On my husband's birthday, I poured my heart into preparing a feast and selecting the perfect gift. Yet, he didn't come home.

Instead, I received a picture message—a snapshot of him at the hospital, standing outside the OB-GYN ward, his hand resting tenderly on his childhood crush's belly.

Beneath the photo, a message read: [The best birthday gift and a symbol of our decade-long bond.]

Furious, I called her. "Don't you know he's married?"

Before I could say more, my husband snatched the phone and lashed out at me. "Yvonne just wanted to share the joy of becoming a mother. Why are you overreacting?

"Yvonne and I have been best friends for over a decade. Your petty jealousy is disgusting!"

I once believed his busyness was for our future, but now I knew—he had been busy supporting the girl of his dreams through her pregnancy.

Clutching my own stomach, I bit my lip to stop the tears from falling.

Ten years of love had drained away. It was time to let go.

I turned off my phone and glanced at the meal I had spent the entire day preparing. Once steaming hot, it had grown cold and hardened over time.

I sent Caleb Harper a message on Messenger.

Me: [Are you really not planning to explain the situation with Yvonne?]

He replied almost instantly with a question mark, followed by several voice messages, each precisely a minute long.

I snapped a photo of the table, the carefully prepared dishes still neatly arranged, and sent it to him.

Me: [This is the birthday dinner I made for you, and this is how you repay me?]

Three or four seconds later, his response came through.

Caleb: [Reheat the food for me. Yvonne says your cooking smells delicious, and she can't eat anything cold now that she's pregnant.]

I stared at the message, the words so familiar yet now feeling utterly foreign. Did Caleb even realize what he was saying?

Yvonne Olsen was pregnant.

And me?

I sank onto the sofa, resting a trembling hand on my stomach. A tiny life was growing inside me, too.

For five years, I had endured countless fertility treatments, hundreds of painful hormone injections, all to give Caleb a child.

After so many struggles, I was finally pregnant. I had planned to surprise him with the news as his birthday gift. But someone else had beaten me to it.

Before I could fully process my thoughts, a new post from Yvonne appeared on my feed.

Yvonne: [I've had no appetite since getting pregnant, but the food my housekeeper made today looks amazing! Can't wait to eat!]

The photo attached to her post showed the very meal I had cooked, the one I had poured my heart and soul into.

My grip tightened around my phone as my chest heaved with rage.

They had humiliated me, making me their fool.

I jumped to my feet, hands trembling, and swept the meal into the trash. I discarded each dish, the clattering porcelain echoing through the room.

When the table was clear, I sat down and stared at our wedding photo.

Tears blurred my vision as I looked at the man I had once been so determined to marry.

Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through my lower abdomen. I doubled over, clutching my stomach in terror.

This child was my miracle. I could not let anything happen to them.

When the pain eased, I hailed a taxi and headed to the hospital alone.

No matter what had happened between Caleb and me, this baby was mine. No one would take them from me.

And maybe—just maybe—when Caleb learned I was carrying his child, he would come back to me. Perhaps we could piece our broken marriage back together.

At the hospital, I handled everything alone—registration, waiting in line, and undergoing the necessary tests.

After an exhausting hour, my name was finally called.

The doctor assured me it was nothing serious. I was simply overworked, and my body was struggling to keep up. He advised me to go home and get plenty of rest.

As I walked out, pale and unsteady, a kind nurse guided me to a seat in the hallway.

Just as I sat down, I noticed Caleb carefully helping Yvonne out of the elevator.

"Yvonne, oxygen therapy is excellent for the baby's brain development. If you'd like, I'll bring you here every day," he said gently.

Yvonne smiled blissfully and kissed him on the cheek. "Caleb, you're so good to me! But… won't your wife get jealous?"

His affectionate smile vanished, replaced by irritation. "Why mention her? She's nothing but a useless hen who can't even lay eggs. She has no right to feel jealous!

"She's always suspicious of everything. Honestly, if I had real feelings for you, do you think I'd have married her? If she bothers you again, let me know. I'll make her regret it!"

I stared at him, unable to reconcile the cruel, callous man before me with the one who had once held me close on our wedding day, promising me a lifetime of love.

We had married shortly after graduation. At the time, I had no idea he had a childhood sweetheart—Yvonne, the girl of his dreams.

I had stood by him as he built his company from scratch, investing my entire savings into his business. I would even drink myself into stomach ulcers to help him close deals.

Three years ago, when the company finally went public, I stepped back to focus on starting a family.

But years of late nights and heavy drinking had taken their toll on my body. After countless medications, injections, and treatments, I had finally managed to conceive. This baby was my hard-won miracle.

