The crash took her children before they could take their first breath. While Nova lay bleeding on an operating table, her husband Tristan was walking out of the hospital—his arm wrapped around the woman who had just destroyed her. That night, something inside Nova stopped. She stopped loving him. She stopped waiting. She stopped hoping he would one day choose her. The next morning, she handed in her resignation, filed for divorce and walked away from the life that had been killing her slowly. She built a new one from the ground up—a career that soared, a name that meant something, a future that had nothing to do with him. Tristan didn't believe it. "She's just trying to get my attention," he told himself. "She's carrying my child. Where could she possibly go?" Then her wedding invitations arrived. And with them, a copy of the medical report from the night of the crash—the one that listed every detail of what he had let die. Tristan stormed into her life, wild and desperate. He tore the ring from her finger, his voice breaking. "We're starting over. Right now!" Nova looked at him—the man she had once loved with her whole heart—and spoke the words that had been waiting for years. "Start over how? You saved her and let our babies die. You took my mother's last gift and gave it to her. You built her career, her life, her world—and everyone knew you loved her. So tell me, Tristan, how do we erase all of that? How do we start over when you never even started with me?"

Chapter 1"Ms. Clarke, we need to perform a D&C immediately. Has your family arrived yet?"Nova Clarke sat in the wheelchair, staring at the blood beneath her, then down at her phone, losing track of how many times the nurse had rushed her.From the moment she was pinned inside the mangled car to when she was rushed to the emergency room, she had called Tristan Forrester over thirty times. Every single call had gone straight to a mechanical busy signal.Early that morning, she had taken a cab to the prenatal checkup, only for her vehicle to be T-boned by a red Maserati and knocked off the bridge into the river.The driver of the Maserati was immediately whisked away by a private team to the hospital. She alone was left behind, unable to reach Tristan. She soaked in the freezing river for two agonizing hours before rescue workers finally pulled her out.The price of her survival was premature rupture of membranes. The baby in her womb had long since lost its heartbeat.Nova's tears had already run dry; she couldn't cry even if she wanted to."Ms. Clarke?"Nova snapped back to reality. She was covered in dirt and blood, her lower half a mess of amniotic fluid and gore, looking utterly wretched.Her lips trembled as she clung to her last shred of dignity. "My husband might be busy. Can I just sign the consent forms myself?""I'm sorry, but you also have a mild concussion. You'll need bed rest and observation after the procedure. We absolutely must have a family member present to sign off before we can proceed. Why don't you try calling him again?""Okay. I'll try again."Nova watched the nurse walk away. She grabbed her long black puffer coat, pulled it on, and stood up, intending to find another hospital that wouldn't require a family member's signature.As she slipped her phone into her pocket, her fingers brushed against her ultrasound printout from yesterday.Back then, her baby was still alive.Stepping out of the room, Nova overheard two nurses whispering in the hall. "Do you know who's in the VIP suite next door?""Who?""Yvette, the heiress to the Sellers family! She's won major awards in finance, racing, and tech. She's a literal genius who even participated in a national-level research project recently! I even asked her for an autograph!""Wow, really? Why is she here? Is she hurt or sick? If anything happened to her, it'd be a huge loss!""She rear-ended someone near the overpass this morning in her red Maserati. Just got a few scratches. But her boyfriend was totally freaking out—he rushed over the second the accident happened, brought her in through the VIP channel, and hasn't left her side."Hearing about the driver responsible for her accident, Nova stopped dead in her tracks. Then came the fatal blow:"Do you know who her boyfriend is? Tristan Forrester, the CEO of Forrester Group! That red Maserati was actually a birthday gift from him..."The two nurses' voices faded down the corridor.Nova's grip on her phone tightened until her knuckles turned white.The driver was Yvette Sellers. Her boyfriend—the man who bought her the very car that caused the crash—was Tristan Forrester.She had never imagined that her husband was cheating on her. What was even crueler was that his mistress had driven the sports car he bought her and killed their unborn baby.No wonder the police had only let the insurance company handle it, brushing everything else aside.At the end of the hallway, Nova spotted the tall, handsome man. He was protectively shielding a beautiful, radiant woman as they walked out of a room.Nova clutched her medical report detailing her baby's lost heartbeat. Her body trembled uncontrollably inside her heavy black coat.Watching them step into the elevator, she wanted to call Tristan one last time. She wanted to know what his reaction would be if his phone rang and he saw her there.He would probably just hang up, like he always did.But she still wanted to try. Just one last time.As the elevator doors opened, Nova watched with her own eyes as Tristan glanced at his phone and declined the call without a second thought. His gaze immediately returned to the woman beside him. His eyes were only for her.Suddenly, Nova felt that her four years of desperate, unrequited love were nothing but a pathetic joke.Right as they stepped into the elevator, the woman nestled in his arms seemed to notice her. "Tristan, isn't that the assistant you wanted to fire? Why did she follow you all the way to the hospital?"Tristan finally looked over.But he looked at her as if she were a total stranger—indifferent, entirely unmoved. It was just a fleeting glance before his attention shifted back to the girl in his arms.Nova felt ice in her veins. She could feel the blood flowing heavier now.So this was the sweetheart he had met abroad, the one everyone at the company whispered about. He had been with her this whole time.She had thought that if Tristan came, she would tell him about the baby...As for the pregnancy, it had been an accident a few months ago. His grandmother, Belinda, had pressured him into marrying her for the sake of the child.They never had a wedding. No vows, no public announcement. They had merely signed the marriage license. No one knew she was Mrs. Forrester, Tristan's legal wife.A tear slipped down her cheek. Nova could barely stand.She didn't hear what Tristan said in reply. She only watched the elevator doors slide shut, swallowing Tristan from her sight completely. In that