Flipping through the diary, I saw that while Ethan was pranking me, he had also recorded countless moments when his heart had skipped a beat for me.

It seemed he was just as trapped as I was, unable to escape.

But tucked into the last page of the diary was a plane ticket stub from last Valentine’s Day. His strong, sharp handwriting filled the blank space:

“If I had to choose again, I would still pretend to lose the tickets and trick her into staying at the airport with me all night to revise the proposal. Because this was for Sophia. The 72nd prank.”

Raindrops hammered against the window.

All his affection was built on a foundation of self-deception. He might have loved me, but he loved Sophia more. In the end, I was just a substitute.

My hand trembling, I pulled out my phone and scheduled an abortion.

Late that night, I lay in bed, pretending to be fast asleep as I heard Ethan come home, bringing a chill in with him.

A long moment passed. He hadn't moved. Strange.

I hadn't played along with his prank, which must have humiliated him in front of Sophia and his friends. Was he really just going to let it go?

The mattress behind me dipped, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around me.

Ethan buried his head in the crook of my neck like a weary traveler finally home, his warm breath tickling my skin. “We’re having a baby, Anna.”

I remained silent. He had no idea that I had already decided not to have this child.

Ethan didn't notice my cold silence. He took out my pregnancy test, drawing three tiny hearts on it with the sharp point of a fountain pen.

It was the Montblanc pen I had bought him with my first-ever paycheck. He had carried it with him for years.

I didn't respond. Ethan held me tighter, whispering endless sweet nothings. But my heart felt like it had been tossed into the dead of winter, frozen stiff.

“I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”

He immediately fell silent, only murmuring, “We’re going to Sophia’s birthday party tomorrow,” before his breathing evened out into sleep.

But I lay awake all night.

Ethan had orchestrated a game of feigned amnesia, and I had lost three years of my heart.

So I would stage a game of feigned death and make him regret it for the rest of his life.

At Sophia ’s birthday party, Ethan’s friends surrounded me and shoved the largest piece of pie in front of me. “Anna, Carter says he loves watching you eat sweets the most.”

Ethan looked away, pretending not to see.

The moment the pie touched my tongue, a bitter taste filled my throat, followed by a wave of nausea.

But Sophia held me down, forcing the rest of the pie into my mouth. “Anna, it’s my birthday today. Don’t be rude. I might think you’re disgusted with me!”

A sharp, twisting pain immediately shot through my lower abdomen, becoming unbearable.

Ethan’s friends jeered and laughed from the side, treating me like a joke.

As soon as I finished the pie, I rushed to the restroom and threw up violently. A wave of satisfied laughter erupted from the private room; their prank had been a success.

“Is your stomach flu still acting up?” The warm water Ethan handed me had mint leaves steeping in it—the home remedy he taught me to stop nausea when we first met.

I couldn’t respond to his false affection. The pain in my abdomen was sharp and relentless, like a thousand needles.

I looked down. A stream of blood was trickling down my thigh, staining it a shocking red.

I gripped Ethan’s arm tightly. “Take me to the hospital…”

But Sophia blocked the doorway, a smirk on her face. “It’s just an irregular period. It’s very common for girls. Ethan, don’t overreact.”

“Get out of the way!” Ethan snapped.

It was the first time he had ever gone against Sophia for my sake.

When I woke up, I heard Sophia’s petulant voice from outside the exam room, scolding Ethan’s friend. “Did you put in too much of the drug? Weren’t we just supposed to humiliate her in public?”

But the friend just laughed. “Getting rid of a bastard child is a favor, if you ask me. Ethan will be thanking me for it.”

“Yeah, it’s been three years. If she had a kid, how would Ethan ever get away from her?”

Ethan was silent for a long time before he finally spoke. “Pranks are one thing, but don’t physically harm her.”

Sophia was stunned for a moment, then questioned him with a furious edge to her voice, “Who was it that said he wanted to ‘make that bookworm taste what it’s like to fall from the clouds’ to get back at her for me?”

“Humiliating Anna Jenkins in public as my birthday present was your idea, wasn't it? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with her?”

Ethan recoiled as if she’d offered him poison. “Impossible! Of course, I love you.”

The sounds of celebration and laughter immediately returned from outside the door.

They were celebrating the success of the 98th prank and already plotting how to carry out the 99th.

I touched my flat stomach, which still ached faintly.

My child and I were just another part of their game, a birthday present for Sophia.

I wiped away my tears, my fingers trembling as I canceled the abortion appointment. I didn't even need to make the decision; the child’s father had already sentenced him to death.