End the Secret Affair

I've been in a relationship with my brother's best friend, Emilio Slater, for three years, but he's never been willing to make our relationship public.

Still, I never doubt his love for me. After all, he's been with 99 women before, yet he stops looking at anyone else because of me. Even if I have a slight cold, he drops billion-dollar projects and rushes home to take care of me.

But on my birthday, when I'm excitedly preparing to share the news of my pregnancy with Emilio, he forgets my birthday for the first time and vanishes without a trace. The housekeeper tells me he's gone to pick up someone important from the airport.

I rush there and see him holding flowers, his face full of nervous anticipation, waiting for a woman—one who looks strikingly like me.

Later, my brother tells me she's Emilio's first love, the one he can never forget. Emilio defied his parents for her, and he fell apart after she dumped him. He sought out 99 women who resembled her to fill the void.

My brother speaks with admiration for Emilio's deep devotion, unaware that I'm one of those stand-ins.

I watch Emilio and his first love for a long, long time. Then, I return to the hospital without hesitation. "Doctor, I don't want this child anymore."

"What? Ms. LeBlanc, do you want to terminate the pregnancy? But just earlier today, after learning about it, you were so excited to share the news with your boyfriend!" The doctor looked at me incredulously, his astonished cry sounding particularly loud in the empty examination room.

I kept my head down as I clenched the hem of my dress tightly. Choking up, I said, "Please don't ask me anything. I just know I don't want the baby anymore."

The doctor watched me for a while before sighing heavily. "Ms. LeBlanc, I don't know what happened to you, but you're obviously emotional right now. Maybe you should calm down and reconsider."

He slid the abortion consent form back to me, and his gaze landed on the ultrasound attached to it. "This is a life, after all."

I looked up at the small black shadow on the report, and my eyes reddened further. After a long while, I tucked the form into my bag and left the hospital.

As I walked home, distraught, a red Ferrari suddenly skidded to a stop in front of me. A pair of exquisite leather shoes stepped into a puddle, and a handsome face appeared before me. Emilio Slater ran to me while holding an umbrella.

He pulled me into his arms and took off his suit jacket, draping it over my shoulders. "How could you not bring an umbrella with you when you left the house? You're not a child anymore. You've never been in the best of health—what if you catch a cold?"

I looked up at his profile and saw how anxious he was. I felt transported back to when we'd first started