moment, she realized just how naive she had been.The nurse who had spoken to her earlier hurried over and caught her as she swayed."My husband is with someone else. He's not coming. Please just do the surgery. I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens. I..."Before she could finish, Nova collapsed....When Nova opened her eyes again, she was lying in a hospital bed. She didn't know how much time had passed.A nurse came in, removed her IV, and sighed. "You were hemorrhaging, so we went ahead with the D&C. We tried calling your husband from your phone again, but it wouldn't go through. It was a boy and a girl. They were already taking shape. It's such a tragedy. If you had been brought in just a little sooner, we might have been able to save them. Such a shame..."Nova took the surgical report and stared at it for a long, long time.Her babies were gone...She had gotten several ultrasounds at the hospital under the Forrester Group, and they had always told her it was a single pregnancy."Doctor, could you please place the remains in here?"Nova had no tears left. She simply handed over a small, black urn.Once it was sealed, she wrapped it in dark wrapping paper and tied a neat bow. If she didn't say anything, it looked just like a gift.After resting for a bit, Nova held the black urn tightly, left the hospital, and took a cab back to Clearwater Manor.But the moment she walked through the door, the housekeeper coldly shoved a phone in her face. "It's Felipa."Nova didn't take it as she normally would. Startled, the housekeeper put it on speaker."I went out for afternoon tea. I want turtle soup when I get back, so prep it well. Also, I left my clothes in the laundry room. You know the drill—hand wash them, press them, and put them away. I want the floors scrubbed on your hands and knees three times. I'll be checking when I return. Oh, and I gave all the staff at Clearwater Manor the day off again, so you'll have to do it all yourself."The call disconnected.Nova held the urn containing her two children and looked around the massive, empty estate.Tristan didn't love her, and his mother, Felipa, loathed her.Felipa claimed she was staying there to take care of her, but in reality, she treated Nova like a servant. Even knowing she was pregnant, Felipa forced her to wait on her hand and foot. Every day after work, she would be hit with a mountain of exhausting, dirty chores just to keep her busy.To them, her marriage license was nothing more than an employment contract.No, she was worse off than a maid. Maids actually got paid and weren't expected to act as breeding stock.This time, Nova didn't obediently take the groceries to the kitchen. Instead, she turned and walked straight upstairs.Watching her act so out of character, the housekeeper immediately grabbed the phone to tattle to Felipa!Listening to the exaggerated complaints echoing downstairs, Nova completely ignored it.Back in her bedroom, she stared at their photoshopped wedding picture, then down at the urn in her arms.She didn't belong here. It was time to wake up.Amidst her thoughts, her phone rang.She pulled it from her bag, staring at the caller ID in a daze. It was her senior colleague, Samuel Wyndham.Without hesitation, she answered."Samuel, it's me... It's Nova.""Nova, you asked me to decline the government's confidential aerospace project last time. They saw how adamant you were, and when they heard you were pregnant, they agreed to find someone else. Moving forward, neither I nor our mentor will bother you again. Just live your life."Nova froze, letting his words sink in.Back in university, she had been a top prospect, secretly groomed for classified government research. Later, she partnered with Samuel to launch a tech startup.With her technical brilliance, the company went public in just a year, making her a major shareholder.Since then, she had been tapped for multiple top-secret government developments. Leading national researchers knew her name and begged to take her under their wing...But she had fallen for the wrong man. For Tristan, she threw away her bright future. She turned down every offer, sacrificed everything to be by his side, and buried herself in the trivial, soul-crushing grunt work at Forrester Group. Because of him, she had rejected endless prestigious research opportunities that others would kill for.Met with silence, the man on the other end let out a heavy sigh. "Well, that's that. Focus on your pregnancy. We won't contact you again."Snapping back to her senses, Nova spoke without a shred of hesitation. "Samuel, I want to join the government's aerospace project.""What did you just say?" Samuel thought he had misheard her.At first, he couldn't stand watching Nova throw her life away to play assistant to Tristan. He used to call her constantly to talk some sense into her, hoping she would finally wake up. But every single time, she had refused him.And today, completely out of the blue, she was saying yes? Was this just another ploy to get Tristan's attention?It had to be.She had given up so much just to stand in Tristan's shadow. Now, to catch his eye, she was pushing herself this hard while pregnant? Ugh...Samuel sighed."Alright," he replied, choosing not to call her out on it. He merely warned, "This is a classified government project. Absolute secrecy is required. Come see me on Monday—tomorrow—to sign the NDA."He wondered when his brilliant junior would finally snap out of it.Hanging up, Nova felt incredibly foolish. All that reckless devotion, and for what? Nothing. She had wasted four, almost five years of her life on a man who didn't even love her.When she saw Tristan next, she would tell him the babies were gone and that their marriage was over.Nova looked at her swollen, pregnant reflection in the mirror. Her black coat was stained with blood and reeked of iron.Even though she was only four months along, a loss like this still required a serious recovery period.She cleaned herself up and threw the bloody clothes in the trash.Just as she was packing her things to leave, the housekeeper knocked on the door. "Mr. Forrester is back. He wants you downstairs."Nova was genuinely surprised. He was the untouchable mastermind of the Forrester family. Since the day they married and she moved in, he had barely set foot in this house. The only place she ever saw him or spoke to him was at the office.So why was he here today? Was it about the babies? Was he going to ask about what happened at the hospital?Or maybe he wanted to know why she had called him so many times?With her mind racing, she walked downstairs, only to be met with a single, freezing sentence:"You don't have time for your prenatal checkup, but you have time to stalk me?"Nova's face drained of color.Ever since she got pregnant, her checkups had been scheduled at a hospital owned by Forrester Group. But today, on her way to that very checkup, she was in a car crash. Because he wouldn't answer his phone, she had been left waiting for rescue until her babies died inside her.She was standing there carrying their dead children in her womb. She had watched him coddle the very woman who killed them, and his first thought was that she was stalking him?A bitter ache swelled in her chest. Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I wasn't stalking you. I was there because...""Save your schemes. Once it's born, we'll divorce and end this." Before she could finish, his cold, indifferent voice cut her off.Nova froze. She knew a divorce was inevitable, but hearing it said so casually from his own lips still felt like a knife to the heart.She had loved him for so long, chased after him for years. To suddenly feel nothing at all was impossible.Despite the pain, Nova tried again to tell him the truth. "We don't have to wait. We can get a divorce right now, because..."The babies are gone.Four simple words. But they were cut off by the ringing of his phone.From what she could hear, something had happened to his grandfather, Abdul Forrester.Sure enough, he hung up, stood, and gestured for her to follow.Nova trailed behind him. As he got into the driver's seat, she instinctively reached for the passenger door.But the moment she pulled the handle, his icy voice stopped her. "Get in the back."She paused, suddenly remembering the old saying that the passenger seat is reserved for a man's beloved.And there it was. Resting on the passenger seat was a woman's jacket, clearly bearing the customized monogram: "Reserved for Yvette Sellers."She used to fantasize about that kind of special treatment. But she always told herself that a powerful, imposing man like Tristan would never indulge in something so childish.It turned out she was just making excuses. When a man truly loves a woman, what wouldn't he indulge?Nova said nothing. Her eyes reddened slightly as she turned and got into the back seat.She watched Tristan's impassive face in the rearview mirror, recalling how fiercely he had protected the woman in his arms at the hospital. Since he had returned home, he hadn't asked a single time why she was at the hospital. His cold indifference had reached a point where she was completely invisible.What was she even holding out hope for?"Grandpa is ill again. Grandma is away on a spiritual retreat and won't be back for a while. When we get to the estate, if he asks about the baby, tell him everything is fine and that you just went to a different clinic for your checkup today. I'll have someone mock up some medical records for you to show him," he said suddenly, not even bothering to glance back, let alone ask how she was doing.Nova's only foothold in the Forrester family was the support of his grandparents. Belinda, in particular, had been thrilled about the pregnancy and even went to an abbey to pray for her and the child.When Nova's family business crashed, her father fell gravely ill, and her brother was sent to prison, it was Belinda who had ordered Tristan to spend the money and fix it. She owed Belinda everything.Abdul had been kind to her, too. Hearing that he was sick made her heart twist.Under these circumstances, she couldn't break the news of the miscarriage just yet.The moment they arrived at the Forrester Estate, Nova was led upstairs.Abdul's face lit up when he saw her.Nova handed over the fake ultrasound printout she had prepared earlier.Looking at the tiny, blurry shape on the paper, the normally stern old man offered a rare smile. "Nova, once this child is born, you will be the greatest contributor to the Forrester family."With a gesture, he had a servant bring out a stock transfer agreement and handed it to her. "Belinda wanted you to have this. It's a gift for the unborn child."It was five percent of the Forrester Group. Even the largest external shareholder only held two percent.But the babies were already gone. Her twins were dead.Nova's eyes welled with tears as she shook her head to refuse.Tristan cast a sidelong glance at her. "It's a gift from an elder. Don't refuse it. Besides, it's for the baby."Nova knew what he was really saying: she had no right to reject anything on behalf of his child. She was just a surrogate, a walking incubator.After a beat of silence, she had no choice but to accept it.She figured she would wait until the old man's health stabilized to tell him the truth, and then she could just return the shares.Abdul nodded approvingly, looking her over. "It's completely normal to lose your figure during pregnancy. Eat what you want, drink what you want. You have a good foundation; you can worry about dieting and beauty treatments after the birth. Don't starve the baby just to look thin.""I won't," Nova said, touching her face. She really had gained a lot of weight, which was why no one suspected that her four-month bump was actually twins.But... they were gone now.She listened to him chat for a little longer before a sharp cramp hit her abdomen. She needed to leave.Just as she stood up, she heard Tristan's voice behind her. "What's wrong?"Nova froze, thinking he had noticed her discomfort and was actually asking if she was okay for once.But when she turned around, she saw him on his phone, right in front of his grandfather.His tone was gentler than she had ever heard it. "Don't take the aftereffects of the crash lightly. I'm sending Kieran over—he's the family doctor. I'll come by later tonight too. Don't be scared."Nova instantly realized he was talking to Yvette, completely unbothered by his grandfather's presence.Hanging up, Tristan looked up and met Nova's stare.Chapter 2"Ms. Clarke, we need to perform a D&C immediately. Has your family arrived yet?"Nova Clarke sat in the wheelchair, staring at the blood beneath her, then down at her phone, losing track of how many times the nurse had rushed her.From the moment she was pinned inside the mangled car to when she was rushed to the emergency room, she had called Tristan Forrester over thirty times. Every single call had gone straight to a mechanical busy signal.Early that morning, she had taken a cab to the prenatal checkup, only for her vehicle to be T-boned by a red Maserati and knocked off the bridge into the river.The driver of the Maserati was immediately whisked away by a private team to the hospital. She alone was left behind, unable to reach Tristan. She soaked in the freezing river for two agonizing hours before rescue workers finally pulled her out.The price of her survival was premature rupture of membranes. The baby in her womb had long since lost its heartbeat.Nova's tears had already run dry; she couldn't cry even if she wanted to."Ms. Clarke?"Nova snapped back to reality. She was covered in dirt and blood, her lower half a mess of amniotic fluid and gore, looking utterly wretched.Her lips trembled as she clung to her last shred of dignity. "My husband might be busy. Can I just sign the consent forms