Chapter 449: Powerless

She did not know when he arrived, but when he did, he was in a tailored light blue suit, and he took over from the driver from there. She was being half-cradled by him in the afternoon sunlight, it casting its brilliant rays down on her, and she could feel the onset of a headache creeping up.

Xia Ling raised her head to painstakingly look at Pei Ziheng, lips trembling, but there was no sound.

"Where does it hurt? It must feel terrible," said Pei Ziheng, voice bathed in warmth.

He knew this better than anyone else the truth behind Xia Ling's suffering. He had tasked his men to administer the drugs himself, and he had already made it a point to pick the absolute mildest of its kind. And still, nothing could quite remedy the world-shaking ache that came with losing your own blood and flesh.

His brow furrowed in response to watching her struggle. "Xiao Ling, hang in there, please. I'll bring you to a doctor immediately."

Xia Ling's lips were turning purple. Her fingers clutched Pei Ziheng's sleeve desperately, fingernails scraping into his skin.

The situation didn't look too good.

Pei Ziheng was concerned. "How long has Miss Ye been in pain?"

"Miss Ye said she felt uncomfortable after yesterday's dinner. Today after breakfast, her stomach hurt yet again, so she went to the hospital." Nanny Zhou clambered. "She hasn't even eaten lunch yet."

Pei Ziheng's brow furrowed again.

He had instructed Nanny Zhou about this before. The drug had to be administered thrice to be effective, but as of now, there were only two ingested dosages. It was probably not completely dead yet.

The night was long, and dreams, endless.

Pei Ziheng was speaking softly now, lowering his head to cradle the girl in his arms. She was not doing so well, having completely broken out in a bout of cold sweat, tormented by sheer pain. "Xiao Ling, do not be afraid. I think it's just some food poisoning that caused your tummy upset. Let's see what the doctors have to say about it."

He guided her, gripping onto her tightly, ready to send her into the hospital block.

Xia Ling did not know where the effort came from, but she mustered up all her energy to push him away from her. One arm on her abdomen, and the other gripping onto the wall for support, she staggered before finally pulling herself up shakily to face him.

"Pei Ziheng," she spoke warily. "You liar, why do you want to induce a miscarriage?"

Pei Ziheng was taken aback. How did she find out?

He sent a pointed look towards Nanny Zhou.

Nanny Zhou was scared out of her wits at this point, profusely proclaiming her innocence and ignorance of the matter.

This wasn't time to push the blame.

The biggest problem was: Xiao Ling was aware of what she was eating now.

Pei Ziheng fell silent, searching for an excuse in his head. "What miscarriage? It's for ensuring a smooth pregnancy. It's not a big thing, so I didn't tell you. Anyway, it won't do you any harm. Whatever you're having now is food poisoning, trust me."

Ah yes, food poisoning. The original plan.

If all went according to plan, Xiao Ling wouldn't have found out that she had taken the miscarriage-inducing pills. When her stomach hurt, the driver would send her to the hospital, and at the hospital, the doctors would tell her that the food poisoning had harmed her stomach beyond repair, and that's why she had lost the child.

It was a perfect plan. If it had been appropriately implemented, Xiao Ling would have never had to find out the truth. And he would have maintained his image of being a caring and warm companion. And the unborn child would remain unborn, without him having to shoulder any of the blame. Perfect plan.

Unfortunately, because of Nanny Zhou's mistake, the plot was exposed.

Xia Ling viewed him with intense ferocity. "Pei Ziheng! What kind of ploy is this! You know what I ate! You beast!"

There was no point in pretending anymore. Pei Ziheng shot point black. "The kid is a gone case. Don't be stubborn and listen to the doctors. Get the surgery to remove the dead fetus."

Xia Ling felt her heart drop. Dead fetus? It hit her like an onslaught of bullets, and she could almost feel the blood drip from her wounds. No, she believed that the baby wouldn't have died so easily. She had tried so hard to protect the child. The baby... could not die!

"Save my child. Save my child, please!" she begged.

She wasn't going to be accusatory and aggressive anymore. For the child, she softened her attitude and acted meekly.

Pei Ziheng glanced at her warily. The girl in front of her was frantic and helpless, and honestly, it broke his heart a little bit. But he couldn't yield.

"So now you know how to ask for a favor?" His voice fell lower. "When you first lied to me, did you ever think that today would ever come? Did you think I was stupid? That you could just push some other man's child on me? I'm telling you, there is no such thing."

This entire thing was humiliating.

Xia Ling shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes. No, he wasn't stupid...

He was so vicious, how could he not know how much courage she had to muster in an attempt to pull this off? The past few days was a living hell for her, and she felt as if she were treading on ice, fearing the worst if she made one little mistake... and once she fell, she would never come up for air again.

"I didn't do this on purpose..." she choked between sobs. "Pei Ziheng, I didn't intend for this to happen. It was only after I was by your side that I realized that I was pregnant and that I wanted it to live."

She shot him a pleading look. "Save him, please!"

He was standing in the sun, but this was the coldest he had ever been. He was the holder of her fate now, just like back then, and even know, nothing had changed in the slightest.

An unstoppable flood of hopelessness washed over her. She couldn't fight this sorrow. Against fate, she was holding her baby. But they were sinking, sinking deep down, and there was nothing to help her resist.

Fighting to live another day was difficult, so very difficult.

Slowly, she kneeled towards him.

"Miss Ye!"

"Miss Ye! What are you doing!"

The driver and Nanny Zhou watching from the sidelines were yelling now. Nanny Zhou surged forth to bring her to her feet again. "Miss Ye, you need to get up immediately. Your body is too weak, it cannot withstand this!"

Xia Ling couldn't hear her. She continued to kneel, head raised to look at Pei Ziheng.

The blood was running between her thighs, at a rate significantly more intense than before. What had previously been a tiny trickle now pooled at her knees, staining the ivory of her outfit and the floor. Her voice was flickering, weakening. "Pei Ziheng, what do I have to do for you to let my baby live? I don't know... I have no other alternatives..." She was crying now, her tears falling continuously. "Tell me, what do you want me to do? I will do anything for you after this, anything! Regardless of whatever it is..."