Empty After All The Years

During my tenth attempt at IVF, I was finally pregnant with triplets. I was extremely excited when I found out that I was pregnant, and I immediately wanted to tell Liam White. That was when I accidentally overheard his conversation with the doctor. “Mr. White, aren’t you afraid that Ms. Scott will find out that you’ve secretly swapped the eggs with Holly’s? “Besides, it’s not good for Ms. Scott to be pregnant with triplets. It’ll be very dangerous for her.” Through the gap of the door, I saw Liam say coldly, “Holly will only become the top supermodel after Evelyn gives birth to triplets and ruins her figure completely. “When Evelyn gives birth to the triplets, I’ll propose to Holly on the same day. “Then, my life will be complete with my career, love, and children. Evelyn is nothing but a surrogate to me.” I stood outside of the door and finally understood how cruel Liam could be. Then, I immediately made a call. “Mandy, I want to join next week’s fashion week.” Chapter 1 “That’s great, my dear! You’ve finally come to your senses! “I’ll pick you up personally from the airport seven days from now, my supermodel.” The moment I ended the call, tears silently streamed down my cheeks. Immediately, a pair of huge hands gently wrapped around my waist. Liam White rested his chin against my shoulder and whispered, “Evelyn, I’m so happy. The doctor said that you’re pregnant with triplets. I’m going to be a dad.” I replied through trembling lips, “Liam, the doctor said that it’ll be a dangerous pregnancy with triplets. What about…” Liam’s hands froze as he frantically said, “No way, we can’t let any one of them go. Could you bear to treat our children this cruelly?” Tears kept streaming down my cheeks. I felt extremely hopeless. My life meant nothing to him compared to his children with Holly Anderson. Liam seemed to notice that I was crying, so he said gently, “You can’t get agitated when you’re pregnant. Think about the babies in your tummy.” The next second, I saw a text message appearing on his phone. The contact was labelled as “X”. A smile appeared on Liam’s face. Then, he said to me, “Evelyn, there’s something urgent for me to handle at work. I’ll make a move first.” I wiped my tears away and immediately scheduled an abortion with the clinic. I recalled the past ten IVF attempts, and all of them were excruciating to go through. I even left my modelling career at its peak for him. I had given up so much for Liam, but he had impregnated me with another woman’s children. It was ridiculous for me to be a stepping stone for their relationship! After I reached the hospital, I registered myself, signed all documents, and paid the fee. As I laid on the hospital bed, the doctor sighed. “I saw your medical records. You only got pregnant after ten IVFs, isn’t it a shame to get an abortion?” I recalled my past ten experiences. In order to get pregnant, I had hundreds of injections to trigger ovulation, and my entire abdomen was covered in pinpricks. Tears welled up again as I whispered, “You may start, doctor. I’m ready.” “Alright, we’ll administer the anesthesia.” As they sedated me, my phone started buzzing. It was an intimate photo from Holly. The hickies on her neck were proof of how passionate they were earlier. “Evelyn, do you know Liam told me that he only loves me in bed just now?” My vision blurred as my phone dropped to the floor. The last photo was Liam hugging Holly tightly as they stood lovingly underneath a firework show. It was the secret spot that he had proposed to me. It had become the spot for his affair with Holly. When I opened my eyes again, I could smell the antiseptic scent. After the anesthesia effect wore off, I felt jabbing pains coming from my abdomen. It was as if I was bleeding every single time I breathed. After I was done with the IV drip, I took a cab home as I bore with the pain. Chapter 2 The moment I opened the door, I saw Liam ask frantically, “Evelyn, where were you? Why are you home this late?” I slowly put my hand down from my abdomen. Liam carefully took off my shoes for me. Then, he put on a pair of soft slippers before going to the kitchen to bring out a huge pot of soup. “I bought it specially for you. It’s good for your body.” When he opened the lid, I noticed that the pot was not full. The next second, Holly sent me a text message to mock me. [Did Liam bring you some chicken soup? Those are my leftovers, haha!] I felt bitter. I no longer wanted to drink the chicken soup. I no longer wanted Liam anymore either. That night, I lay on the bed. Liam carefully placed his hand on my tummy and asked softly, “Evelyn, what do you think we should name our children? “What about nicknames? We can name them as Joy, Peace, and Merry.” At the same time, Liam kept rubbing his hand on my tummy. He looked like a loving father. If