myself?""I'm sorry, but you also have a mild concussion. You'll need bed rest and observation after the procedure. We absolutely must have a family member present to sign off before we can proceed. Why don't you try calling him again?""Okay. I'll try again."Nova watched the nurse walk away. She grabbed her long black puffer coat, pulled it on, and stood up, intending to find another hospital that wouldn't require a family member's signature.As she slipped her phone into her pocket, her fingers brushed against her ultrasound printout from yesterday.Back then, her baby was still alive.Stepping out of the room, Nova overheard two nurses whispering in the hall. "Do you know who's in the VIP suite next door?""Who?""Yvette, the heiress to the Sellers family! She's won major awards in finance, racing, and tech. She's a literal genius who even participated in a national-level research project recently! I even asked her for an autograph!""Wow, really? Why is she here? Is she hurt or sick? If anything happened to her, it'd be a huge loss!""She rear-ended someone near the overpass this morning in her red Maserati. Just got a few scratches. But her boyfriend was totally freaking out—he rushed over the second the accident happened, brought her in through the VIP channel, and hasn't left her side."Hearing about the driver responsible for her accident, Nova stopped dead in her tracks. Then came the fatal blow:"Do you know who her boyfriend is? Tristan Forrester, the CEO of Forrester Group! That red Maserati was actually a birthday gift from him..."The two nurses' voices faded down the corridor.Nova's grip on her phone tightened until her knuckles turned white.The driver was Yvette Sellers. Her boyfriend—the man who bought her the very car that caused the crash—was Tristan Forrester.She had never imagined that her husband was cheating on her. What was even crueler was that his mistress had driven the sports car he bought her and killed their unborn baby.No wonder the police had only let the insurance company handle it, brushing everything else aside.At the end of the hallway, Nova spotted the tall, handsome man. He was protectively shielding a beautiful, radiant woman as they walked out of a room.Nova clutched her medical report detailing her baby's lost heartbeat. Her body trembled uncontrollably inside her heavy black coat.Watching them step into the elevator, she wanted to call Tristan one last time. She wanted to know what his reaction would be if his phone rang and he saw her there.He would probably just hang up, like he always did.But she still wanted to try. Just one last time.As the elevator doors opened, Nova watched with her own eyes as Tristan glanced at his phone and declined the call without a second thought. His gaze immediately returned to the woman beside him. His eyes were only for her.Suddenly, Nova felt that her four years of desperate, unrequited love were nothing but a pathetic joke.Right as they stepped into the elevator, the woman nestled in his arms seemed to notice her. "Tristan, isn't that the assistant you wanted to fire? Why did she follow you all the way to the hospital?"Tristan finally looked over.But he looked at her as if she were a total stranger—indifferent, entirely unmoved. It was just a fleeting glance before his attention shifted back to the girl in his arms.Nova felt ice in her veins. She could feel the blood flowing heavier now.So this was the sweetheart he had met abroad, the one everyone at the company whispered about. He had been with her this whole time.She had thought that if Tristan came, she would tell him about the baby...As for the pregnancy, it had been an accident a few months ago. His grandmother, Belinda, had pressured him into marrying her for the sake of the child.They never had a wedding. No vows, no public announcement. They had merely signed the marriage license. No one knew she was Mrs. Forrester, Tristan's legal wife.A tear slipped down her cheek. Nova could barely stand.She didn't hear what Tristan said in reply. She only watched the elevator doors slide shut, swallowing Tristan from her sight completely. In that moment, she realized just how naive she had been.The nurse who had spoken to her earlier hurried over and caught her as she swayed."My husband is with someone else. He's not coming. Please just do the surgery. I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens. I..."Before she could finish, Nova collapsed....When Nova opened her eyes again, she was lying in a hospital bed. She didn't know how much time had passed.A nurse came in, removed her IV, and sighed. "You were hemorrhaging, so we went ahead with the D&C. We tried calling your husband from your phone again, but it wouldn't go through. It was a boy and a girl. They were already taking shape. It's such a tragedy. If you had been brought in just a little sooner, we might have been able to save them. Such a shame..."Nova took the surgical report and stared at it for a long, long time.Her babies were gone...She had gotten several ultrasounds at the hospital under the Forrester Group, and they had always told her it was a single pregnancy."Doctor, could you please place the remains in here?"Nova had no tears left. She simply handed over a small, black urn.Once it was sealed, she wrapped it in dark wrapping paper and tied a neat bow. If she didn't say anything, it looked just like a gift.After resting for a bit, Nova held the black urn tightly, left the hospital, and took a cab back to Clearwater Manor.But the moment she walked through the door, the housekeeper coldly shoved a phone in her face. "It's Felipa."Nova didn't take it as she normally would. Startled, the housekeeper put it on speaker."I went out for afternoon tea. I want turtle soup when I get back, so prep it well. Also, I left my clothes in the laundry room. You know the drill—hand wash them, press them, and put them away. I want the floors scrubbed on your hands and knees three times. I'll be checking when I return. Oh, and I gave all the staff at Clearwater Manor the day off again, so you'll have to do it all yourself."The call disconnected.Nova held the urn containing her two children and looked around the massive, empty estate.Tristan didn't love her, and his mother, Felipa, loathed her.Felipa claimed she was staying there to take care of her, but in reality, she treated Nova like a servant. Even knowing she was pregnant, Felipa forced her to wait on her hand and foot. Every day after work, she would be hit with a mountain of exhausting, dirty chores just to keep her busy.To them, her marriage license was nothing more than an employment contract.No, she was worse off than a maid. Maids actually got paid and weren't expected to act as breeding stock.This time, Nova didn't obediently take the groceries to the kitchen. Instead, she turned and walked straight upstairs.Watching her act so out of character, the housekeeper immediately grabbed