The Scholar's Ruthless Heart

Everyone said marrying Nathan was a blessing I had earned. He is a dazzling academic star, winning awards at home and abroad, seemingly attentive to me, even going so far as to keep my parents' old house, calling it my cherished memory. Only I know our marriage is poison coated in sugar. For three years of marriage, we have had a sexless relationship. He says he suffers from a "Fluid Allergy" and even showed a hospital certificate. For this "special" marriage, he cut off contact with his disappointed parents and pretended to be a husband who loves me endlessly in public. I once believed it was true and even felt guilty for failing to satisfy him—until that late night. When I got up during the night, I saw the study light on. Pushing the door open, I found him asleep, slumped over the desk, with an uncovered pill bottle beside him; the label bore only the word "Sedative". What chilled me even more was that, in his sleep, he kept murmuring the word "child". I secretly hid the pill bottle and had a doctor friend examine it the next day. It was a drug that suppressed physiological reactions; there was no allergy at all. It turned out that the "Fluid Allergy" was a lie from start to finish. I didn't expose it. I wanted to see what he was plotting. Not long after, he suggested undergoing test tube fertilization, saying he wanted a child to keep me company. Though I had my doubts, I still agreed. On the day I became pregnant, he held me, smiling so brightly I almost convinced myself my earlier suspicions were illusions. Until that night, at his celebration party, when he was drunk. A friend brought him home, and the moment he stepped inside, he clutched my belly and muttered indistinctly, "Rue, don't worry. The child will be born soon, and then we can be together openly. Tiffany is just a useless baby-making machine—used up and then discarded..." My blood ran cold through my veins, the glass shattered on the floor, but I felt no pain. "Rue" is Rue Smith, Nathan's capable assistant and a somewhat renowned female mathematician in the industry. She usually appeared beside us merely as a "colleague"; I never once suspected their relationship. It turned out that he wanted a child not for me, but for Rue. The next day, I scheduled an abortion. Not long after, I received a message from an unknown number: "Don't act impulsively. The child isn't what you think. Wait a little longer; it will be good for you." I thought it was a scam, but when I went to the hospital, they told me my appointment had been canceled. The system indicated it was postponed due to special circumstances. I switched hospitals, but the result was the same. I returned the call to the unknown number. A deep male voice spoke on the other end: "Stay calm. Get fetal DNA testing done. I'm collecting evidence of academic misconduct involving Nathan and Rue. Don't let them catch on." I clutched my phone and my mind was a chaos of fear and confusion. Before I could gather my thoughts, Rue showed up at my door. That day, Nathan went to a meeting at the Research Institute. She arrived carrying a delicate gift box, claiming it was a "pregnancy gift." Inside was a silver trophy, engraved with Nathan's name on the front and Rue's name at the base. "Tiffany, I heard you're pregnant. Nathan was thrilled and specifically asked me to bring you this trophy. He said it was a small award he won previously, to bring some good luck to the child." A surge of anger rose in my chest, and I grabbed the trophy and smashed it violently onto the ground. "Rue, don't pretend to be innocent in front of me. I already know about you and Nathan!"