Bella stood frozen in place, unable to snap out of her daze for what seemed like an eternity.

After a long pause, she finally spoke up, "Do you realize I'll tell Edward everything you just said?"

Lena's expression faltered slightly, but she insisted, "What I said is the truth."

Bella looked at her, then dialed Edward's number: "Lena is at our doorstep claiming you two have a child together."

Half an hour later.

When Edward returned, he found Lena and Bella sitting separately on two couches, silent as death.

He approached Bella and said, "Go upstairs first."

Bella watched Edward for a moment before heading up the stairs.

Once her figure vanished, Edward coldly eyed Lena: "How come I don't recall sleeping with you these past few months?"

"It was four years ago," Lena whispered, biting her lip, "Back then, I was pregnant, but your family didn't approve of our marriage. I was afraid they'd harm the baby if they knew, so I left."

Edward found it all ludicrous; he couldn't fathom how someone could be so shameless.

Not to mention that he had only been intimate with her a handful of times, and a recent investigation into her past few years revealed no evidence of her giving birth.

So, how did he suddenly have a child?

"By your logic, marrying a seventy-year-old man was to provide a wealthy father for my 'child'?" Edward's words were harsh.

Lena's face paled: "I…"

Losing patience, Edward called Bella: "Come down."

Upstairs, Bella hesitated upon seeing the call ended notification but descended the stairs.

Upon seeing her, Edward bluntly stated, "Take her child to the hospital for a paternity test. If it's mine, bring the child home to raise; if not, sue her for slander."

With that, he went upstairs.

Bella watched his retreating back, feeling the situation growing rapidly absurd.

As his wife, she was tasked with taking another woman's child for a paternity test.

Bella lowered her gaze, composed her emotions, and looked at Lena: "Let's go."

As they stepped outside, her gaze inadvertently swept over the wedding photo on the wall.

In that fleeting glance, she felt the smiling bride in the picture seemed to be weeping.

Waiting for the test results felt like a silent torture.

Bella observed the well-behaved child next to Lena, finding his eyes strikingly similar to Edward's.

So when the results finally arrived, she lacked the courage to open them.

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If the child was indeed Edward's, could she still justify staying by his side?

Bella didn't know; her grip tightened on the results.

Returning home, Edward was in the living room.

Bella placed the envelope in her hand before him: "The results are out."

"Mm-hmm," Edward acknowledged, showing no intention to open it.

"Won't you take a look?" Bella inquired.

"No need," Edward replied, his tone calm, appearing indifferent.

Seeing his demeanor, Bella couldn't help asking, "Haven't you considered that the child might really be yours?"

Edward simply glanced at her: "Impossible."

Hearing his certainty, Bella felt like a tightrope walker, one misstep away from falling into an abyss.

Somehow, her gaze fell on the wedding photo, the two-thirds red bouquet seemingly urging: "Open it!"

Entranced, Bella opened the envelope.

Several thin sheets of A4 paper filled with incomprehensible text.

She flipped through them, her hands trembling, until the last page, where several words following the test results leaped into her eyes!

Confirmation of a parent-child relationship between tested parties.

Bella felt a wave of darkness wash over her.

In the next instant, she turned to Edward, her voice trembling as she forced out the words, "Congratulations, you have a child."

At this, Edward froze, then swiftly snatched the report from her hands.

His brow furrowed as he read the words on the page.

Bella watched his every move, pain spreading throughout her body.

"You were there for the entire process?" Edward asked coldly.

Bella snapped back to reality, bitterness turning to anger under his questioning gaze: "Do you not know whether you did it or not?"

The unexpected outcome was not within Edward's expectations, and her sudden defiance ignited his temper.

He had proposed to marry Bella because she seemed docile and knew her place.

Who would have thought that after only four years, she would become like this, daring to argue with him?

"Are you interrogating me?" Edward asked gravely, standing up to remind her: "Even if I did it, what right do you have to question me?"

With that, he turned and left.

The slammed door of the villa, accompanied by the thunderous summer storm, heralded the onset of a torrential downpour.

Bella chuckled bitterly: Indeed, she had no right, nor deserved any.

She gazed at the receding car lights, her body collapsing onto the sofa, tears welling in her eyes.

On the other side.

Edward stared at the windshield wipers swaying back and forth on the car's front window, recalling Bella's dim gaze, a stifling sensation filling his chest.

More than being played by Lena, he was infuriated by her interrogation.

She actually doubted him.

Edward's brows were tightly knit as his gaze fell on the paternity test report beside him.

After a long while, he made a phone call: "Bring Lena's child out; I want to conduct a paternity test myself."

Edward thought that once the real results came out, he would show them to Bella and make her apologize to him!

After hanging up, the traffic light changed to green, and he stomped on the accelerator, speeding off.

Summer rains were long and persistent, lasting for days.

Bella stood by the window, staring blankly at the rain outside.

It had already been two days since Edward left, and she didn't know where he had gone or if he would return with Lena's child.

Bella felt truly scared and exhausted.

The courage she had clung to for four years crumbled under those thin sheets of paper.

Rain droplets drifted in through the window, stinging her eyes.

Bella blinked, looking at the wedding photo against the wall, and picked up the red pen, slowly coloring in the remaining white on the bouquet.

The last traces of white disappeared under the red.

She watched, gradually stopping her hand.

In the photo, the black wedding dress and red bouquet looked eerie.

Bella recalled what others had once said: It's not a wedding, but a funeral.

At this moment, she couldn't help but agree; otherwise, why did the wedding photo resemble a memorial portrait so much?

Bella questioned herself, her heart aching, tears streaming down her cheeks, just as cold as the rain outside.

After a while, she called Edward: "This deal... let's end it."

On the other end of the line, the man's voice was icy: "No."

Bella's heart clenched, "Why?"

"Until Lena is dealt with, you can't divorce me. Money talks, and you're paid to solve problems."

Immediately after, the call was disconnected.

Bella stared at the dead phone, her hand slowly dropping.

Money talks... If she gave all the money back, could she leave then?

She thought, gripping the phone tighter.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Edward sat in his office, holding the just-received paternity test report.

Written on it were five clear words: 'Not a biological parent.'