The rooftop was eerily quiet.
Rhett stared at his empty hands in disbelief, unable to process how he had just watched her fall, without even grabbing a single thread of her clothing.
The world suddenly felt silent.
Elise's panicked screams echoed in the background, but Rhett couldn't hear a thing.
His gaze was empty, his heart hollow, like something had been ripped out of his chest.
Then came the pain, so sharp, so deep, that for a second, he couldn't even breathe.
This feeling was so unfamiliar, so strange, like he wasn't even himself anymore. His eyes were red, but he didn't even know why. All he knew was that he felt like a complete mess.
Kelsey...
Kelsey...
For a second, Rhett felt like he wasn't even part of the world anymore, like everything around him disappeared, and all he could hear was her voice in his head, getting louder, filled with panic.
"Rhett! What are you doing?!"
Elise's terrified eyes widened as she grabbed her stomach and screamed for someone to stop him.
The wind howled past his ears.
And in that moment, falling through the air, everything went quiet.
Kelsey thought she saw the man's terrified, broken face, but she couldn't be sure if it was real or just in her head.
It had to be just her imagination.
The man who didn't hesitate to choose Elise, the one who never believed a single word she said... there's no way he'd cry for her now.
There's no way he'd make her eyes go red like this, or make her heart feel like it was being ripped open.
Everything in front of her was getting blurry.
Kelsey felt unbearable pain crashing through her body, especially in her stomach, it felt like her insides were being torn apart.
Every bone in her body felt broken, but weirdly, her skin was still perfect, like it was just holding in all the blood that wanted to pour out.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She shut them tightly, and her stomach twisted again. A warm stream spread across her skin.
It hurt...
It hurt so bad.
Kelsey opened her mouth slightly, finally feeling the cold blood bubbling out of her body and spilling into the dust beneath her.
She was about to black out, but the pain just wouldn't stop.
Still, she could feel it... death. Getting closer and closer. Slowly, like the tiny life inside her was leaving her body, moment by moment.
A single tear slipped down her face. Her nose twitched.
That was her only child... her only baby in this lifetime.
And now, she couldn't even see them once before she left this world with them.
I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you...
Just half a month later, everything had calmed down again.
The kidnapping case that had caused chaos in Spring City finally came to an end.
Not many people had seen Kelsey fall that day, but videos of the scene went viral online anyway, spreading like wildfire.
The media had just gotten the news and the video footage was only circulated within the circle for a while before it was immediately blocked by the Clark and Collins families, who spent a lot of money to do so.
However, there were still a small number of people who couldn't understand why the kidnappers would threaten Rhett by kidnapping two women at the same time.
Elise was his fiancée, the only legitimate girlfriend recognized in public, so it wasn't surprising that the kidnappers targeted her.
...But who was the other woman?
Even though they were extremely curious in private, no one dared to provoke the Clark family.
Spring City was a city with a long history, and many old wealthy families were based there.
There had always been rumors that if a Spring City wealthy family was pulled out at random, it could rival an entire city.
Rhett's wealth was comparable to a country's, so it wasn't hard for him to take care of the news.
The old mansion.
A white Bentley slowly drove in.
Rhett had been dealing with documents, and Elise sat beside him.
But even though they were sitting close, she still felt like they were really far apart.
She had grown up with Rhett and knew that he had always been calm and collected, never showing his emotions.
The events of that day were still so vivid in her memory.
Rhett had chosen her, just like she had always wanted.
And Kelsey was no longer a threat, no more worries.
She should've put away those groundless doubts and just stayed by his side.
But she…
Women are complicated. Just one small pause and her mind went back to the look on Rhett's face when he saw Kelsey fall.
She couldn't forget it.
She had never seen Rhett lose control like that, like all his emotions had collapsed and none of his logic was left.
Even the corners of his eyes were red, like he had lost his mind, shouting out that woman's name.
Even back then, Rhett's first reaction had been to push her away and rush forward to catch—
Kelsey…
If the bodyguards hadn't shown up in time, Elise honestly felt like he would've jumped after her.
But there was something else that made her even more nervous. What if Rhett found out that those people were actually connected to her?
Even though she had made all the preparations, she knew what Rhett was capable of and was scared he'd still find something.
She had been living in anxiety since that day.
Kelsey fell with the kidnapper right next to her. The air cushion had already been half-inflated, but the kidnapper was unlucky and ended up in the ICU.
No one knew if he would survive.
To make everything look more real, Elise had only been in contact with the leader. The guy who tied her up didn't know anything about the deal.
Only the leader knew.
So as long as that man died in the hospital, Rhett would never find out.
Thinking of that, Elise's expression finally relaxed a bit.
The car drove slowly, the speed dropping.
She looked at the man's cold side profile next to her and suddenly said, "Rhett, in a month, we're going to be parents."
Everything between them seemed peaceful, and the name "Kelsey" looked like it had been erased from their lives, but she couldn't really let go.
She could only use this child to make sure Rhett stayed.
Rhett didn't react much.
He just looked down at the document in his hand and replied calmly, "Don't worry. The doctor already checked everything. It's all normal."
"I'm not worried about myself, I just…"
Elise pressed her lips together and leaned gently against his arm. "Rhett, why do I always feel like you're far away from me?"
Rhett's fingertips froze a little, then he flipped a page without changing his expression. "What kind of distance do you think is close?"
Elise smiled. "Not this kind of distance. I mean… I feel like your heart is far away."
"You're pregnant, so you might have random thoughts and emotions. That's normal."
Rhett didn't stop what he was doing.
When he saw the old mansion in front of them, he put away the document. "If you feel unwell anywhere, let the doctor know. I've been really busy with work and can't take care of everything."
After saying that, he got out of the car smoothly and neatly.
Elise sat there, watching his back. Her heart felt more and more uneasy. Was it really just because of work, or… was it something else?