Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The very first time he asked for my vitality, he swore he would give me an unforgettable proposal.

As the cold steel sliced into my flesh back then, I imagined him kneeling on one knee and wept tears of naive happiness.

During that trip, Vivienne had been bitten by a deadly viper in the Amazon rainforest. Hanging onto life by a thread, she consumed my vitality.

I lay in bed for three excruciating days. Lending life force from a living person simply meant I took on the fatal trauma in her place.

For three whole days, I gritted my teeth and survived on pure hope.

When Vivienne returned unharmed, I was drenched in cold sweat from the lingering agony. I asked Nolan what dress I should wear for the proposal.

The moment I stepped close, Nolan recoiled in disgust.

"You reek. When was the last time you showered?"

"Mara, how many times do I have to tell you? Even if I don't love you, can you at least maintain some self-respect? You're embarrassing."

"Let me make one thing clear: there is no love between us. If my family hadn't disapproved of Vivienne, you would never have become Mrs. Mercer."

"Stop dreaming about things you don't deserve. A proposal? That's hilarious. Take a look in the mirror."

He had never loved me.

Throughout our five-year marriage, his heart had always belonged to Vivienne, the woman he fell for in his youth.

As Nolan's silhouette vanished out the front door, a metallic sweetness rose in my throat. I coughed up a mouthful of dark blood.

With the last spark of life stolen, the youth drained from my body at a terrifying pace. I was dying. It could be tomorrow, or the day after, anywhere at any moment.

And Nolan, the man I once loved with all my heart, wouldn't spare me a single backward glance.

【Do you regret it now?】 the system asked coldly. 【Look at yourself. Do you look anything like a twenty-something woman? For every day you have left, you will age into a corpse until Vivienne burns through that vitality.】

【You are going to die horribly, and the life inside your womb is fading away. As a mother, don't you feel any guilt?】

【Even if you die, so what? You won't even be alive to watch Nolan suffer in regret. Don't you get it?】

I understood. I had always understood.

【System, please protect my baby,】 I pleaded weakly. 【As long as I draw breath, keep my baby alive for that same day. I'm begging you.】

I was the one who handed over my vitality. I deserved whatever suffering came my way.

But my baby was innocent. Since my child wouldn't get to see the sunrise, I wanted to hold on as a mother and accompany my baby to the very end of our journey.

Warm blood suddenly gushed down my legs. The agonizing cramp forced me to my knees, gasping for air.

The system let out a weary sigh. 【Fine.】

By the time a passerby rushed me to the hospital, dusk had already fallen over the city.

When I first arrived in this world, my mission from the system was to make Nolan regret his choices.

My original destiny was death, but it was supposed to happen painlessly in the distant future, allowing me to return safely to my original world.

Now, I was going to die for real, erased from both worlds forever.

I wasn't afraid of dying. I just never expected a tiny heartbeat to take root inside my broken body.

When I opened my eyes, several doctors stood around my bed with grave, complicated expressions.

I already knew my condition and gently touched my lower stomach.

"Your baby is still hanging on, ma'am," the lead doctor said cautiously. "However, all your vital organs are rapidly failing. You need to contact your family immediately and end this pregnancy. If you don't, you will lose the baby anyway, and your own death will only come faster."