Frederick Fairfax dashed to the door. Could he go in? This was the women's restroom.
"Lily!"
"I'm fine!"
Olivia Young's voice came from inside.
There were footsteps, and soon the door opened.
Olivia Young's white dress was stained with blood, her hands also smeared crimson. "Call 120! Get an ambulance!"
"What happened to you?"
"Lily!"
Frederick Fairfax scooped Olivia Young into his arms.
Olivia Young shook her head. "It's not me. I—I'm fine… It’s Annabelle Winters!"
Burying her face in Frederick Fairfax's chest, Olivia Young trembled from head to toe.
Annabelle Winters… had a miscarriage.
"The baby is gone. Her baby is… gone…"
The earlier screams were so loud that they’d drawn a crowd.
Grace Gordon arrived at the front of the pack.
He stared at the blood on Olivia Young’s dress. "What happened? Are you all right, Lily?"
Clinging tightly to Frederick Fairfax, Olivia Young cried, "Annabelle Winters—her baby’s gone! Grace Gordon, go and help her!"
What?
Annabelle Winters’s baby?
How could Annabelle Winters possibly have a child?
Could it be… his?
Grace Gordon froze in shock.
Some girls hurried into the restroom and helped the bleeding Annabelle Winters out.
"Annabelle Winters!"
Grace Gordon rushed over and picked her up.
"What happened?"
"Annabelle Winters!"
Annabelle Winters’s breathing was threadbare, her hands clutching her belly in pain, unable to utter a word.
"Don’t speak, just hang on. We’re going to the hospital!"
Chaos descended; no one expected something like this would happen.
After Olivia Young and Annabelle Winters left the restroom, another person slipped out quietly.
—
At the hospital.
A doctor examined Olivia Young.
She’d been severely frightened.
She needed plenty of rest.
Sideways on the bed, Olivia Young found that every time she closed her eyes the scene in the restroom replayed in her mind.
She’d heard people arguing. When she stepped out, she saw Annabelle Winters’s stomach smash against the sink, another woman standing behind her.
Bright red blood streamed down Annabelle Winters’s legs.
Olivia Young went to comfort her, and the two of them ended up sitting on the floor together.
From outside, She heard Frederick Fairfax calling. Realizing she couldn't carry Annabelle Winters by herself, she’d rushed out to find him.
Thinking back, she was still terrified.
She’d been trying so hard not to interact with Annabelle Winters, to avoid following the plot of the original novel.
But the story itself was forcing its hand, arranging for someone else to destroy Annabelle Winters’s child.
That child was always doomed, it seemed.
What a stupid plot device.
Why does every male and female lead have to lose their first child? That kind of trope is the worst.
The baby was innocent.
Olivia Young touched her own pregnant belly. Her baby wasn’t supposed to exist in the original story.
Her baby was six months along now. Surely it would be born safe and sound?
"Frederick Fairfax…"
"I’m here."
"I’m scared."
Olivia Young felt a chill creeping through her. "Can you come up here and lie with me?"
Frederick Fairfax took off his jacket, laid down behind her, and wrapped his arms gently around her.
The hospital room was warm, and with Frederick Fairfax’s body heat, Olivia Young finally felt comforted.
She took his fingers in her own. "It wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything to Annabelle Winters…"
"I believe you," Frederick Fairfax murmured against her hair. "You’re too kind, and you’re so careful, even more than she is. You would never do something like that." He kissed her a few times. "Try to get some sleep, okay? Don’t think about it too much."
But she couldn’t stop thinking.
Annabelle Winters had lost her baby.
Her own company would go bankrupt in the future. Would she even end up dead, too?
Would Quentin Young lose his legs?
No!
She’d worked so hard, carrying this baby and marrying Frederick Fairfax.
Why couldn’t she get free from the plot? Was there any point to Frederick Fairfax at all if he couldn’t help change things?
Frederick Fairfax wasn’t just a fleeting background character from the original story anymore.
She was the wicked supporting character—and Frederick Fairfax was her husband.
A villain?
Villains in these old-school novels always had some tricks up their sleeves, after all.
They’d make it to the very last page.
"I can’t sleep."
Ever since getting pregnant, Olivia Young had had no trouble sleeping.
But today, with Annabelle Winters bleeding in front of her, she felt the crushing presence of some unseen, unstoppable force.
It hurt.
She was just a character in the story—and so was everyone around her.
But she couldn’t talk about it.
"Whatever you need to do, I’m with you."
"What can I do but lie here?" Olivia Young let out a hollow laugh. "Help me turn over."
It was Frederick Fairfax’s first time helping Olivia Young roll over. His movements were slow and gentle, treating her like some porcelain doll that could shatter, especially after just seeing what had happened to Annabelle Winters.
Now, lying face to face, they could see each other clearly.
"Don’t be afraid. Nothing like that will happen to us. From now on, just rest at home, okay?" For a fleeting moment, Frederick Fairfax even considered halting the filming for a while.
But it wasn’t just his production; so many people depended on the shoot.
"Mm."
How could she not worry?
In the original story, after Annabelle Winters’s miscarriage, Grace Gordon’s heart turned completely against the Young family.
Then he started seeking revenge.
But the difference now was that Olivia Young hadn’t caused Annabelle Winters’s miscarriage.
So…
This shouldn’t have anything to do with her, right?
As long as the male and female leads followed their main storyline, everything would be fine.
But who was that woman in the bathroom just now?
All her attention had been on Annabelle Winters—she’d forgotten to look at the other woman’s face.
Oh god!
"Honey~"
Frederick Fairfax pressed his forehead to hers. "Want a kiss?"
Olivia Young pushed him away. "Be serious. Can you have someone look into who pushed Annabelle Winters in the restroom today? Or maybe tell Zachary Shaw to investigate? After all, this happened at his grandmother’s birthday banquet. He’ll want to know who caused it."
"Leave it to me."
"Good, with you on it, I can relax!"
Olivia Young pecked his lips. "Love you, hubby."
Finally, a smile bloomed on her face.
Frederick Fairfax held her close. "Go to sleep, I’m here."
Olivia Young drifted off—still uneasy.
—
Elsewhere, Annabelle Winters had already had her surgery and was being wheeled back into her room.
Grace Gordon looked at her pale face, emotions tangled in his chest.
He hadn’t even known Annabelle Winters was pregnant.
Such a huge thing, and she’d kept it from him.
Who was the father?
Who could it be?
Olivia Young!!
Why did she have to do this?
She’d chosen Frederick Fairfax, and now she was hurting Annabelle Winters too.
Every time Olivia Young and Annabelle Winters met, it was like facing two different people—always at each other’s throats.
Grace Gordon sat vigil by the bed. Annabelle Winters stayed unconscious, not yet waking up.
Had she not taken her medicine?
How could she be so foolish!
—
Dawn crept in.
The quiet hospital began to stir.
Olivia Young, restless from lying down for so long, asked Frederick Fairfax to walk with her.
In the corridor, Grace Gordon stood by the smoking area, white smoke curling around his haggard, sleepless face.
"Olivia Young."
"How is she?" Olivia Young glanced at the sealed hospital room door.
"Why did you do it?" Grace Gordon flicked his cigarette away. "You knew the child was mine—so you had to be ruthless, didn’t you?"
"I don’t get you. You turned me down, then you go after her. What exactly do you want?"
Honestly, I wish you’d just die!
"Grace Gordon, do you only open your mouth to talk nonsense? Which of your eyes saw my wife cause Annabelle Winters’s miscarriage?" Frederick Fairfax stepped in front of Olivia Young, fists clenched.