the phone to tattle to Felipa!Listening to the exaggerated complaints echoing downstairs, Nova completely ignored it.Back in her bedroom, she stared at their photoshopped wedding picture, then down at the urn in her arms.She didn't belong here. It was time to wake up.Amidst her thoughts, her phone rang.She pulled it from her bag, staring at the caller ID in a daze. It was her senior colleague, Samuel Wyndham.Without hesitation, she answered."Samuel, it's me... It's Nova.""Nova, you asked me to decline the government's confidential aerospace project last time. They saw how adamant you were, and when they heard you were pregnant, they agreed to find someone else. Moving forward, neither I nor our mentor will bother you again. Just live your life."Nova froze, letting his words sink in.Back in university, she had been a top prospect, secretly groomed for classified government research. Later, she partnered with Samuel to launch a tech startup.With her technical brilliance, the company went public in just a year, making her a major shareholder.Since then, she had been tapped for multiple top-secret government developments. Leading national researchers knew her name and begged to take her under their wing...But she had fallen for the wrong man. For Tristan, she threw away her bright future. She turned down every offer, sacrificed everything to be by his side, and buried herself in the trivial, soul-crushing grunt work at Forrester Group. Because of him, she had rejected endless prestigious research opportunities that others would kill for.Met with silence, the man on the other end let out a heavy sigh. "Well, that's that. Focus on your pregnancy. We won't contact you again."Snapping back to her senses, Nova spoke without a shred of hesitation. "Samuel, I want to join the government's aerospace project.""What did you just say?" Samuel thought he had misheard her.At first, he couldn't stand watching Nova throw her life away to play assistant to Tristan. He used to call her constantly to talk some sense into her, hoping she would finally wake up. But every single time, she had refused him.And today, completely out of the blue, she was saying yes? Was this just another ploy to get Tristan's attention?It had to be.She had given up so much just to stand in Tristan's shadow. Now, to catch his eye, she was pushing herself this hard while pregnant? Ugh...Samuel sighed."Alright," he replied, choosing not to call her out on it. He merely warned, "This is a classified government project. Absolute secrecy is required. Come see me on Monday—tomorrow—to sign the NDA."He wondered when his brilliant junior would finally snap out of it.Hanging up, Nova felt incredibly foolish. All that reckless devotion, and for what? Nothing. She had wasted four, almost five years of her life on a man who didn't even love her.When she saw Tristan next, she would tell him the babies were gone and that their marriage was over.Nova looked at her swollen, pregnant reflection in the mirror. Her black coat was stained with blood and reeked of iron.Even though she was only four months along, a loss like this still required a serious recovery period.She cleaned herself up and threw the bloody clothes in the trash.Just as she was packing her things to leave, the housekeeper knocked on the door. "Mr. Forrester is back. He wants you downstairs."Nova was genuinely surprised. He was the untouchable mastermind of the Forrester family. Since the day they married and she moved in, he had barely set foot in this house. The only place she ever saw him or spoke to him was at the office.So why was he here today? Was it about the babies? Was he going to ask about what happened at the hospital?Or maybe he wanted to know why she had called him so many times?With her mind racing, she walked downstairs, only to be met with a single, freezing sentence:"You don't have time for your prenatal checkup, but you have time to stalk me?"Nova's face drained of color.Ever since she got pregnant, her checkups had been scheduled at a hospital owned by Forrester Group. But today, on her way to that very checkup, she was in a car crash. Because he wouldn't answer his phone, she had been left waiting for rescue until her babies died inside her.She was standing there carrying their dead children in her womb. She had watched him coddle the very woman who killed them, and his first thought was that she was stalking him?A bitter ache swelled in her chest. Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I wasn't stalking you. I was there because...""Save your schemes. Once it's born, we'll divorce and end this." Before she could finish, his cold, indifferent voice cut her off.Nova froze. She knew a divorce was inevitable, but hearing it said so casually from his own lips still felt like a knife to the heart.She had loved him for so long, chased after him for years. To suddenly feel nothing at all was impossible.Despite the pain, Nova tried again to tell him the truth. "We don't have to wait. We can get a divorce right now, because..."The babies are gone.Four simple words. But they were cut off by the ringing of his phone.From what she could hear, something had happened to his grandfather, Abdul Forrester.Sure enough, he hung up, stood, and gestured for her to follow.Nova trailed behind him. As he got into the driver's seat, she instinctively reached for the passenger door.But the moment she pulled the handle, his icy voice stopped her. "Get in the back."She paused, suddenly remembering the old saying that the passenger seat is reserved for a man's beloved.And there it was. Resting on the passenger seat was a woman's jacket, clearly bearing the customized monogram: "Reserved for Yvette Sellers."She used to fantasize about that kind of special treatment. But she always told herself that a powerful, imposing man like Tristan would never indulge in something so childish.It turned out she was just making excuses. When a man truly loves a woman, what wouldn't he indulge?Nova said nothing. Her eyes reddened slightly as she turned and got into the back seat.She watched Tristan's impassive face in the rearview mirror, recalling how fiercely he had protected the woman in his arms at the hospital. Since he had returned home, he hadn't asked a single time why she was at the hospital. His cold indifference had reached a point where she was completely invisible.What was she even holding out hope for?"Grandpa is ill again. Grandma is away on a spiritual retreat and won't be back for a while. When we get to the estate, if he asks about the baby, tell him everything is fine and that you just went to a different clinic for your checkup today. I'll have someone mock up some medical records for you to show him," he said suddenly, not even bothering to glance back, let alone ask how she was doing.Nova's only foothold in the Forrester family was the support of his grandparents. Belinda, in particular, had been thrilled