Not long after Sophie returned home, Daniel came back as well.

He set a tin of expensive baby formula and a box of high-end supplements on the table, then pulled three hundred dollars from his coat pocket and pressed it into her hand.

Sophie lifted her eyes, calm and distant. “What is this? Compensation?”

Daniel was silent for a moment. “Yes.”

“What happened to the child… I wronged you. I hid my identity because I was afraid you’d be upset knowing Clara shared the privileges of a captain’s wife.

“But I had to take care of her. From now on, I’ll hand over all my pay. I’ll make sure you live as the most respected captain’s wife.”

Sophie let out a faint, humorless smile, her chest hollow with grief.

No amount of money could bring back her child, or the part of her that had died with it.

Besides, in five years of marriage, what she had wanted was never his rank or pay.

She still remembered the blizzard five years ago, when she had collapsed on the town road from the cold.

Daniel took off his coat, wrapped it around her, and carried her out of the storm, like a beam of light cutting through her life.

During that month of disaster relief, she brought him warm water every day, along with a scarf and gloves she had knitted by hand.

Back then, she was young—just seeing him a little more was enough.

She never expected that, when they were parting, an older man would notice her feelings and joke, asking if she wanted to marry Daniel and move to the city with him.

Sophie blinked, then nodded. “I do.”

The tent erupted in laughter.

Daniel laughed too. “You don’t even know my name or what I do. What if I’m just a low-ranking operator?”

Her face flushed as she lowered her head. “Then I’d still say yes.”

For five years after their marriage, she believed he was just an operator.

He was busy with work, so she learned to take care of everything at home.

His pay was low, so she stretched every dollar as far as it could go.

Daniel had shown his care in clumsy ways—taking care of her when she had a stomachache, giving her gifts on their anniversary, and taking the initiative to share household chores during his time off.

She had foolishly believed that as long as there was love, life would get better, only to realize, in the end, that it had all been one-sided.

From beginning to end, Daniel’s heart belonged to Clara alone.

He was only good to her because Clara had a husband back then.

Now that Clara’s husband was gone, he no longer bothered to pretend.

Sophie said nothing.

She slipped the money into a drawer and said quietly, “Let’s get some sleep.”

“Sophie!”

Daniel’s brows drew tight with irritation.

He gave her everything—the title of a captain’s wife, money, compensation, even care. Why was she still making a fuss?

Just then, there was a knock at the door, followed by the aide’s urgent voice. “Captain, Ms. Bailey says she wants that chicken soup your wife used to make!”

Sophie’s heart jolted.

In the past, every time Daniel returned to his unit, she would cook him a bowl of chicken soup to take with him.

The ingredients were expensive.

She had pinched and saved, never once keeping any for herself.

She never imagined that something she treasured so dearly would be handed over to Clara so casually.

Daniel turned to her, urgency in his voice. “We’ll talk later. Go make the soup.

“I’ll buy you more of the ingredients. Just hurry, Clara just gave birth, she’s weak. Don’t keep her waiting.”

He had completely forgotten that Sophie and Clara gave birth on the same day.

That her body was just as weak.

Sophie swallowed the bitterness rising in her chest and turned toward the kitchen.

The coal stove took too long to catch.

Daniel’s restless pacing behind her beat against her nerves, so she poured a little kerosene into the stove to speed things up.

The moment she struck the match and brought it close…

Boom! The flames exploded outward.

The blast knocked her off her feet, her head slamming hard against the wall.

Just as the fire was about to swallow her whole, a figure rushed forward and threw himself in front of her.

“Sophie! Are you okay? Say something…”

His eyes were red with panic, his voice breaking into a shout.

He didn’t even notice the burns spreading across his back.

Blood ran down the side of his neck, and through her fading vision, Sophie looked at him, but she no longer had the strength to respond.

The world around her slowly dissolved into darkness.

After a rough, jarring ride, Sophie was rushed into the ER.

The doctors took her stretcher at once and turned to send Daniel off for treatment for his burns.

He shoved the nurse aside, panic breaking through his composure.

“Forget about me, I’ll live. Treat my wife first! She has no pre-existing conditions. She just gave birth a month ago, type A blood!”

Moments later, after examining Sophie, the doctor’s expression turned grim.

“Captain Hart, your wife has lost too much blood. She needs a transfusion immediately, but our blood bank is empty.

“It’ll take at least a week to get more in. She won’t last that long. You might have to… call in a favor and request blood from your unit’s emergency reserve. There’s still time.”

But Daniel fell into a long silence.

With what little strength she had left, Sophie forced her eyes open a fraction. She heard the aide lower his voice.

“Captain, what are you waiting for? Look at her, she’s bleeding out. Just give the order!”

Daniel closed his eyes, his voice low and strained.

“How am I supposed to give that order? Have you forgotten—after I gave Sophie’s child to Clara, I already used my record to keep everyone at the hospital quiet?”

“The paperwork for the baby isn’t even done yet. If I don’t keep control of this, what happens when the truth comes out?

“Clara will find out everything. She’s already lost so much. How is she supposed to survive losing another child? I won’t let her take that risk. I can’t.”

The words cut cold and deep, piercing straight through Sophie’s heart.

“Daniel… how could you be this cruel…”

She was hanging by a thread, and all he cared about was whether Clara might lose the child.

What about her?

Even before this, she had already lost two pregnancies.

Her body had been too weak and malnourished.

Each time, the moment she learned she was pregnant, it ended in blood.

She was afraid he would blame himself, that it would affect his work, so she said nothing, swallowing all the pain and grief alone.

And now, was she about to become just another pool of blood, dying before she could even leave?

