He Showed No Mercy When I Gave Birth Chapter 02

He Showed No Mercy When I Gave Birth Chapter 02 Teddy

I left my son in the morgue for the time being. When the right moment came, I would take him back to my mother’s clan. According to our rules, as long as a body was buried whole in the clan cemetery, the soul would be spared from being reborn as an animal in its next life. To cut myself clean from Adrian, I went home to get the divorce papers. The moment I stepped inside, I saw Rosalie Sullivan lying in my bed. She was wearing my pajamas. Beside her, Adrian was gently rocking her son, his face softened into an expression I had never seen before. A loving father. “Rosie, Teddy is just like you. So sweet. So well-behaved.” The name hit me like a bolt through the chest. Teddy. A name that meant warmth, wholeness, and coming home. When I was five months pregnant, I had asked an elder from my clan to bless my child and choose that name for him. Adrian saw me first. There was not a shred of guilt on his face. “Who are you making that dead face for?” he snapped. “A new child has joined the family. This should be a happy day, but you had to come in and ruin the mood.” “I heard from the doctor that you can’t have children anymore. Since that’s the case, Sterling Group will have to go to Teddy.” He said it as if it were only natural. “To stop people from gossiping, you’ll be the one to announce it when the time comes.” I stared at him. For one long moment, it felt as if I had never known this man at all. This was the man I had cut open my own heart to save. And with a few casual words, he had let someone else’s child take our son’s place. When I stayed silent, Adrian strode over and grabbed my face hard enough to bruise. “You came to me back then, talking about repaying some debt, and climbed your way into becoming Mrs. Sterling. Wasn’t that enough for you?” “I let you stay in this family because you served me well. That was your reward. Don’t get greedy.” Rosalie’s perfume clung to him. The scent rolled into my stomach, and I gagged. Just then, Rosalie’s sweet, spoiled voice drifted from the bedroom. “Adrian, I’m hungry.” Adrian grabbed my arm and dragged me into the kitchen. “What are you standing there for? Go make Rosie a postpartum meal.” I could not take it anymore. I shoved him away. “What do you think I am?” His eyes went cold. “Iris Hayes, don’t push your luck.” “Grandmother may believe your little street-performer tricks, but I don’t. A few tubes of blood, and you really think you’re some kind of savior?” “Rosie is a widow with a newborn. She has no one but me.” “I’m only making sure she has a place to stay and food to eat. The title of Mrs. Sterling is still yours. Keep making a scene, and you’ll only embarrass yourself.” He threw me to the floor and walked away. Outside the kitchen, Adrian and Rosalie laughed together. The sound slipped through the door like a blade. I clenched my hands into fists and forced the tears back. Through the window, the maids rolled their eyes at me. “Looks like she’ll be the ex-wife soon.” “She deserves it. How dare she fool Mrs. Sterling with that holy maiden of the bloodline nonsense?” “She’s not even worth one finger of Miss Sullivan.” I shut them out and pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the sharp pain in my knees. The next second, Rosalie’s personal nanny walked in, clutching a pair of wooden disciplinary clamps, her tone triumphant. Her voice was smug. “Miss Sullivan wants rosemary duck stew. Mr. Sterling said you have ten minutes to make it.” She lifted the tongs and smiled. “For every second you’re late, I break one of your fingers.” My heart sank. I was allergic to rosemary. I never touched it. Once, I had accidentally eaten a dish with rosemary in it. Adrian had been furious. He had gone after the company behind the restaurant and crushed its headquarters overnight. By the next morning, the entire business had gone bankrupt. The nanny’s grin widened. “Mr. Sterling also said that if the stew is too salty or too bland, you’ll wash every single trash barrel in every hotel under Sterling Group.” I rushed through the cooking as fast as I could. When I carried the scalding casserole into the dining room, my hands, legs, and chest were covered in angry red rashes. They itched so badly they hurt. Adrian rose and draped a shawl over Rosalie’s shoulders. Beside them, the baby slept soundly in his cradle. The three of them looked warm. Complete. Like a real family. The moment Adrian saw the rashes on me, he froze. Only for a second. Then disgust twisted across his face. “It’s just soup. Who are you putting on this pitiful act for?” “Back then, you even went out of your way to learn cooking just so you could crawl into my bed. Don’t think I didn’t see through your filthy little schemes.” He pointed at Rosalie. “Since you love serving people so much, get over here and feed Rosie.”