly as she walked toward me.
“Your belly's so big, Olivia,” she said with mock innocence. “Lucky you, being allergic to men and still getting pregnant.” Her every word dripped with hostility, and Charles sat in the center of the room, watching her with indulgent, doting eyes.
Others, barely hiding their amusement, chimed in, “I heard she's naturally… active, but allergic to men. Must've been unbearable all these years, huh?” “They say women like that can't resist even a light touch, like… like dogs in heat. Who knows if it's true?” They reached for my waist, their hands wandering.
Humiliation, helplessness, and confused fury threatened to drown me instantly. Blood rushed to my head. I glared at Charles. “Charles Weston, as my husband, are you just going to sit there and watch?”
Reluctantly, he lifted a hand, and the others begrudgingly backed off. Then Emily, feigning kindness, brought me a glass of water. “Don't pay attention to those disgusting men. They haven't seen a woman in centuries, your… size doesn't even intimidate them. Such terrible taste. Here, drink some water to calm down.”
I could hear the mockery between her words. I couldn't pretend nothing had happened. “I've had enough of this. Can I go home now?”
The moment the words left my mouth, Charles slammed his glass onto the table. The room went utterly silent. “Emily is kindly trying to help you out, and this is how you repay her? Drink the water. Don't embarrass Emily.”
Emily smiled warmly as she held out the glass. “See? Just a little courtesy, that's all, Olivia. One glass of water.”
I looked around. Every eye in the room was fixed on me, expectant and impatient. My heart sank. It hit me in that instant: this wasn't just a drug launch. Charles had lied to me.
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