Then my phone rang.

The familiar ringtone caught Caleb's attention. He turned and saw me sitting in the hallway.

Before I could speak, he stormed over, grabbed my arm, and yanked me to my feet.

"Do you have no shame? Following me here? Are you so jealous that Yvonne got pregnant before you?

"I'm warning you—treat Yvonne well, or you can get the hell out of my life!" he warned.

His grip on my collar was so tight I could barely breathe. His breath, hot with anger, carried nothing but disdain.

His words were like a bucket of ice water poured over me. Although it was the height of summer, my hands and feet turned cold, leaving me utterly drained.

"I'm not jealous," I said, trembling. "I didn't even know you'd be here."

Caleb let out a derisive laugh. "If you're not stalking me, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you came to see a doctor.

"Or are you planning to spin some story about being pregnant? If you want attention, at least come up with a believable lie.

"Everyone knows you're just a barren hen. If you could get pregnant, pigs could fly!"

I collapsed onto the cold floor, tears brimming in my eyes.

One hand instinctively rested on my stomach as I looked up at him, disbelief etched on my face.

Yvonne stepped forward, her voice dripping with feigned concern. "I only want what's best for my baby. Please don't fight because of me."

Caleb pulled her into his arms protectively. "Don't worry about her, Yvonne. She's just putting on an act."

I trembled as I looked into Caleb's cold, determined eyes. So, this was how the man I had shared a bed with for years truly saw me.

"If that's how you feel about me, there's nothing more to say. Let's get a divorce," I said quietly, forcing myself to stay composed.

His eyes flashed with surprise, but it was fleeting.

He crouched down, grabbed my chin roughly with one hand, and raised the other as though ready to strike me. "Don't think I won't hit you just because you're a woman!

"Yvonne just wants a child! What's wrong with me helping her? You sit at home all day doing nothing but overthinking, and now you have the nerve to talk about divorce?

"Forget it! Don't even dream about it! Divorce? How would that make me look? In this lifetime, I'll only ever be a widower, never divorced!"

He released my chin with a sharp glare and turned to Yvonne.

The abrupt shove sent me stumbling backward, landing painfully on the ground. A dull ache spread through my lower abdomen, and cold sweat beaded on my forehead.

Meanwhile, he was tucking stray strands of hair behind Yvonne's ear, his tone soft and caring. "Yvonne, are you hungry? Let's go home and get you something to eat."

She nodded weakly, leaning against him as if she could barely stand. "Caleb, I'm so hungry I don't even have the strength to walk. Can you carry me?"

Without hesitation, he scooped her up in his arms, comforting her as he walked away, "Don't worry. Once you've eaten, you and the baby will feel better.

"And since you like her cooking so much, I'll make sure she changes up the menu every day to suit you!"

His words stung like a slap to my face, and Yvonne's smug glance only made it worse.

Unfortunately, I lacked the strength to argue. I clutched my abdomen, gasping for breath.

"Caleb!" I cried out. "My stomach hurts... Can you help me up?"

The hallway was crowded with people passing by, their curious gazes burning into me. Yet no one stepped forward to help.

I had no choice but to plead with him.

He turned his head, glanced at me, and let out a mocking laugh. "Don't tell me you're going to say you're too weak to stand now?

"What's the point of competing with Yvonne? She's just a friend. If there were anything between us, you wouldn't have married me in the first place.

"Honestly, your act is pretty convincing, but instead of wasting time here, why not hurry home and reheat the food for us?"

He turned to leave, but Yvonne clung tighter to his neck, pouting sweetly. "Caleb, maybe you should check on her. What if Laura really isn't feeling well? I don't want to cause a fight between you two."

Her words sounded considerate, but the way her arms tightened around him revealed her true intentions.

With a cold snort, Caleb walked back toward me. He gave me a disdainful look and nudged me with his foot.

"Get up," he barked.

The force sent me backward, and I felt a warm rush between my legs. My heart sank.

The baby...

This was all my fault. I didn't protect my baby.

Tears streamed down my face as I slumped to the floor.

Caleb, about to berate me again, froze when he noticed the blood staining my jeans. His eyes widened in shock.

The commotion caught the attention of a doctor stepping out of her office.

Noticing the crowd, she hurried over, and her face changed the moment she saw the blood. "Didn't I tell you to rest? Your pregnancy was already fragile. Now... it's unlikely we can save the baby.

"We need to perform an emergency D&C surgery immediately," the doctor added, signaling for staff to bring a stretcher.

Caleb's face turned ghostly pale. He grabbed the doctor's arm, his voice trembling. "Baby? You mean... she was pregnant?"