Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Declan Mercer's childhood best friend, Mallory Cross, had just caused me to lose my baby for the third time.

Yet, he still left me lying alone in that cold hospital room just to go comfort her.

"Mallory just went through a bad breakup," he pleaded. "She can't be left alone right now."

"I swear to you, Val, this is the very last time. I'll come back to stay with you tonight."

That one night turned into a whole week.

I stared at the seventh Instagram post Mallory had shared over the past few days.

"Nothing beats being spoiled and cared for by my childhood boy."

Attached was a photo of Declan in an apron, cooking a warm meal for her in her cozy kitchen.

After a long silence, I finally accepted the cold truth.

I opened my mind's interface and gave the command to the system. "Requesting to terminate the mission."

"The main mission is not yet complete," the mechanical voice responded. "If you choose to terminate now, the system will arrange an exit scenario to end your timeline in this world. Do you confirm?"

"Confirmed."

I once warned him that if he broke his vows, I would make him regret it for the rest of his life.

...

I lay on the hospital bed, silently staring at the blank ceiling.

I didn't even know whether I felt grief or sheer numbness anymore.

This was the third time I had lost my child because of Mallory, and he had still abandoned me to rush to her side.

Once upon a time, he had been so desperate to build a family with me.

Now, our third little life was gone before it even began.

When Declan finally returned to my hospital room, an entire week had passed.

The faint scent of a woman's floral perfume still clung to his jacket.

He pulled out a box of warm pastries he claimed he bought especially for me.

Outside the window, a bitter winter wind howled against the glass. This winter felt colder than any before.

He gently helped me sit up, arranging the food on the tray table before looking at me with guilty eyes.

"Val, please don't be mad," he murmured softly. "Your recovery comes first right now."

So he did know my body needed care.

"Mallory's heartbroken," he explained in a rush. "She's always been emotionally fragile, and I was terrified she'd do something reckless to herself. That's the only reason I stayed."

She was too fragile for a breakup, but was I supposed to be strong enough to survive losing three children?

I looked blankly at the man bustling around my bed.

He seemed the same, yet entirely different. He was right in front of me, but felt like a complete stranger.

We had been together for eight long years.

I had waited three years for his proposal.

I had spent another three years praying to have a baby with him.

And what was the reward for all my patience?

Over and over, I was the one left mourning another lost life.

Over and over, I endured unbearable physical and emotional agony in silence.

Whenever I needed his comfort and protection the most, his childhood friend would conveniently show up.

My third fall down the stone steps happened at his cousin's wedding reception.

Before the toasts were even finished, Mallory had burst into the venue in tears, ignoring the awkward stares of every guest in the room.

When she turned and ran out into the parking lot, Declan lunged forward to chase after her.

I reached out to grab his sleeve to stop him, but my heel caught on the edge of the carpet, sending me crashing down the steep flight of steps.

And Declan? He only spared me a single, fleeting glance before dialing 911 on his phone.

Then he rushed off into the dark to find Mallory.

I lay on the cold marble floor like a pathetic joke.

Just because they grew up together in the same neighborhood, he felt an unshakable duty to protect her from the world.

And Mallory accepted every ounce of his devotion as if it were her birthright.

Even though she knew Declan was married to me, she still called him for every little inconvenience.

She even expected him to come over to do her laundry and cook her dinners.

During my first pregnancy, Mallory insisted that Declan accompany her on a week-long road trip. When I cried and begged him to stay home, he called me dramatic and irrational, ultimately dragging me along just to keep the peace.

While we were there, Mallory demanded they hike up a rugged mountain trail. I told them I couldn't climb because of the baby, but she threw a tantrum, accusing me of ruining her fun.

She ran into Declan's arms, sobbing that I was bullying her.

Declan turned on me, blaming me for making a scene. Furious, I turned to walk away, tripped over an exposed root, and tumbled down the rocky slope, losing our first baby.

During my second pregnancy, when the baby was already several months along, Mallory moved into our guest room under the excuse of helping take care of me.

Instead, she blasted video games and music until three in the morning, making it impossible for me to get any rest.

When I complained to Declan, he told me I was being petty and narrow-minded.

Eventually, Mallory secretly slipped strong sleeping pills into my bedside water bottle. Unsurprisingly, I suffered another traumatic loss.

When Declan confronted her, she looked at him with tearful, puppy-dog eyes, claiming she only wanted to help me sleep and never imagined it would harm the baby.

The anger in Declan evaporated instantly, and he spent the rest of the night consoling her instead of me.

For my third pregnancy, I walked on eggshells every single day. I gave him a strict ultimatum never to see Mallory again, and for a while, he actually kept his word.

To my surprise, Mallory stopped reaching out after making a fuss for a few days.

I even heard through mutual friends that she had found a new boyfriend.

Just when I thought our life was finally returning to normal, she crashed back into our world.

Right after his cousin exchanged vows at the altar, Mallory ran into the chapel, bawling her eyes out.

"He dumped me!" she wailed. "Are you abandoning me too, Declan?"

"Nobody in this world gives a damn about me!"

"If nobody loves me, I might as well just end it all!"

With that, she sprinted toward the exit.

Declan wanted to run after her, and I tried to hold him back to save what little dignity we had left in front of his family.

Instead, he shoved my hand away in his panic.

And just like that, I lost my third child.