The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus)
Chapter 497

"Yeah, I wanted to leave this world with grace, but it looks like I'm going to leave a mess," Gabby answered Johanson's question, wiping the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. Her eyes met Anna's pale, frightened little face with regret. "Sweetie, did Mommy scare you?"

Though Anna was young, she already understood the concept of life and death.

Gabby's blood had terrified her, and suddenly, the meaning behind the words Gabby had been saying became clear.

Tears filled her little eyes as she clung to Gabby's slender waist, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mommy, Mommy, please don't die! What would I do without you? What about my baby brother? I don't want us to be without you, Mommy. Please, please don't leave me!"

Anna's voice was heart-wrenchingly sincere, and Gabby, who had come to terms with her own mortality, smiled and stroked her head.

"I'm sorry, my darling. I'm not your real mommy," Gabby began, wiping the tears from Anna's face. "I was a bad person back then. I took you from your real mommy and made you live this tough life with me. Can you forgive me?"

"Mommy, what are you talking about?" Anna didn't understand Gabby's words.

Gabby nodded. "Yes, Anna, your real mommy's name is Natalia. She is a beautiful woman with eyes as blue as yours, kind-hearted and gentle, the most perfect woman in the world. And your daddy is not Lucius but Magnus. Can you remember that? You must remember what mommy is telling you."

"But no, Mommy, you are my real mommy. I'm your little girl, not someone else's child."

Watching Anna cry with tears streaming down her face, Gabby's heart was breaking. She wished more than anything that Anna was truly her own.

Gabby had loved Anna as her own child for so many years, placing Anna above her own life.

But the truth was the truth, and there would come a day when it had to be revealed.

Gabby, struggling to hold back her tears, pulled Anna into her arms. "Darling, you will always be my little girl. But the truth is the truth. I took you from your real parents. I've lived with guilt and fear all these years, was condemned by my own conscience, and now it's time to tell the truth."

After saying this, Gabby felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She looked at Grant pleadingly. "Grant, when I'm gone, please take Anna back to her real parents, will you?"

Grant, with a grim expression, had been brooding over Gabby's impending death and had little patience for anything else.

Seeing that Grant was silent, Gabby's tears flowed anew as she looked at him desperately. "Grant, please, I beg you, take Anna..."

But before she could finish, Gabby's urgency triggered a reaction from the adrenaline in her system.

She coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell back onto the bed.

"Mommy!"

"Baby!"

Anna and Grant both cried out. Anna tried to help Gabby up, but her small frame was in the way as Grant tried to hold Gabby up as well. He pulled Anna off the bed roughly. "Get out of the way!" Anna hit the floor hard. She was in pain, but the brave little girl didn't cry out. Instead, she scrambled up, wanting to go to Gabby's side.

Before she could reach Gabby, Johanson held her tight. "Anna, sweetie, don't look."

Despite Anna's struggle, Johanson held her firmly, not allowing her to get any closer to Gabby.

Grant was frantically shaking Gabby. "Baby? Baby?"

Gabby was about to take her last breath. She couldn't hear anything from the outside world and only managed to point weakly at her swollen belly, whispering, "The child... the child..."

Her arm dropped lifelessly after uttering those words, and there was no further response.

The doctor rushed in and, after a quick examination, looked at Grant with regret. "Sir, she's gone."

Grant took a deep breath, gave Gabby one last longing look, and made a tough decision. "Do the C-section."

After closing Gabby's eyes, he stepped out of the room with heavy steps.

Johanson, holding Anna tight despite her hitting and kicking him, had the determination not to let her go near Gabby.

Anna's tears blurred her vision, and her cries became hoarse with despair. The cruel reality of life and death was laid bare before the barely four-year-old girl, leaving her helpless and terrified. Seeing the doctor preparing to operate on Gabby, who was still clinging to life, Johanson tried to carry Anna out of the room.

But as they reached the door, Anna gripped the frame with all her might, refusing to let go. "Johanson, please, let me stay. I want to see my mommy one last time. Please?"

With a sigh of resignation, Johanson quickly knocked Anna unconscious with a swift tap to the back of her neck, and finally managed to carry her away.

Outside, a cold wind whipped up, swirling dead leaves in a melancholic dance.

Inside, the doctor cut open Gabby's belly and delivered the child.

After waiting outside for a moment, Grant heard the loud cries from within. His child had made it into the world alive!

He rushed into the room, where the stench of blood was overwhelming. Gabby was gone, covered with a white sheet, a small and pitiful sight.

Grant turned away, struggling to shift his focus to the newborn child in his arms.

The doctor handed the freshly cleaned infant to Grant. "Mr. Harrison, it's a boy. The little guy is premature, barely four pounds. He's come seven months along-he needs to be in an incubator immediately." Holding his frail, wrinkled son-a life exchanged for Gabby's-Grant looked solemnly at the doctor. "Whatever it takes, you must ensure the little master is alright. Otherwise, you'll all join my wife in the hereafter."

After speaking, he cast an endlessly affectionate glance at Gabby's shrouded figure, then walked out without looking back.