He Wouldn't Stop, Even After I "Died"

After putting the baby to sleep, I went out to hire a proper nanny.

By noon, I brought the new nanny back. As we entered the nursery, I noticed the baby napping. However, his cheeks were an odd, vivid red. His little face was scrunched in pain instead of peaceful sleep.

The experienced nanny, Catherine Dawson, hurried over to check on the baby. As soon as she did, she drew in a sharp breath.

"This baby has been given sleeping pills, and not just a small amount," she said, her voice filled with panic. "He's having an allergic reaction. It looks like he's going into anaphylactic shock."

My heart tightened. I grabbed the baby and ran down the stairs. "Hurry! We need to get to the hospital right now!"

But as I reached the front door, Belle stepped in front of me. "Where are you going, Regina? Why are you taking the baby out?"

"You gave him sleeping pills? He's just a baby! Were you trying to kill him?" My voice shook with rage as I glared at her.

Belle was stunned. She looked down at the baby in my arms. When she noticed his splotchy skin, panic flickered in her eyes.

"He wouldn't stop crying. I just gave him a little sleeping pill so he'd sleep for a bit. What's the big deal?" she snapped, then quickly stepped in front to block the way again. "You can't leave. The baby's fine. You can't run off to tell Zach…"

I gave a short, cold laugh. After handing the baby to Catherine, I grabbed Belle by the hair and yanked her aside. "Catherine, take a cab and get the baby to the hospital."

Belle screamed, flailing wildly. A glass on the coffee table crashed to the floor, and the shards scattered. One of them sliced her cheek open.

"Enough!" Zachary's icy voice cut through the room as he stormed in. His eyes landed on the cut on Belle's face, and his chest heaved with barely contained rage.

He raised his hand to slap me, but the moment he saw my face, he hesitated. I looked so much like Yvonne. Then, without warning, he kicked me hard in the stomach.

The force sent me sprawling. Pain exploded through my body.

Zachary glared at me. "Are you jealous of Belle? I guess I've been too easy on you lately!"

Then, he pulled Belle up and led her out, leaving me on the floor.

Catherine and I managed to get the baby to the hospital just in time. He recovered without any serious complications.

But I wasn't so lucky. My abdominal wound reopened, and I had to stay in the hospital for a few days.

Zachary didn't show any concern for me. Only his affection score kept fluctuating before settling back at 99 percent.

When I finally came home, I saw Zachary and his friends laughing loudly through the door that hadn't been completely shut.

"She really hit Belle? Not bad! It looks like giving her a 99 percent affection score finally gave her some guts. We can finally see something new. A soft little pushover was fun for a while, but it got boring."

"Too bad about Belle, though. She was the best lookalike yet. That face is ruined now."

"Aren't you going to check on Regina, Zach? The baby's still in the hospital too."

Zachary just scoffed. "Come on. I've got control of the affection scores. She'll come crawling back, just like always."

I found it laughable and pathetic. He still had no idea that I no longer cared.

I stepped inside and handed Zachary the baby's hospital records without saying a word, then went straight upstairs.

"Whoa, she's got a backbone now? Zach, aren't you going to sweet-talk her?"

"She's had your kid and now she's got some nerve. It looks like she's trying to stake her claim."

I didn't slow down. I ignored all of them and shut the door behind me.