about the pregnancy and even went to an abbey to pray for her and the child.When Nova's family business crashed, her father fell gravely ill, and her brother was sent to prison, it was Belinda who had ordered Tristan to spend the money and fix it. She owed Belinda everything.Abdul had been kind to her, too. Hearing that he was sick made her heart twist.Under these circumstances, she couldn't break the news of the miscarriage just yet.The moment they arrived at the Forrester Estate, Nova was led upstairs.Abdul's face lit up when he saw her.Nova handed over the fake ultrasound printout she had prepared earlier.Looking at the tiny, blurry shape on the paper, the normally stern old man offered a rare smile. "Nova, once this child is born, you will be the greatest contributor to the Forrester family."With a gesture, he had a servant bring out a stock transfer agreement and handed it to her. "Belinda wanted you to have this. It's a gift for the unborn child."It was five percent of the Forrester Group. Even the largest external shareholder only held two percent.But the babies were already gone. Her twins were dead.Nova's eyes welled with tears as she shook her head to refuse.Tristan cast a sidelong glance at her. "It's a gift from an elder. Don't refuse it. Besides, it's for the baby."Nova knew what he was really saying: she had no right to reject anything on behalf of his child. She was just a surrogate, a walking incubator.After a beat of silence, she had no choice but to accept it.She figured she would wait until the old man's health stabilized to tell him the truth, and then she could just return the shares.Abdul nodded approvingly, looking her over. "It's completely normal to lose your figure during pregnancy. Eat what you want, drink what you want. You have a good foundation; you can worry about dieting and beauty treatments after the birth. Don't starve the baby just to look thin.""I won't," Nova said, touching her face. She really had gained a lot of weight, which was why no one suspected that her four-month bump was actually twins.But... they were gone now.She listened to him chat for a little longer before a sharp cramp hit her abdomen. She needed to leave.Just as she stood up, she heard Tristan's voice behind her. "What's wrong?"Nova froze, thinking he had noticed her discomfort and was actually asking if she was okay for once.But when she turned around, she saw him on his phone, right in front of his grandfather.His tone was gentler than she had ever heard it. "Don't take the aftereffects of the crash lightly. I'm sending Kieran over—he's the family doctor. I'll come by later tonight too. Don't be scared."Nova instantly realized he was talking to Yvette, completely unbothered by his grandfather's presence.Hanging up, Tristan looked up and met Nova's stare.Chapter 3"Ms. Clarke, we need to perform a D&C immediately. Has your family arrived yet?"Nova Clarke sat in the wheelchair, staring at the blood beneath her, then down at her phone, losing track of how many times the nurse had rushed her.From the moment she was pinned inside the mangled car to when she was rushed to the emergency room, she had called Tristan Forrester over thirty times. Every single call had gone straight to a mechanical busy signal.Early that morning, she had taken a cab to the prenatal checkup, only for her vehicle to be T-boned by a red Maserati and knocked off the bridge into the river.The driver of the Maserati was immediately whisked away by a private team to the hospital. She alone was left behind, unable to reach Tristan. She soaked in the freezing river for two agonizing hours before rescue workers finally pulled her out.The price of her survival was premature rupture of membranes. The baby in her womb had long since lost its heartbeat.Nova's tears had already run dry; she couldn't cry even if she wanted to."Ms. Clarke?"Nova snapped back to reality. She was covered in dirt and blood, her lower half a mess of amniotic fluid and gore, looking utterly wretched.Her lips trembled as she clung to her last shred of dignity. "My husband might be busy. Can I just sign the consent forms myself?""I'm sorry, but you also have a mild concussion. You'll need bed rest and observation after the procedure. We absolutely must have a family member present to sign off before we can proceed. Why don't you try calling him again?""Okay. I'll try again."Nova watched the nurse walk away. She grabbed her long black puffer coat, pulled it on, and stood up, intending to find another hospital that wouldn't require a family member's signature.As she slipped her phone into her pocket, her fingers brushed against her ultrasound printout from yesterday.Back then, her baby was still alive.Stepping out of the room, Nova overheard two nurses whispering in the hall. "Do you know who's in the VIP suite next door?""Who?""Yvette, the heiress to the Sellers family! She's won major awards in finance, racing, and tech. She's a literal genius who even participated in a national-level research project recently! I even asked her for an autograph!""Wow, really? Why is she here? Is she hurt or sick? If anything happened to her, it'd be a huge loss!""She rear-ended someone near the overpass this morning in her red Maserati. Just got a few scratches. But her boyfriend was totally freaking out—he rushed over the second the accident happened, brought her in through the VIP channel, and hasn't left her side."Hearing about the driver responsible for her accident, Nova stopped dead in her tracks. Then came the fatal blow:"Do you know who her boyfriend is? Tristan Forrester, the CEO of Forrester Group! That red Maserati was actually a birthday gift from him..."The two nurses' voices faded down the corridor.Nova's grip on her phone tightened until her knuckles turned white.The driver was Yvette Sellers. Her boyfriend—the man who bought her the very car that caused the crash—was Tristan Forrester.She had never imagined that her husband was cheating on her. What was even crueler was that his mistress had driven the sports car he bought her and killed their unborn baby.No wonder the police had only let the insurance company handle it, brushing everything else aside.At the end of the hallway, Nova spotted the tall, handsome man. He was protectively shielding a beautiful, radiant woman as they walked out of a room.Nova clutched her medical report detailing her baby's lost heartbeat. Her body trembled uncontrollably inside her heavy black coat.Watching them step into the elevator, she wanted to call Tristan one last time. She wanted to know what his reaction would be if his phone rang and he saw her there.He would probably just hang up, like he always did.But she still wanted to try. Just one last time.As the elevator doors opened, Nova watched with her own eyes as Tristan glanced at his phone and declined the call without a second thought. His gaze immediately returned to the woman beside him. His