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linoleum. "That downward red arrow indicates a severe risk of miscarriage. You need to see the attending speci
r fingers curled around the freshly printed lab sheet, crinkling the edges. Beneath the thin cashmere of helump of fear in her throat, she reached into her designer handbag with a trembling hand and pulled out
till no answer. Panic began to flutter in her chest like a trapped bird. Please pick up, Clifton. Just
hed out, tears of reli
ng, stop calling!" a childish, incredibly impatient
eer shock of a child answering her husband's private phone, a familiar, deep voice came through the line. It was
the phone to Daddy," C
another woman's voice chimed in. It was Jacquelyn Vance, Adaline's ol
" Jacquelyn said, her voice dripping with coquettish
orld," Clifton replied, his voice
e suddenly remembered the nurse's grave warning about the severe risk of miscarriage, but her fingers were locked around the phone in a death grip. Like a masochist, she couldn't bring herselfinto something almost pleading. "When will you finally agree to marry m
yn whined playfully. "You alread
he mentioned Adaline, his voice turned as cold and sharp as a guillotine blade. "She is nothing but a useless trophy, a low
The three years of hidden marriage, the fact that he never gave her a wedding, never introduced her to his friends, never touched h
n months ago at the hotel, I deliberately arranged for a disgusting, bankrupt, ugly old merchant to go into her suite. Who w
ncharacteristically taken her to a business dinner. She had been so full of hope, thinking he was finally accepting her. But she was inexplicably forced to drink heavily. When she woke up,
quiet, but the overwhelming, suffocating grief was too much. A broken,
other end of the lin
n, without a single word of explanation
Beep
uptly, merciless
bling fingers and clattered onto the freezing hospital floor. The adrenaline that had been keeping herslip. But Adaline barely registered the physical agony. The betrayal was a rusty blade twisting relentlessly in her chest, carving out her soul. The husband she had loved with all her heart, and the older sister she
espair gripped her throat. Shaking uncontrollably, she tried to reach for the
into a gray haze, the heavy doors of t
urgical scrubs striding toward her. Above his sharp jawline, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses caught the harsh glare of the lights. His figure look
," she w
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