---- Chapter 9 Carly's belly, once softly rounded, was now flat as before. She kept bowing, pleading desperately, " Please forgive me. I never meant to frame you! "Nobody likes me in the Medinas. I was only trying to survive. Was that wrong?" Seeing these people coming to cause trouble on our wedding day, John frowned deeply as he covered my eyes with one hand while directing the bodyguards to escort them away. I took a deep breath, gently tapped his hand, then stepped forward to Simon. He froze for a moment, then lit up with joy and reached out to pull me close. "I knew you still cared about me!" But in the next second, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. "This is for your lies, your fake affection, and for ---- ruining our marriage, all for Carly's future." Before he could recover, I struck him again. "Our child didn't die that night-I had an abortion. You made me drink milk that contained contraceptives every night because you never wanted me to get pregnant. The child was innocent, and it didn't deserve a father who didn't love it. This slap is for that baby." Simon was strong and broad, but those two slaps sent him crumpling to the floor, completely shattered. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a wail, as if he had lost the most precious treasure in the world. I almost couldn't believe the proud Simon was actually crying over me. But I didn't look back. I took John's arm and walked toward the hall. ---- Behind me, the Barkers' bodyguards were already dragging Simon away. He called my name over and over, his voice low and desperate. And I never once turned around. Not long after returning to the Barkers, Simon fell seriously ill. His health rapidly declined until he could barely walk. His outburst at the wedding exposed Carly's true colors. John's informant inside the Barkers reported, " Simon locked Carly and a dozen homeless men in the basement, and she screamed all night. That was how she lost the baby." But no matter what, Carly was Ryan's woman, carrying the Schumans' offspring.