Chapter 1:  Rebirth

 “No, I won’t have an abortion! None of you can hurt my child!”

Inside the hospital ward, a delicate yet pale-faced woman clutched her stomach tightly, glaring warily at the two nurses before her.

“Lin Yitang, have you made enough of a scene? This abortion was approved by Commander Yu himself!”

“Don’t tell me you actually think that thing in your belly is some kind of precious treasure? Commander Yu hates you why would he want your child?”

The two nurses mocked coldly, their eyes filled with contempt as they looked at Lin Yitang.

Lin Yitang shook her head in disbelief. “No! This is my and Jingchuan’s child he wouldn’t abandon us!”

“Have you forgotten how you crawled into Commander Yu’s bed? You shamelessly forced him to marry you and now you want to use this child to tie him down for life? Disgusting!”

“Enough! Stop wasting time. Get her to the operating room!”

The two reached forward to grab Lin Yitang, but she slapped their hands away and bolted for the door in panic only to crash straight into Xia Zhuxin, dressed in a white coat.

“Lin Yitang, the procedure is about to start. Where do you think you’re going?”

“I won’t have the surgery! This is my and Jingchuan’s child! I don’t believe he could be so heartless I want to see him!”

Lin Yitang clutched her still-flat belly, tears welling in her eyes.

Xia Zhuxin sneered. “Jingchuan left for out-of-province training yesterday. He won’t be back for two months. You didn’t know?”

Out-of-province training? A bitter pang stabbed Lin Yitang’s heart. In five years of marriage, she and Yu Jingchuan had barely exchanged words. He never told her anything about his life. She was long used to his coldness. How laughable that Xia Zhuxin, an outsider, knew more about him than she did.

“Before he left, Jingchuan told me to make sure you get the abortion as soon as possible. He doesn’t want this child, Lin Yitang. Don’t humiliate yourself by asking him.”

“No! I don’t believe it!”

Her voice rose to a desperate scream, though even she could hear how hollow it sounded.

“Jingchuan left me his number. If you don’t believe me, you can call him yourself.”

He left her his number? For Xia Zhuxin? Lin Yitang’s heart twisted painfully. “I want to call him!” she said hoarsely.

Xia Zhuxin didn’t refuse. She led Lin Yitang to her office and dialed the number Yu Jingchuan had left.

“Hello? Who is this?” A voice quickly came through the receiver.

“I want to speak to Yu Jingchuan. I’m his wife!” Lin Yitang blurted out.

“Oh…sister-in-law? Sorry, Commander Yu said he doesn’t want to take your calls.”

Lin Yitang’s face turned ashen. A crushing pain filled her chest. Was Yu Jingchuan’s hatred for her truly this deep?

Xia Zhuxin’s lips curled into a barely concealed smirk. She plucked the phone from Lin Yitang’s trembling hand.

“Hello, this is Xia Zhuxin. Please put Commander Yu on the line.”

“Oh! Doctor Xia! Of course! One moment, I’ll fetch him right away Commander Yu has been waiting for your call!”

Lin Yitang bit her lip hard, tears blurring her vision as humiliation and heartbreak burned her chest.

Xia Zhuxin was Yu Jingchuan’s childhood sweetheart. Their relationship was close. Over the years, Lin Yitang had cried, begged, and fought for his attention, but all she had gotten in return was his ever-growing coldness and disgust.

She knew she had never been in his heart but wasn’t she at least his wife? Was she really worth less than Xia Zhuxin in his eyes?

“Zhuxin? You called?”

That deep, magnetic voice on the other end was Yu Jingchuan.

Xia Zhuxin immediately brightened. “Jingchuan, it’s me. Today’s the scheduled abortion for Lin Yitang, but… she’s refusing. She said she wants to talk to you. She’s right here. Do you want to speak with her?”

Her tone carried just the right touch of helplessness as she glanced at Lin Yitang.

Lin Yitang looked at the phone with desperate hope but the words that came next froze her to the core.

“No need. Since she’s with you, she can hear me. The abortion must be done. Tell her to stop making a scene.”

Stop making a scene…

Lin Yitang let out a hollow laugh, feeling as though knives were stabbing her heart over and over. The pain was so suffocating she trembled violently.

So this was how much Yu Jingchuan loathed her he didn’t even want their child.

Lin Yitang collapsed to the floor, tears streaming uncontrollably.

Xia Zhuxin hung up, her eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction. “Do you believe it now? If you hadn’t forced Jingchuan into marriage, I would’ve been his wife. You ruined us. He’s hated you all these years why would he want your child? That bastard shouldn’t even exist!”

Lin Yitang’s gaze was empty.

A bastard.

Yes… even this child was conceived through her scheming.

Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through her abdomen. Warm blood trickled down her legs. The baby… the baby was leaving her.

No. No! This was her child!

Lin Yitang clutched her belly, looking up at Xia Zhuxin in desperation. “Please… save my child! I’ll divorce Jingchuan!”

“Too late, Lin Yitang. You can’t keep the baby. And you can’t keep the title of Mrs. Yu either.”

Malice flashed in Xia Zhuxin’s eyes as she called the nurses, who dragged Lin Yitang into the operating room.

Blinding lights glared down on her. The pain in her abdomen intensified as she was strapped to the operating table.

“She’s being so dramatic. Commander Yu marrying her was already the luckiest thing that ever happened to her. Did she really think she could climb that high?”

“Don’t worry. Once this is over, Commander Yu will divorce her and marry Doctor Xia. We’ll all get to drink at their wedding!”

“She’s taken Doctor Xia’s place for years about time she gave it back!”

The nurses’ words were full of scorn. Their rough hands handled her carelessly, their attitudes cold and dismissive. The anesthetic hadn’t fully taken effect, and the pain felt like her entire body was being ripped apart. Lin Yitang cried out uncontrollably.

Her consciousness grew hazy, but their words still cut through the fog. Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes.

She could feel her life draining away. She was dying.

The last thing she saw before darkness consumed her was Xia Zhuxin’s triumphant, mocking smile.

Hot. So hot.

Lin Yitang felt drenched in sweat. She struggled to open her eyes only to realize someone was on top of her.

A ruggedly handsome face filled her vision. The man’s bare upper body revealed broad shoulders and well-defined muscles, sweat glistening on his chest and abs. The sharp scent of masculine pheromones filled her senses.

“Lin Yitang, you dared to drug me?”

Yu Jingchuan’s cold eyes burned with disgust. This woman had been shameless since the day she entered his home, and now she dared set her sights on him?

The drug coursing through his veins made his body burn like fire, reason slipping from his grasp as the soft body beneath him further frayed his control.

But Lin Yitang was frozen in shock.

What… what was happening?

Hadn’t she just died on the operating table?

One glance around told her everything this was the Yu family’s old house. She hadn’t been here in years, not since shortly after their marriage.

Had she… been reborn?

It seemed impossible, yet everything felt too real to be a dream.

Before she could process it, strong, calloused hands gripped her waist, rough against her soft skin, sending shivers through her body.

Then his searing lips captured hers. His biting kiss sent pain shooting through her, but beneath it all, her heart surged with wild joy.

She wasn’t dreaming. She had really come back!

Summoning every ounce of strength, Lin Yitang shoved him off her and slapped him across the face.