eyes were only for her.Suddenly, Nova felt that her four years of desperate, unrequited love were nothing but a pathetic joke.Right as they stepped into the elevator, the woman nestled in his arms seemed to notice her. "Tristan, isn't that the assistant you wanted to fire? Why did she follow you all the way to the hospital?"Tristan finally looked over.But he looked at her as if she were a total stranger—indifferent, entirely unmoved. It was just a fleeting glance before his attention shifted back to the girl in his arms.Nova felt ice in her veins. She could feel the blood flowing heavier now.So this was the sweetheart he had met abroad, the one everyone at the company whispered about. He had been with her this whole time.She had thought that if Tristan came, she would tell him about the baby...As for the pregnancy, it had been an accident a few months ago. His grandmother, Belinda, had pressured him into marrying her for the sake of the child.They never had a wedding. No vows, no public announcement. They had merely signed the marriage license. No one knew she was Mrs. Forrester, Tristan's legal wife.A tear slipped down her cheek. Nova could barely stand.She didn't hear what Tristan said in reply. She only watched the elevator doors slide shut, swallowing Tristan from her sight completely. In that moment, she realized just how naive she had been.The nurse who had spoken to her earlier hurried over and caught her as she swayed."My husband is with someone else. He's not coming. Please just do the surgery. I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens. I..."Before she could finish, Nova collapsed....When Nova opened her eyes again, she was lying in a hospital bed. She didn't know how much time had passed.A nurse came in, removed her IV, and sighed. "You were hemorrhaging, so we went ahead with the D&C. We tried calling your husband from your phone again, but it wouldn't go through. It was a boy and a girl. They were already taking shape. It's such a tragedy. If you had been brought in just a little sooner, we might have been able to save them. Such a shame..."Nova took the surgical report and stared at it for a long, long time.Her babies were gone...She had gotten several ultrasounds at the hospital under the Forrester Group, and they had always told her it was a single pregnancy."Doctor, could you please place the remains in here?"Nova had no tears left. She simply handed over a small, black urn.Once it was sealed, she wrapped it in dark wrapping paper and tied a neat bow. If she didn't say anything, it looked just like a gift.After resting for a bit, Nova held the black urn tightly, left the hospital, and took a cab back to Clearwater Manor.But the moment she walked through the door, the housekeeper coldly shoved a phone in her face. "It's Felipa."Nova didn't take it as she normally would. Startled, the housekeeper put it on speaker."I went out for afternoon tea. I want turtle soup when I get back, so prep it well. Also, I left my clothes in the laundry room. You know the drill—hand wash them, press them, and put them away. I want the floors scrubbed on your hands and knees three times. I'll be checking when I return. Oh, and I gave all the staff at Clearwater Manor the day off again, so you'll have to do it all yourself."The call disconnected.Nova held the urn containing her two children and looked around the massive, empty estate.Tristan didn't love her, and his mother, Felipa, loathed her.Felipa claimed she was staying there to take care of her, but in reality, she treated Nova like a servant. Even knowing she was pregnant, Felipa forced her to wait on her hand and foot. Every day after work, she would be hit with a mountain of exhausting, dirty chores just to keep her busy.To them, her marriage license was nothing more than an employment contract.No, she was worse off than a maid. Maids actually got paid and weren't expected to act as breeding stock.This time, Nova didn't obediently take the groceries to the kitchen. Instead, she turned and walked straight upstairs.Watching her act so out of character, the housekeeper immediately grabbed the phone to tattle to Felipa!Listening to the exaggerated complaints echoing downstairs, Nova completely ignored it.Back in her bedroom, she stared at their photoshopped wedding picture, then down at the urn in her arms.She didn't belong here. It was time to wake up.Amidst her thoughts, her phone rang.She pulled it from her bag, staring at the caller ID in a daze. It was her senior colleague, Samuel Wyndham.Without hesitation, she answered."Samuel, it's me... It's Nova.""Nova, you asked me to decline the government's confidential aerospace project last time. They saw how adamant you were, and when they heard you were pregnant, they agreed to find someone else. Moving forward, neither I nor our mentor will bother you again. Just live your life."Nova froze, letting his words sink in.Back in university, she had been a top prospect, secretly groomed for classified government research. Later, she partnered with Samuel to launch a tech startup.With her technical brilliance, the company went public in just a year, making her a major shareholder.Since then, she had been tapped for multiple top-secret government developments. Leading national researchers knew her name and begged to take her under their wing...But she had fallen for the wrong man. For Tristan, she threw away her bright future. She turned down every offer, sacrificed everything to be by his side, and buried herself in the trivial, soul-crushing grunt work at Forrester Group. Because of him, she had rejected endless prestigious research opportunities that others would kill for.Met with silence, the man on the other end let out a heavy sigh. "Well, that's that. Focus on your pregnancy. We won't contact you again."Snapping back to her senses, Nova spoke without a shred of hesitation. "Samuel, I want to join the government's aerospace project.""What did you just say?" Samuel thought he had misheard her.At first, he couldn't stand watching Nova throw her life away to play assistant to Tristan. He used to call her constantly to talk some sense into her, hoping she would finally wake up. But every single time, she had refused him.And today, completely out of the blue, she was saying yes? Was this just another ploy to get Tristan's attention?It had to be.She had given up so much just to stand in Tristan's shadow. Now, to catch his eye, she was pushing herself this hard while pregnant? Ugh...Samuel sighed."Alright," he replied, choosing not to call her out on it. He merely warned, "This is a classified government project. Absolute secrecy is required. Come see me on Monday—tomorrow—to sign the NDA."He wondered when his brilliant junior would finally snap out of it.Hanging up, Nova felt incredibly foolish. All that reckless devotion, and for what? Nothing. She had wasted four, almost five years of her life on a man