Chapter 1

In the gynecology ward of First Crest Hospital in Genecity, the doctor shouted anxiously as he looked at the weak, pregnant woman on the delivery bed, “Push, push!” However, Hesper Rivera had already exhausted her strength at this point and her small face was ghastly pale. Her lips that were chewed through did not have a tinge of color in them, and she was barely breathing. “This is bad! The patient is experiencing a difficult birth, and she is hemorrhaging!” The doctor’s expression changed drastically when he realized the urgency of the patient’s condition. He immediately ran out of the delivery room and said, “Family members of Ms. Hesper Rivera, where are the family members? The patient’s condition is critical!” However, the Duvals family members sitting at the waiting area were as calm as a cucumber. They did not appear to be anxious in the slightest, looking so unbothered that one would even wonder if they were related to Hesper in the delivery room. The people sitting here were precisely Hesper’s father-in-law, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law, Sophia Duval. Madam Duval said in a bitterly sarcastic tone, “Is she the first woman ever to give birth? To think she's so hypocritical that she's even able to fake a critical condition when she's giving birth! She probably can’t deliver the baby because she’s too lazy to ever do anything!” Sophia was disgruntled because she would rather spend her time elsewhere, so she gloated over Hesper’s misfortune by saying, “Yikes. I hope she doesn’t end up dead with the baby!” Upon saying that, Madam Duval glared at Sophia in displeasure. Damn you, girl. It’s fine that you’re cursing Hesper, but why are you cursing my precious little grandson as well! She had already commissioned someone to look into this matter and found out that Hesper was pregnant with a boy! The boy is going to be the successor of our family! Hesper can die, but my grandson will live! The doctor could not help finding them loathsome and felt sympathy for Hesper in his heart. However, he could not locate other family members, so he could only brace himself to speak to them once again. “The patient is in critical condition now. If we can only choose one, whose life should I prioritize?” “Save the baby.” A cold, male voice was heard. He spoke without the slightest hesitation, and his voice was so cold without any emotion like a winter’s wind. The doctor looked up to find a handsome man with a tall and muscular stature walking toward him with a graceful stance. He wore a suit and looked as if he just came out of a business meeting. He assumed an elegant yet arrogant air, and his powerful presence was so overbearing that it was suffocating. The doctor inhaled a deep breath to calm himself. He wanted to strive for the last gleam of hope for Hesper by saying, “Are you sure? In truth, both of you are still young and you can still have another child…” Before the doctor could finish his sentence, the man signed his name swiftly on the document. His exquisite penmanship was just as arrogant and unruly as him. The Duvals were not astonished at all as if the situation was well within their expectation. In fact, they even assumed a pleased expression. How can Hesper’s lowly life be comparable to the life of the Duvals’ heir? The doctor heaved a sigh in his heart and returned to the delivery room. He looked at the barely conscious Hesper with pity and encouraged her by saying, “You must not give up!” Tears streamed down Hesper’s shut eyes in her semi conscious state. She heard it. Rickard chose the baby. The last gleam of hope in Hesper’s heart toward Rickard vanished. She exerted the last ounce of energy she had to clutch the doctor’s hand tightly and said, “Please save me. I want to live!” I can’t die! I’m going to live! I want to get a divorce! Relying on her strong willpower to get through the extremely dangerous birth, she gave birth to a boy a few hours later. The baby’s loud cry echoed through the entire gynecology department. Both the mother and baby were safe. … In the gynecology ward, a basin full of cold water was splashed on Hesper’s body. She was instantly awakened by the bitter cold and opened her tired yet shocked eyes to find the lavishly-dressed Madam Duval towering before her bed. She pointed at Hesper and scolded, “Why are you still sleeping? You’re such a lazy *ss!” Her entire body drenched, Hesper trembled from the cold. She almost lost her life delivering the baby and lost her consciousness from exhaustion, yet she was criticized by Madam Duval for being lazy. She could not withstand the cold in her weakened state, yet Madam Duval instructed someone to splash cold water on her. That was just how great her mother-in-law was! It was her husband, Rickard Duval’s, great mother! She was so harsh, vile, and malicious. Madam Duval was very pleased by the sight of the disheveled Hesper. “Since you’re awake, have some soup, quickly! I had someone prepare a lactation-boosting soup especially for you so you can breastfeed my grandson when you’re done! Come and feed Mrs. Duval the soup!” Upon Madam Duval’s order, someone immediately served a bowl of oily-looking soup to Hesper. The surface of the soup was still boiling and steaming, a sign of it being freshly-prepared. Hesper would definitely be burned if she were to consume it right away. Hesper understood that Madam Duval was trying to punish her. She declined by saying, “I’ll have it myself!” However, Madam Duval, having come prepared, refused to accept Hesper’s rejection. “How can you do that yourself? Outsiders are going to criticize me for not being an understanding mother-in-law. It would be better for someone to feed you! Do it now!” As soon as her voice died away, a few bodyguards stepped forward and grabbed Hesper. She struggled with all her might, but she was exhausted from the birth earlier, so she was incapable of fighting back. She could only watch helplessly as another person approached her with the bowl of soup. “No, don’t…” Hesper shook her head, but the person clutched her lower jaw and forcefully opened her mouth before pouring in the boiling hot soup. “Gah!” Hesper let out an agonizing, heartbreaking scream. The lower half of her face and mouth were burned red, with bloody blisters popping up everywhere. When she spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, steam came out of her mouth. It hurt! It really hurt! Madam Duval clapped in delight. “How is the soup? It tastes pretty good, right?” Hesper, inhaling sharply from the pain, could not utter a word. Madam Duval let out a cold grunt, not finding what she had done to have gone too far. She wished that she could pour another hot bowl of soup on Hesper once again. Had this b*tch not slept with my son, she wouldn’t even deserve to be married into the Duvals, let alone bear a child for the family! She will have to suffer the hardships that are thrown at her! “Let’s go!” Madam Duval led the group of people to leave, feeling very pleased with herself. She did not even glance at Hesper, who was left to her own demise. Hesper endured the pain and got up from the bed shakily. She made her way to the washroom and washed her burned face with cold water over and over again. Her body trembled from the cold, and her belly ached. I hate her, I really hate her. I’m a human being too, so why am I being treated this way? Everyone was calling her shameless for resorting to anything to get herself married into the Duvals. They assumed that it was her who drugged Rickard back then, but she had no idea what happened that night and lost her chastity in confusion. Afterward, she became pregnant, and Rickard had no choice but to marry her because he was compelled by Mr. Duval Sr. Hesper had a crush on Rickard for ten years, but she had never expected that she would marry him in this manner. Before she got married, she knew that it would not be a happy marriage, but she did not expect to live in such torment either. She felt as if every moment spent with the Duvals was a torture. It should end by now. Hesper held her phone tightly and called Rickard. However, the call was not picked up after a long time. Just as she was preparing to abort the call, she heard a familiar, cold male voice. “Hesper.” Just by listening to his voice, Hesper could imagine his cold, impatient expression. She took a deep breath and said, “Rickard, I want a divorce.” The silence lasted for a moment before she heard Rickard’s blood-curdling sneer. “Who do you think you are, asking for a divorce, Hesper? If there is going to be a divorce, I’ll be the one who proposes it!”