He Took the Pain With Him When He Left Chapter 08

He Took the Pain With Him When He Left Chapter 08

On the third day of Derek’s investigation, my baby finally cleared the danger zone.

I saw her through the incubator glass. She was barely the length of my arm. Her chest rose and fell with tiny breaths.

The nurse asked what I wanted to name her.

I thought for a long time.

“Chuning.”

Let her live in peace. Let her never have to trade her dignity for anyone’s love.

Derek came a week later.

He’d lost weight. His jaw was covered with stubble. His old confidence was gone.

Security blocked him from my room. He stood outside, looking at me through the glass.

“Vivian. Let me in. I just want to see you and the baby.”

I didn’t look up.

He stood outside all night.

The next morning, on my way to the NICU, he dropped to his knees in the hallway.

“I’m sorry. The marriage certificate—I was an idiot. I thought a marriage certificate was just a piece of paper. The one I loved was

—

you. I thought it didn’t matter who officially held the title of my wife. I never thought Serena would take it this far.”

I stopped.

“You never thought? You hired the fake officiant. You had the fake seal made. You were the one who registered the marriage with her. Which part of it wasn’t done by you?”

His lips trembled. His eyes were bloodshot.

“I admit, I liked that she admired me. I thought betting on you was exciting. But I never wanted to lose you. Vivian, I’ve already had my lawyer draw up divorce papers. After I divorce Serena, we’ll go to the real County Clerk’s Office. I’ll let you watch them enter it into the system myself.”

I almost laughed.

“And then? Wait for your next lost bet, and you’ll give me and our child away too?”

His face went white.

He pulled out the pink diamond ring from his pocket.

“You said it reminded you of how much I love you. Just give me one more chance.”

I took the ring.

Hope flickered in his eyes—until I let it fall.

It clattered into the medical waste bin by the wall.

—

“Before, I couldn’t throw it away because I thought it meant love. Now I know. It’s nothing more than a stone you bought with the Vance family’s money to fool me.”

Derek froze.

As I walked past him, he reached for me. Security blocked him.

“The baby is mine too. Vivian, you can’t keep me from seeing her.”

I looked back.

“The night she was born, you made your choice. When you carried Serena away that night, you chose to give up your daughter. Don’t come back.”

The door closed in front of him.

This time, he was the one standing outside, waiting for someone who would never open the door again.

—

I walked to the NICU and pressed my hand against the glass. Chuning was sleeping, her tiny chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

The nurse came over. “She’s doing much better, Ms. Vance. The doctors say she might be able to leave the incubator in another week or two.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

My phone buzzed. It was Elena Crawford.

“Ms. Vance. The witnesses are ready. And I’ve found something else. Something that connects Derek’s fraud to a much larger operation. This isn’t just about a fake marriage anymore.”

I took a deep breath. “What kind of operation?”

“Money laundering. International transfers. And Serena’s family is involved. The baby she’s carrying? It might not even be Derek’s.”

My hand tightened around the phone.

“Send me everything. I’ll meet you tomorrow.”

I hung up and looked at Chuning one more time.

“I’m going to make sure you never have to worry about anything, little one. I promise.”