who didn't even love her.When she saw Tristan next, she would tell him the babies were gone and that their marriage was over.Nova looked at her swollen, pregnant reflection in the mirror. Her black coat was stained with blood and reeked of iron.Even though she was only four months along, a loss like this still required a serious recovery period.She cleaned herself up and threw the bloody clothes in the trash.Just as she was packing her things to leave, the housekeeper knocked on the door. "Mr. Forrester is back. He wants you downstairs."Nova was genuinely surprised. He was the untouchable mastermind of the Forrester family. Since the day they married and she moved in, he had barely set foot in this house. The only place she ever saw him or spoke to him was at the office.So why was he here today? Was it about the babies? Was he going to ask about what happened at the hospital?Or maybe he wanted to know why she had called him so many times?With her mind racing, she walked downstairs, only to be met with a single, freezing sentence:"You don't have time for your prenatal checkup, but you have time to stalk me?"Nova's face drained of color.Ever since she got pregnant, her checkups had been scheduled at a hospital owned by Forrester Group. But today, on her way to that very checkup, she was in a car crash. Because he wouldn't answer his phone, she had been left waiting for rescue until her babies died inside her.She was standing there carrying their dead children in her womb. She had watched him coddle the very woman who killed them, and his first thought was that she was stalking him?A bitter ache swelled in her chest. Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I wasn't stalking you. I was there because...""Save your schemes. Once it's born, we'll divorce and end this." Before she could finish, his cold, indifferent voice cut her off.Nova froze. She knew a divorce was inevitable, but hearing it said so casually from his own lips still felt like a knife to the heart.She had loved him for so long, chased after him for years. To suddenly feel nothing at all was impossible.Despite the pain, Nova tried again to tell him the truth. "We don't have to wait. We can get a divorce right now, because..."The babies are gone.Four simple words. But they were cut off by the ringing of his phone.From what she could hear, something had happened to his grandfather, Abdul Forrester.Sure enough, he hung up, stood, and gestured for her to follow.Nova trailed behind him. As he got into the driver's seat, she instinctively reached for the passenger door.But the moment she pulled the handle, his icy voice stopped her. "Get in the back."She paused, suddenly remembering the old saying that the passenger seat is reserved for a man's beloved.And there it was. Resting on the passenger seat was a woman's jacket, clearly bearing the customized monogram: "Reserved for Yvette Sellers."She used to fantasize about that kind of special treatment. But she always told herself that a powerful, imposing man like Tristan would never indulge in something so childish.It turned out she was just making excuses. When a man truly loves a woman, what wouldn't he indulge?Nova said nothing. Her eyes reddened slightly as she turned and got into the back seat.She watched Tristan's impassive face in the rearview mirror, recalling how fiercely he had protected the woman in his arms at the hospital. Since he had returned home, he hadn't asked a single time why she was at the hospital. His cold indifference had reached a point where she was completely invisible.What was she even holding out hope for?"Grandpa is ill again. Grandma is away on a spiritual retreat and won't be back for a while. When we get to the estate, if he asks about the baby, tell him everything is fine and that you just went to a different clinic for your checkup today. I'll have someone mock up some medical records for you to show him," he said suddenly, not even bothering to glance back, let alone ask how she was doing.Nova's only foothold in the Forrester family was the support of his grandparents. Belinda, in particular, had been thrilled about the pregnancy and even went to an abbey to pray for her and the child.When Nova's family business crashed, her father fell gravely ill, and her brother was sent to prison, it was Belinda who had ordered Tristan to spend the money and fix it. She owed Belinda everything.Abdul had been kind to her, too. Hearing that he was sick made her heart twist.Under these circumstances, she couldn't break the news of the miscarriage just yet.The moment they arrived at the Forrester Estate, Nova was led upstairs.Abdul's face lit up when he saw her.Nova handed over the fake ultrasound printout she had prepared earlier.Looking at the tiny, blurry shape on the paper, the normally stern old man offered a rare smile. "Nova, once this child is born, you will be the greatest contributor to the Forrester family."With a gesture, he had a servant bring out a stock transfer agreement and handed it to her. "Belinda wanted you to have this. It's a gift for the unborn child."It was five percent of the Forrester Group. Even the largest external shareholder only held two percent.But the babies were already gone. Her twins were dead.Nova's eyes welled with tears as she shook her head to refuse.Tristan cast a sidelong glance at her. "It's a gift from an elder. Don't refuse it. Besides, it's for the baby."Nova knew what he was really saying: she had no right to reject anything on behalf of his child. She was just a surrogate, a walking incubator.After a beat of silence, she had no choice but to accept it.She figured she would wait until the old man's health stabilized to tell him the truth, and then she could just return the shares.Abdul nodded approvingly, looking her over. "It's completely normal to lose your figure during pregnancy. Eat what you want, drink what you want. You have a good foundation; you can worry about dieting and beauty treatments after the birth. Don't starve the baby just to look thin.""I won't," Nova said, touching her face. She really had gained a lot of weight, which was why no one suspected that her four-month bump was actually twins.But... they were gone now.She listened to him chat for a little longer before a sharp cramp hit her abdomen. She needed to leave.Just as she stood up, she heard Tristan's voice behind her. "What's wrong?"Nova froze, thinking he had noticed her discomfort and was actually asking if she was okay for once.But when she turned around, she saw him on his phone, right in front of his grandfather.His tone was gentler than she had ever heard it. "Don't take the aftereffects of the crash lightly. I'm sending Kieran over—he's the family doctor. I'll come by later tonight too. Don't be scared."Nova instantly realized he was talking to Yvette, completely unbothered by his grandfather's presence.Hanging up, Tristan looked up and met Nova's stare.