I had not overheard his conversation with the doctor earlier, I would have been fooled by his loving act. Those names were the same themes as Holly. The pain in my abdomen was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. He kept hurting me over and over again just so he could clear the way for Holly. My pillow was drenched with my tears as Liam started to fall asleep. Just when I was about to fall asleep, I heard Liam mumble, “Holly, I really love you. “I love you so, so much.” His voice was very soft, but it had a huge impact on me. The heavy rain struck against the window. I was jolted awake from a loud thunder. I subconsciously reached out to Liam’s side of the bed, but I realized he was already gone. I saw him quickly get dressed and run out. The lightning struck again when Liam ran out and yelled, “Evelyn, some urgent matters cropped up at work. You don’t have to wait for me.” I hid under the blanket as I listened to the thunder. I could not help but tremble. I was terrified of thunderstorms. My parents had passed away when I was ten in a car accident during a stormy night. Since then, whenever there was a thunderstorm, I would recall that nightmare. Holly sent me another taunting text message. [Evelyn, I said that I was afraid of thunder, and Liam actually believes me. He rushed over to me.] I wrapped the blanket tightly around my body and gave myself a sense of security in the dark night. When I first got together with Liam, he once promised me that he would not leave me alone on a stormy night. However, he went against his promise. As the lightning lit up the sky, Holly sent me a video. In the video, Liam was hugging Holly tightly as he whispered, “Holly, don’t worry. You’re the only one I love forever.” Immediately after, they started getting intimate, and I could hear their moans and heavy breathing. My heart pounded furiously with every lightning strike. I hid underneath the blanket and pressed my hands against my painful abdomen. I stayed up all night. The thunderstorm continued for the whole night, and Liam did not return at all. Liam only returned at the crack of dawn. He opened the door and whispered, “Evelyn, I brought you your favorite breakfast.” When I walked out of the bedroom, I saw Holly sitting on our couch. She wore a short black dress with high heels. When she saw me, she immediately mocked me. “Evelyn, it’s true that when a woman gets pregnant, she’ll stop taking care of herself.” I looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale with apparent eye bags. It was a huge contrast to how good she looked. I turned around and walked toward the kitchen. Then, I fetched myself a glass of water and started drinking. Chapter 3 Liam placed my breakfast on the table and smiled. “Evelyn, this is your favorite sandwich. Come, eat it while it’s fresh.” When I opened the packaging, I noticed that the bread was mushy. I immediately lost my appetite. Holly laughed. “I bet it’s soggy because it’s been a while. When we ate it in the cafe, it was very tasty.” Liam glanced at Holly and explained, “Evelyn, we bumped into each other, that’s why we had breakfast together. “Holly heard that you’re pregnant, so she came over to visit you on purpose.” I did not even spare a glance at him when I muttered, “Alright, got it.” In the past, whenever he brought up Holly, I would argue with him out of jealousy. However, I no longer felt anything. After all, I would leave in a few days. Liam reached out to touch my tummy as he whispered, “It was stormy last night. Were our babies afraid? I had to settle something really urgent last night!” A hint of disappointment flashed in my eyes. It turned out that he remembered that I was afraid of thunderstorms. However, he still chose Holly over me. He did not even bother to explain himself to me. I hung my head and suppressed my tears then said, “I was asleep. I didn’t hear the thunder.” Immediately after, Liam placed the sandwich in the toaster to reheat it. Holly and I were left alone in the living room. After Liam left, Holly showed her true colors. She smirked coldly, “Evelyn, look at you. Do you think you could still keep Liam like this? “Weren’t you a supermodel? Now, you just look like a middle-aged woman!” Holly peered down at me arrogantly as her eyes were filled with disdain. I did not answer her. I turned around and walked toward my bedroom. Holly stopped me from walking and laughed, “Your patience is saintly. I bet you’ve seen the photos and videos, right? “How could you treat it as though nothing has happened?” My expression sank as I shouted at Holly, “Are you done?! Do you think you’re great for sleeping with a married man?” Holly was speechless. Her face was twisted maliciously as she stepped toward me and whispered in my ear. “I’ll let you know who Liam truly cares about!” The next second, Holly suddenly