Halfworld

While I Was Bleeding Out, He Lit Lanterns For Her

Katie Oettgen

As I lay on the floor of our manor, bleeding out from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, I used my last ounce of strength to call my husband, Cole. I begged him for help, my vision blurring. But the only thing I heard was the clinking of champagne glasses and his mistress's giggle in the background. "Stop the drama, June," Cole snapped, his voice cold. "We're about to go on stage. Don't call again." He hung up, leaving me to die alone on the Persian rug while he accepted an award with another woman on his arm. I woke up in the hospital days later. My baby was gone. They had removed my fallopian tube. Cole finally arrived, smelling of expensive scotch and his mistress's perfume. He didn't hug me. He didn't cry. Instead, he leaned over my hospital bed, pressing his knee into the mattress until my fresh stitches tore open and bled. "You embarrassed me by calling an ambulance," he hissed. "My mistress, Alycia, says you're faking it. Clean yourself up." He left me bleeding again to go announce a $10 million donation to Alycia's "groundbreaking" medical research. I stared at the TV screen, numb. The research Alycia was taking credit for? It was mine. I wrote that patent years ago under a pseudonym. They thought I was just a poor, orphan housewife who needed Cole's money to survive. They had no idea I was actually a billionaire scientist hiding my identity. I pulled the IV needle out of my arm. A drop of blood fell onto the divorce papers I had been hiding. I didn't wipe it off. I signed my name right over it. Then I walked into the bank, reactivated my dormant account with $128 million, and bought the penthouse directly overlooking Cole's house. The mourning widow is dead. The avenger is born.

Romance Crime Revenge Pregnancy Enemies to Lovers Pregnancy Personal Growth

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Wanda Lin should've had a happy family. At least, that was what she thought she deserved.

However, her life was fumbled upside down by a car accident when she was a child. She lost her parents. Back then, it seemed as if she was doomed to live the rest of her life alone.

Fortunately, her uncle took her in, but that didn't mean that life got any better.

Considering their poor state and her sick uncle, they'd always been struggling to get a day by when they weren't short of cash.

Wanda Lin, the hopeful little girl, was forced to grow up and work part-time even at an early age.

As she turned 18, she continued to work even harder. In order to save her uncle, she had taken several jobs at the same time. While some might collapse under such pressure, she continued persevering.

Her entire family's livelihood was on her shoulders, but she continued looking forward.

In the end, everything turned out in her favor. That day, Wanda Lin was about to collect all the fees needed for her uncle's upcoming major surgery. As long as that was paid, she could finally send her uncle to the hospital.

After quitting her last job, she rode the bicycle home happily.

She had never been so ecstatic before.

The wind blew her thin hair that grazed her delicate face. The sides of her lips inched up into a beautiful smile and her eyes lit up under the sunny sky.

She had already made up her mind.

As soon as her uncle was cured, she would find a job that she actually liked, make more friends, improve her lifestyle, and finally learn something. That way, she could bike ahead towards her future.

Finally, she arrived at their residential building.

It was a building on the old street. The apartments were usually inhabited by some old people or those who couldn't afford to rent more expensive apartments upstate.

However, as Wanda Lin parked the bike, she saw an expensive car parked on the streets. Her eyes widened. Even if she worked 24/7, she still couldn't afford that car! Why was it there?

She furrowed her eyebrows and went upstairs.

Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this,

and it seemed that she was right.

The moment she opened the door, she was greeted by her skinny uncle kneeling on the floor and begging the man in front of him. His words were filled with despair and grief.

His eyes flashed in indescribable fear.

"Mr. Qin, please give me some more time. I'll pay you back."

Wanda Lin gasped.

'Pay back?'

Their family did owe some money, but from what she knew, they only borrowed it from their own relatives.

Although they kept urging her, they wouldn't send men over to scare them. Plus, they were very reasonable people.

Finally, she glanced at the man sitting on the sofa.

She was sure she had never seen him before.

He was so young and handsome! In fact, his beauty could rival the stars on TV. There was just something about him that reeked of allure and danger.

Wanda Lin froze

and clenched her fists.

The man lounged in their room casually, and his onyx eyes were cold.