The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Anastasia stared at her flat stomach, her hand trembling, voice barely a whisper: "Our baby..."

Her anguished scream pierced through the hospital walls.

Herman rushed into the room, seeing Anastasia awake, he quickly wrapped his arms around her: "Honey."

"Ah!" Anastasia sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she clung to Herman's hand, "Our baby is gone, Herman. Where is our baby? Let me see."

Herman gently rubbed her back, trying to comfort her, "Anastasia, I'm so sorry."

Overwhelmed, Anastasia gripped Herman's arm, her face drenched in tears, "Where is our baby, Herman? Just one look, please."

How could Herman let her see? The five-month-old fetus was already formed; it would break her heart completely.

"Honey, we can have more children," Herman's voice cracked, his own pain buried deep as he tried to console her.

Anastasia's heart plummeted, her grief consuming her. Her body shook with pain, and she couldn't control her emotions. Her cries of despair echoed through the hospital.

Through her tears, Anastasia shook her head, "Herman, someone wanted to hurt our baby. Someone set us up. I got a text last night warning me to be careful, and today this happened. Doesn't that seem odd? It must've been something I ate, it happened after lunch. Did the doctors find out why I was bleeding so much?"

The cause of the heavy bleeding was still under investigation. This was the first time Herman heard about the warning text.

A dangerous look crossed Herman's eyes, "Give me the number that sent the text. I'll get someone to check it out immediately. And I'll have the food investigated too. If someone dared harm our baby, I swear I'll make them pay."

Anastasia's phone was still at home. Herman quickly sent Dailey to fetch it and called Katie for questioning. All the food remnants Anastasia had eaten were collected for testing.

Once he had calmed Anastasia down temporarily, Herman stepped out of the room and asked Salma to stay with her. When Gianna saw Herman leaving, she asked, "How is Anastasia?"

It had been an hour since Anastasia's operation ended.

Anastasia woke up once the anesthesia wore off. Katelyn and Feiman had arrived just in time, bringing in the best specialists to save Anastasia's womb.

Herman had just flown back from Shanghai. He hadn't had time to look into the cause of Anastasia's heavy bleeding.

Without revealing Anastasia's condition to Gianna, Herman simply thanked her and told her she could leave.

As soon as he left her, Herman went to find the doctor who had operated on Anastasia.

In the doctor's office, the cause of Anastasia's bleeding was revealed. When the doctor handed Herman the report, his expression turned icy.

"Abortion pills?"

"Yes," the doctor confirmed. "We found traces of abortion pills in her blood, and the dosage was very high. Because of her weak constitution, it led to the heavy bleeding. By the time she arrived, it was too late for optimal treatment. It's a pity." Remembering Anastasia's words and seeing the report, Herman's expression grew terrifyingly dark, his hand tightening around the report.

Anastasia wouldn't have taken abortion pills herself. That left Katie, who was in charge of her meals.

Just then, a doctor responsible for handling the baby's body entered the room. "Mr. Salstrom, we've prepared the baby. Would you like to see him?" "...Yes."

It was his own child; how could Herman not want to see him?

Herman followed the doctor to the morgue.

The five-month-old fetus, barely a pound in weight, was nestled in a small box. His tiny hands and feet were fully formed, his facial features distinct. Just like Anastasia had hoped, his face was delicate, resembling Herman's. It was a boy.

The moment Herman saw the baby's body in the box, his eyes welled up. The man, who hadn't shed a tear in his thirties, began to cry.