The Discarded Heiress: Seven Days To Ruin My Husband

The hospital room felt like it was closing in on me. I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, my hand drifting down to my stomach, only to find it flat, bandaged, and painfully empty.

Just yesterday, I had been picking out soft blue swatches for the nursery. Now, all I felt was the hollow ache of a life taken out of me before it even had a chance to begin.

"Clara, darling, you’re awake."

Julian’s voice cut through the darkness of my world like a ray of light. He was sitting by my bedside, his suit impeccably tailored and his hair perfectly styled.

He looked every bit the grieving father, but every few seconds, his eyes flicked to his phone.

"Where is she?" I croaked, my throat feeling like it was lined with glass. "Where’s Chloe?"

Julian's face momentarily shifted. Was it guilt? Maybe just annoyance. "She’s at home, Clara. She’s... she’s a mess. She didn’t mean to trip you. It was an unfortunate accident on those stairs. She’s been crying for hours."

"She didn’t trip me, Julian," I retorted, my voice sharpening. "She looked me in the eyes. She said she wouldn’t let me tie you down with a brat, and then she pushed me. She killed our baby."

Julian leaned in, grasping my hand with a firm grip. "You’re traumatized. You hit your head. The doctors said your memories might be a bit distorted. Chloe has been your best friend for a decade. She loves you. Why would she do something so awful?"

"Because she loves you," I whispered.

He didn’t argue, did he think I was overreacting? He just let out a long sigh and patted my hand. "Rest. I’ll handle everything."

I didn’t grasp what he meant by "handle" until my younger brother, Luke, burst into the room an hour later. His face was pale, and his tie hung loose.

Luke was a prodigy known as the youngest defense attorney in the city and also for his strong moral compass.

"I’ve filed it, Clara," he said, bypassing Julian entirely. "The police report is in. I’ve asked for the security footage from the villa. If that woman thinks she can hide behind her family’s wealth after what she did to you, she’s mistaken."

"Luke, stop," Julian interrupted, rising to his feet. "This is a family issue. We don’t need the courts getting involved in a domestic accident."

"It wasn’t an accident, Julian! My sister is bleeding because of her!" Luke’s voice boomed in that small room. "I’ll make sure Chloe never sees the light of day again."

Julian didn’t protest. He simply stepped out to "take a call."

That was the last time I saw Luke free.

By the evening, while I was still connected to an IV, the news had hit the Internet. Luke had been detained.

A client he had helped months before suddenly came forward, accusing him of witness tampering and fabricating evidence.

By nightfall, Luke’s law license was suspended pending a criminal investigation.

I begged Julian for help. Sitting up in that hospital bed, clutching my surgical wounds, I pleaded with him to use his connections to clear Luke's name.

"I’ll do everything I can," Julian promised, his expression serious. "I’ll talk to the District Attorney. We’ll get him out, Clara. I swear."

I believed him. I wanted so much to believe that the man I loved wasn’t a monster.

The next morning, I was discharged. Julian took me back to our big, quiet villa. The stairs where I had fallen looked polished, every sign of the struggle wiped away.

That night, unable to sleep due to the phantom kicks in my belly, I crept down to Julian’s study. I needed a glass of water or maybe just his comforting presence. But as I reached the heavy doors, I heard another voice.

"The girl is talking, Julian. She’s worried the police will find the original files Luke kept," a man said. It was Julian’s personal lawyer, Mr. Henderson.

"They won’t," Julian replied, his voice cold and precise. "I moved the files to a private server. As for Luke... I’ll have a rape charge filed tomorrow. That should keep him busy long enough for Chloe’s name to be cleared of the 'accident.'"

I felt my heart drop in my stomach as Julian’s words reached my ears.