Sophie felt her blood slipping away, drop by drop, taking her warmth with it.

Despair closed in, inch by inch.

Just then, Clara rushed in.

Without hesitation, she rolled up her sleeve. “Doctor, take my blood! I’m a match! I can save her!”

Daniel’s brows knit together as he quickly pulled her back.

“Clara, what are you doing?”

“You just gave birth. You haven’t even recovered yet. You can’t donate blood!”

Clara shook him off, her gaze unwavering.

“Daniel, let me do this. She got hurt because she was making soup for me. When she’s in danger, I should be the one to step forward.”

Daniel’s eyes reddened instantly, his expression full of pain.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Clara had already followed the nurses, pushing Sophie’s stretcher into the emergency room.

She glanced down at Sophie and gave her a gentle smile.

“All these years, I’ve never forgotten how well Daniel’s treated me. Let me repay some of that to you.”

The blood flowed through the tube, slowly entering Sophie’s body. She felt a faint return of strength, and a flicker of gratitude stirred in her chest.

What Daniel had done was his choice; it had nothing to do with Clara.

Sophie forced her eyes open, wanting to say thank you.

But suddenly, a chill ran through her body.

Her chest tightened as if a weight had been dropped onto it. Her face drained of color, and even breathing became difficult.

The nurse yanked out the transfusion line and shouted, “Miss, did you lie about your blood type?!

“Doctor! Doctor! The patient is having a hemolytic reaction. We need to resuscitate immediately!”

As the nurse rushed out to call for help, Clara’s gentle expression vanished.

A cold smile curled on her lips as she said, “Go. To. Hell.”

“Only if you’re gone will Daniel belong to me alone.”

Sophie’s eyes widened.

Clara had done this on purpose.

But she couldn’t speak.

Her body convulsed, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness completely.

Sophie had no sense of how much time had passed when she woke, pain tearing through her body.

“Water… someone…”

She used every ounce of strength, but the sound that came out was barely more than a weak, breathless whisper.

Just then, Clara’s muffled sobs drifted in from outside the door.

“I’m sorry… Daniel, this is all my fault…

“I remembered my blood type wrong. I almost got her killed… You should punish me… Whatever it is, I’ll accept it.”

Through the narrow gap in the door, Sophie caught sight of Daniel’s face—soft and tender, enough to melt anything in its path.

He reached out and gently touched Clara’s hair, his voice softer than Sophie had ever heard.

“It’s alright. Don’t blame yourself. Sophie’s fine, isn’t she? You meant well. I could never punish you.”

Something in Sophie’s chest twisted sharply.

Of course.

Even if she had nearly died, he wouldn’t let Clara be hurt, not even a little.

As if something amused him, Daniel let out a quiet chuckle. “If I have to punish you, then you can hold little Leo through his shots.”

Clara laughed.

“You’re terrible, Daniel. You know he’s attached to you! And he’s gotten so chubby. I can barely carry him anymore.”

With that, she looped her arm through his, the two of them leaving together, chatting and laughing as they went to take the baby for his vaccinations.

Sophie trembled where she lay, a wave of aching bitterness crashing over her, nearly swallowing her whole.

Leo was the name she chose.

She remembered leaning against Daniel’s chest, suggesting it softly. “If it’s a boy, let’s call him Leo. He would grow up brave, just like you. What do you think?”

Daniel had smiled then, gentle and warm. “Alright. And if it’s a girl, we’ll call her Lily. She would grow up to be just like you.”

And now, all she could do was watch as Clara walked away with her husband, holding her child, calling him by the name she gave him.

Each word cut deeper than any blade.

She didn’t know how long she lay there alone. Just as sleep began to pull her under again, the door suddenly opened.

Daniel froze for a second, then his face lit up. “Sophie! You’re finally awake!”

He helped her sit up, carefully holding her as he gave her water, checking her temperature.

Clara rushed in behind him, her face full of concern. “Are you feeling alright? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

She bent down as if to tuck the blanket around Sophie, all soft concern on the surface, but when she leaned close, her voice dropped to a whisper.

“If you tell Daniel I gave the wrong blood on purpose, you’ll regret it.”

A bitter smile touched Sophie’s lips.

Did Clara really think that if she spoke up, Daniel would believe her?

He had already handed her child over to Clara.

What wouldn’t he do for her?

Sophie knew better than to humiliate herself.

A sharp wail suddenly broke out from the hallway.

The aide rushed in, carrying a crying infant, his face strained. “Captain… Mrs. Hart… Ms. Bailey, sorry to interrupt. I can’t calm him down…”

Sophie’s heart clenched tight, tears spilling over before she could stop them.

That was her child…

Clara smiled as she took the baby and cradled him, gently soothing him.

Once his crying eased, she looked up at Sophie. “You haven’t seen my son yet, have you? Then again, we gave birth the same day, and yours didn’t make it. Why don’t you hold him? Just to see how it feels.”

Sophie instinctively nodded, then shook her head.

She didn’t dare.

Because if she held him once, she might never want to let go and try to take him back.

And she knew Daniel would never allow it.

Worse, he’d make her family pay the price.

As expected, Daniel frowned, displeasure written all over his face. “Clara, stop it. Sophie’s still injured. She can’t hold a baby.”

Clara ignored him, smiling as she pushed the baby toward Sophie.

“What’s there to be afraid of? I just want her to feel it…”

In the struggle, Clara suddenly let go.

The baby slipped from her arms and hit the floor, his cry piercing the room.

“Leo!”

Clara scooped him up, sobbing, then turned and grabbed Sophie by the collar, dragging her off the bed.

“If you have a problem, take it out on me! Why would you hurt my child?!”