---- But she was sorely disappointed. Whether Levi had been emotionally unfaithful or not, physically he had crossed the line-and that alone was something I could never, ever tolerate. Letting go was painful, but I steeled myself and said, "Don't worry, I'm not that naive. I'm here to give you Levi-on one condition." Lily eyed me suspiciously. I smiled at her like we were merely exchanging party favors. "Unlike you, I have standards. My man must love only me. I don't accept men who are fickle." She opened her mouth, about to retort-but something caught her eye. And then she smiled. "Alright. I'll trust you. But... I'd like a little insurance." Before I could react, she suddenly clutched her ---- belly and collapsed onto the floor with a moan. In the next instant, a brutal force shoved me hard. My hip slammed into the sharp corner of the table, and I gasped from the searing pain. It was Levi. He rushed to Lily's side, cradling her carefully in his arms while she shook her head weakly. "It wasn't Nikki," she whimpered. "Don't blame her." Levi shot me a look of profound disappointment, one I had never seen before. I opened my mouth to speak-but before I could say anything, Levi's mother came barreling into the room and shoved me aside. I stood there, stunned. "what are you doing here?" I asked. But she had no interest in answering me. She ---- hurried over to Levi and Lily, fussing over them and the baby. And then, out of nowhere, Levi's father slapped me. Hard. "Dad!" Levi instinctively moved toward me, but the moment Lily whimpered again, he abandoned me without a second thought, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her away without even glancing back. His father's rage was far from spent. He jabbed a trembling finger at me. "You vicious woman! Can't have a child yourself, and now you want to stop Levi from having one outside? You want the Ezra family line to die with you, is that it?" My face burned from the slap, my ears ringing. It took me a long moment to gather myself. I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my ---- mouth and forced out the question. "When did you find out?" Levi's mother sneered. "we knew from the beginning! Did you think we'd hide our grandson? A rightful heir to the Ezra family?" And just like that, it all made sense. They had known all along. They had welcomed Lily, protected her, and planned for her. The in-laws I had dutifully served for seven long years, the marriage I had fought so hard to maintain-it had all been a cruel joke. I couldn't breathe anymore. I turned and fled from that suffocating place. I scheduled the abortion. Before the procedure, I visited Levi in Lily's hospital room one last time.