Chapter 3
Not only did Siena not contradict Ferris’s words, she looked relaxed and even a bit smug, her gaze still glued to the son in my arms.
“Exactly. How could that bastard child compare to Ferris’s real son? Better off dead.”
I lowered my eyes, hiding the cold smile at the corner of my mouth.
I once thought Siena had poured all her emotions into my son because she was too grief-stricken after losing her husband and child.
Today, I finally saw their true faces.
Suppressing the rising nausea, I made small talk to get rid of them both, then quietly slipped away to the hospital morgue.
Siena’s child was indeed there. I approached for a closer look—the baby’s face was deathly pale, his fingers ice-cold.
I was almost certain they had killed that child with their own hands.
Leaving the morgue, I deliberately took a detour through the secluded corridors, only to stumble upon them unexpectedly.
Ferris and Siena were tangled together in the dark corner of the fire escape, kissing passionately, completely oblivious to the world.
Siena was panting as she clung to Ferris, her voice filled with barely contained excitement: “Ferris, we finally got rid of that little disaster today… But he was your blood. Doesn’t it hurt?”
Ferris tenderly stroked her back, whispering: “Why would it? I only recognize the child you gave birth to. That thing with Freya was just a burden.”
“She can raise our child now—at least she’s good for something. Once we go abroad, no one will bother us anymore. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”
Siena blushed and playfully punched his chest: “You’re terrible.”
I felt sick to my stomach. While they were caught up in their passion, I grabbed a warning sign from the corner of the hallway and hurled it at them before turning and walking away without looking back.
The pair behind me yelped in fright, looking around like guilty thieves, but they didn’t dare make a scene.
I circled back to the main lobby and borrowed the phone at the nurses’ station to call home.
I was the legal heir to a wealthy family business, originally set to join the board of directors and take over the entire corporation.
But the year I graduated college, I chose to marry Ferris instead, giving up my internship opportunity at the New York headquarters just to stay with him in this remote small town.
Now I was finally awake. Even with a child, I would leave this place and completely break free from them.
The first thing I did when I got home was dig out that so-called “marriage certificate.”
Ferris worked for the local government and held considerable power. I had no idea what methods he’d used, but he’d forged a marriage certificate so convincing it could fool anyone, while he himself had secretly registered a legal marriage with Siena long ago.
How ridiculous that I’d treasured that fake certificate for five years like a precious gem.
I gripped it tightly and tore it to shreds.
Good thing it was fake—this way, when my family came to get me and I left in a month, I wouldn’t have to bother with divorce proceedings.
Siena and I had given birth on the same day at the same hospital. I’d been discharged early after delivery, while she stayed in the luxury ward I’d paid for, claiming she needed to recover, with servants waiting on her hand and foot.
Ferris personally fed her every day, taking care of her with meticulous attention.
When their interactions became too intimate, he’d worry I might get suspicious and come over to explain with false sincerity.
“Siena lost her child and is emotionally unstable. I’m the only person she can depend on now.”
I said nothing. Yet he never once asked me “Are you tired?” He never noticed my exhaustion from feeding and changing diapers alone in the middle of the night.
Every night when the baby cried, he’d get up impatiently: “I’ll sleep in the study.”
In reality, he was sneaking into Siena’s room.
The next morning, Siena would cover her yawning mouth with a coquettish smile, giving me a meaningful look: “You worked so hard. Look at those dark circles—you must have been up all night taking care of the baby.”
Her tone carried smugness and provocation, but I just smiled lightly.
She had no idea I was secretly packing, slowly gathering my belongings. And Ferris remained completely oblivious.
Until evening, when Ferris suddenly walked in holding an envelope bearing my family’s crest, his face dark.
“Freya, what is this?”
I looked up to see several photos of men spilling from the envelope—each one handsome and extraordinary, with excellent bearing and clothing that spoke of exceptional backgrounds.
Those were the suitors my parents had selected for me.
He hadn’t noticed the letter buried deeper inside—my notification of appointment as the corporation’s CEO.
