Part 1Wasted Love for a Tycoon

The effects of the C-section anesthetic had just worn off when Donovan suddenly spoke to me.

“The little bird I’m keeping lost her cat. I have to go help her find it.”

I stared at our baby in the incubator, my voice trembling with disbelief.

“I nearly died giving you a child, and you’re leaving me to go find another woman’s cat?”

He adjusted his cufflinks, his tone matter-of-fact.

“The baby has nurses and a nanny. Nothing will happen.”

“But that’s a cat she’s had for three years. It’s like her child.”

Pain shot through my incision, and I gasped, tears blurring my vision.

“Donovan, in your eyes, are our child and I worth less than an animal?”

“Don’t twist my words.”

He glanced impatiently at his watch and tossed a black credit card onto the bedside table.

“She’s a sensitive soul. If I don’t go, she might do something foolish. You’re my wife, Kiki. You need to see the bigger picture.”

“And if I don’t let you go?”

He chuckled as if I’d told a joke, then leaned down and patted my cheek.

“Then you can leave with nothing. You know I don’t like women who don’t listen.”

In that moment, my heart felt colder than the wound in my belly.

* * *

Perhaps it was the cold sweat from the fading anesthesia that had plastered my hair to my face, making me look utterly pathetic.

Donovan let out a low laugh.

“Kiki, do you remember that time you were rushed into surgery because the baby was breech? When the doctor made you sign the critical condition notice yourself, I was in the room next door, keeping Lila company while she had a check-up.”

“She’d pricked her finger and insisted I had to blow on it to make the pain stop. That feeling of being needed… it’s something you could never give me. Do you understand?”

The blood in my veins turned to ice. Even the searing pain from my incision faded into the background.

That day, lying on the gurney, I had called out his name over and over, but the nurses couldn't find him.

When I finally reached him on the phone, his voice was light, cheerful. He’d just closed a huge deal.

I had felt guilty for even bothering him.

Donovan leaned in, kissing a tear from my cheek.

“I was worried about you, of course. But Lila is so timid, she was terrified of getting a test done alone. I had to put you second.”

I stared at the strip of lights on the ceiling, my eyes burning with an acidic sting that threatened to consume me.

He seemed pleased with my reaction. He pulled out the black card and tucked it into the corner of my blanket.

“I’m sorry, Kiki. I know this isn’t fair to you. But if you insist on a divorce, I’ll have to take the baby for the sake of the family’s reputation. And you, you’ll leave with nothing.”

“But if you’re willing to endure this for our child, your position as my wife is secure. And this card is yours to use as you please.”

Today was supposed to be the start of our new life together.

Just half an hour ago, a nurse had been admiring the delicate gold locket Donovan had prepared for our child.

Now, I felt like a complete fool, staring at the man I had shared a bed with for eight years.

“Donovan, why are you telling me this now? Why, when I’ve just been dragged back from the brink of death?”

He methodically wiped the sweat from my brow, his eyes filled with a possessive, almost perverse tenderness.

“Because I love you. You’re the wife of my youth. To keep secrets from you would be a betrayal of our marriage.”

He paused, a smirk playing on his lips.

“And, of course, there’s another reason. I just had to see the look on your face when you finally broke. Seeing you here, so fragile and helpless in this hospital bed… it breaks my heart. It makes me want to make it up to you even more.”

“So, Kiki, let’s not fight, okay? I’ll still respect you, just like I always have. Hm?”

I snatched the water glass, the black card, everything within my reach, and hurled it all at him like a madwoman.

“Get out! Donovan, get out!”

He simply brushed a speck of dust from his suit and turned towards the door.

“Well, you still have the strength to throw things. Guess you’re not dying.”

“Calm down. I have to go find that little crybaby’s cat.”

The door clicked shut behind him.

I looked at the bloody mess on the floor, my heart colder than any wound could ever be.