---- Chapter 5 The surgery didn't take long, but for Levi, it felt like an agonizing century. Finally, the heavy doors to the operating room swung open. I emerged slowly, one hand pressed to her abdomen, looking so pale and fragile that I seemed barely able to stand. Gripping the wall for support, Levi stumbled forward, his eyes already red, his voice hoarse as he asked, "... The baby is gone?" I gave a small nod. "Yes." In that instant, Levi's body seemed to crumple. His broad shoulders, once proud, hunched inward, and it was as if he had aged ten years in the blink of an eye. "Nikki, you're ruthless," he whispered. ---- Asharp pang lanced through my chest, but my face remained impassive as I answered with chilling calm, "Yes. That's why-we're getting divorced." Levi's face contorted with pain. He loathed her mercilessness. Yet when he saw my deathly pale face, his heart still ached unbearably. He longed to hold me. Just as he reached out his hand, a sharp voice interrupted. "Levi! Hurry! Lily is about to give birth!" It was his mother. The hand he had extended froze midair and then dropped heavily. Without even glancing back, Levi turned and ran downstairs. ---- I stood there, stunned, belatedly stretching out my hand toward him. But he was already gone, and there was nothing left to grasp. A bitter laugh escaped me. Turning away from the hospital, I went home and packed my things. I placed the divorce papers on the coffee table, hailed a cab, and headed straight for the airport. When Levi's child came into the world, my plane was already soaring above the clouds at thirty thousand feet. Lily gave birth to a son. Levi's parents were overjoyed. They cradled the tiny baby as though he were the greatest treasure on earth, their faces radiant with delight. And Levi-he stood there, gazing down at the