After checking in at the hospital and getting my tetanus shot, I sat on a bench waiting for my prenatal ultrasound.

Seeing me completely soaked and coming alone, a pregnant woman next to me laughed and teased me. “Your husband must be out of town, right? If he saw you this pregnant and soaking wet, he’d be freaking out with worry.”

I shook my head, then looked at my phone.

Belle had just posted on her Instagram.

[My CEO fixed my light bulb himself. I’m making him a candlelight dinner to say thanks. Mr. Sterling is so handsome!]

My chest seized up with a sharp, aching pain.

I gently touched my lower belly and turned off my phone with trembling hands.

After the 4D ultrasound, I walked home with unsteady steps.

When I arrived home, it was empty.

While showering, the water heater suddenly broke.

When the sudden cold water hit my body, I finally broke down.

I squatted down, held my belly, and sobbed loudly.

Walter and I were childhood sweethearts. Our families had been close friends for generations. When we were kids, our grandfathers made vows that we would get married.

In my senior year of high school, my grades were better than Walter’s. To get into the same university as him, I deliberately skipped the last math question on the SAT exam.

But fate had other plans.

Walter performed exceptionally well for that particular exam. As a result, we missed going to the same university by just ten points.

During our long-distance relationship, Walter insisted on video chatting with me every day.

Once when I was too busy to answer, Walter stayed by his phone all night.

The next day, he had asked with teary eyes, “Zara, are you dumping me?”

I had comforted him and said, “Just hang on a little longer. We’ll get married after we graduate.”

On his birthday, my surprise turned into shock.

The boy who was head over heels with me was intensely doing the deed with another girl.

Walter and I should have ended long ago.

After showering, I lay in bed. My high fever made me drowsy and dizzy.

Just then, the bedroom door opened.

Walter saw my flushed cheeks and pressed his palm against my forehead.

He frowned and said, “Why are you burning up so badly?”

Then he smirked, leaned closer to me, and whispered, “The doctor said the baby is stable now that you’re in the third trimester. Don’t worry. Let me give you a shot of fever medicine. I promise it’ll knock it right out.”

Soon after, he went all the way in. I was burning up and out of it. I held him on instinct, and we got lost in the heat again.

Afterward, I noticed a glaring red mark on Walter’s neck.

My muddled brain finally cleared. At that moment, it all clicked.

How ridiculous.

If Walter truly loved me, how could he bear to vent his own desires while I was five months pregnant and burning with a high fever?

When I woke up again, Walter was nowhere to be found.

I took the drafted divorce papers and went to Walter’s company. From his lounge, I heard overlapping cries and moans.

Walter’s guttural groans were mixed with Belle’s high-pitched gasps. The sound was so loud it hurt my eardrums.

My hand trembled on the doorknob. Through the blinds, Belle shot me a cold, quick look.

I could not hold back anymore. I slammed the door open.

Walter instinctively shielded Belle behind him and quickly threw a jacket over her.

He turned around and roared at me, “Zara, you have a fever. Why aren’t you staying home? What are you doing here?”

I yelled at him hysterically. “Walter, is this what you keep calling a ‘work relationship’?!

“You cheated on me while I was pregnant. What do you take me for?”

Walter just let out a careless, dismissive laugh. He put on his clothes while smiling and said, “Zara, you need to understand this. We’re thirty years old now. Stop obsessing over the meaningless kind of love that only exists in fairy tales.

“Look, we have financial freedom, and that’s the truth. Just look the other way and live a worry-free life as Mrs. Sterling.

“Honey, believe me. Every guy cheats when his wife’s pregnant. If you truly love me, could you really stand to leave me hanging?”

Walter’s shameless justification for cheating made me so sick that I actually gagged.

I stared at him intensely. My lips trembled as I said deliberately, “Walter, you can go find yourself a wife who’ll put up with your cheating. That’s not me. I can’t even stand having a speck of dirt in my eye. I’m done.”

Walter’s phone suddenly rang. He gave a scornful, cold laugh and brushed me off.

“Honey, you don’t have your youth to fall back on anymore. That body you were so proud of is wrecked from pregnancy. Besides me, who else would even want you?

“Be good. I’m going to step out and take this call. You should think this over.”

With that, he answered the call and left the room.

He had barely stepped out when Belle brought her aggressive dog inside.

That large dog bared its teeth and barked nonstop at me. My whole body jolted with fear.

Belle covered her mouth to laugh dramatically.

“Don’t think that just because you’re carrying his child, you’re on the same level as me.

“You know, we’ve been together for four years already. Every single day you couldn’t reach him, Walter and I were busy having the time of our lives in bed.

“Why don’t you take a good look at yourself in the mirror? You’re as fat as a pig. Do you really think Walter is going to give you a second look?”

I pursed my lips and stayed silent. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I would start to sob uncontrollably.

For four years, all those days when Walter used excuses like business trips and overtime, he was actually with Belle.

Every time I caved, I just made myself look like a complete joke.

Belle became inexplicably angry when I remained quiet.

She glanced at her dog. The next second, that large dog charged at me with a bark.

Its claws tore my clothes. It also slammed my belly.

I lay on the floor miserably. I wailed in agony as my vision went dark.

I felt a warm rush flow out of me. My survival instincts kicked in, and I started screaming desperately, “Help! Walter, help!”

Before Walter came in, Belle slapped herself twice across the face, ripped her own bra straps off, and threw herself to the floor. Her hair was in a mess.

A moment later, Walter burst through the door like a madman and came straight to me. He barely looked at Belle.

“Zara, what’s wrong? I’m taking you to the hospital!”

Belle burst into dramatic sobs as if she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

“Boo hoo! Zara, why did you hit me? Scruffy is usually so gentle. It didn’t mean it. Why couldn’t you just leave him alone? Why do you have to poison him?”

My heart dropped.

I looked over quickly. The dog was lying on the floor, foaming at the mouth and whimpering.

I urgently said to Walter, “Walter, I didn’t do it. My water just broke. Please take me to the hospital!”

Walter hesitated for a moment. Just as he was about to crouch down and pick me up, Belle cried miserably with a tear-streaked face.

“Walter, Zara can’t even tell her own pee from amniotic fluid. She clearly wet her pants, but she’s lying and saying her water broke. Is she just making up an excuse to go to the hospital to avoid responsibility? Scruffy was a gift from my mom. What gives her the right to just poison him like that? Even if he’s just a dog, you don’t get to treat him that badly!

“Boo hoo! Since none of you can stand to have me around, fine. I’ll just leave!”

She stood up. Just as she was about to walk away, Walter pulled her into his arms.

“You’re not going anywhere without my permission.

“What will it take for you to stay? I’ll make it right for you.”

With that, Walter looked coldly at me and demanded, “Apologize to Scruffy.”

His tone was firm and left no room for argument.

A single tear rolled down my cheek. I never expected Walter to make me apologize to a dog that had hurt my child, all for Belle’s sake.

I glared at him and said defiantly, “Walter, that dog lunged at me and bit me. It broke my water. Our baby’s life is on the line. And you’re telling me to apologize to a dog? On what grounds?”