fell backward and screamed, “Ah, Evelyn, what are you doing?” She fell onto the floor and held her ankle as she glared at me. Liam rushed out from the kitchen. He even tossed the hot sandwich at me out of anxiousness. He roared, “Evelyn, why did you push Holly? Do you know how important her legs are?!” The hot sandwich burnt my abdomen, which was already hurting in the first place. I could feel the burning sensation through my clothes. Holly cried, “Liam, I’m heading to fashion week in a few days. What if I sprained my ankle?” Liam frowned. Then, he immediately slapped me and yelled, “Evelyn, did you do this on purpose? You wanted to get rid of Holly from the fashion week. “You’re too wicked!” Liam did not even spare a glance at me. I remained sprawled on the floor. He carried Holly in his arms and ran out. I bore the pain from my abdomen and stood up. Then, I saw Holly wrapped her arms around Liam’s neck. Her eyes were glinting in glee. Even though I was already disappointed with Liam, I still felt unreasonably upset. My phone started ringing at the same time. “Evelyn, remember to be punctual for your flight tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for you at the airport.” I suppressed my emotions and whispered, “Mandy, can I be the one who opens the runway?” Mandy Pearson did not even hesitate when she answered. “My dear, of course. Holly’s initially scheduled to open the runway, but your status in the industry is higher than hers. Of course, it’ll go to you.” Chapter 4 After I ended the call, Liam suddenly opened the door and asked, “What runway?” I answered indifferently, “It’s nothing. My previous colleagues reminded me to watch this year’s fashion show.” Liam looked at me as I held my abdomen. He felt a little sorry for me, so he said, “Are you alright? I didn’t mean what I did earlier. “You shouldn’t push Holly. You’re pregnant now, so you need to be careful for the babies.” I turned my head aside and no longer looked at him. The next second, Liam’s phone started ringing. He looked frantic as he said, “Alright, Holly, don’t be afraid. I’ll come over immediately.” His beaming face immediately took on a darkened expression. He glared at me and snapped, “You should go to the hospital and apologize to Holly!” After he said that, he dragged me into the car. He ran a few red lights on the way there, and we almost drove into a divider. The moment he opened the door to the hospital ward, I saw a tear-stricken Holly lying on the hospital bed. “Liam, the doctor said that my ankle is seriously twisted. I can’t walk now. What about my fashion show in three days?” Liam was extremely furious. He dragged me over and yelled, “Evelyn, apologize to Holly now!” I refused stubbornly. “I didn’t push her, so I won’t apologize!” Liam immediately exploded. “Don’t force me to hit you. Apologize to her now! “Otherwise, I’ll call all reporters over and tell them about what you did!” Even though I did nothing wrong, Liam did not even bother to give me a chance to explain myself. My tears were on the verge of streaming down my cheeks. I had no choice but to give in because of the fashion week. I stood before Holly’s bed and prepared to beg for her forgiveness when she suddenly took her high heel and threw it at me. It hit my back as she yelled, “It’s you! It’s all your fault!” I felt a stabbing pain in my back, but Liam ignored me. He was only worried about Holly, he pushed me aside and I fell onto the floor. I hit my head against the floor and immediately felt dizzy. Blood trickled from my forehead. The clean floor immediately was covered in blood. When I looked up, I saw Holly smiled and whispered, “Liam, ask her to get out! I don’t want to see her anymore.” Liam grabbed me up from the floor and yelled, “Get out!” I stumbled up and said coldly, “I’ll walk.” I no longer owed Liam anything. The moment I walked out of the hospital ward, I saw Liam hugging Holly through the door gap. The next second, Holly sent me a text message: I did not expect Liam to believe me that I’ve twisted my ankle. [He actually forced you to apologize to me. Evelyn, you’ve failed as a wife.] [Hahaha…] I was already numb to that. At that moment, all my love for Liam had completely vanished. After I went home, I took out my luggage that I had packed a long while back. Then, I took a red-eye flight and left the country. The next day, the fashion week started on time. Just as Holly was about to walk the runway, Mandy stopped her. “Holly, someone else is going to open the runway. You can go after her.” Holly was shocked as she screamed, “Didn’t you say it’s me?! Who’s going to open the runway?” The next second, I wore a custom-made gown and appeared on the runway. I walked toward the stage and replaced Holly’s initial position. Liam, who was sitting below the stage, was shocked. “Why are you here, Evelyn?”