Back when Rose stole my fiancé, she was afraid I'd keep making a scene and ruin the wholesome image she'd built online, so she showed up at my door with a fake apology.

I hadn't planned to go after her, but I hadn't planned to forgive her either.

We'd all known each other for eight years. She knew exactly how deep things ran between Brent and me.

Yet she married him anyway, hiding behind the excuse that her fans were begging for it and she simply couldn't say no.

After that, I wanted nothing to do with Rose Sullivan.

But all she had to do was stand outside my door and squeeze out a couple of tears, and Ervin would come find me on his own to lecture me：【You're a grown woman. Why are you still acting like a child?】

【Don't tell me you're still hung up on Brent. Is that why you hold it against her?】

At the time, those words actually made me wonder if I really was being too petty.

My thoughts snapped back to the present, and I suddenly asked Ervin the oldest question in the book：【If Rose and I both fell in the water and you could only save one of us, who would you pick?】

Ervin froze. Clearly my reaction was the last thing he'd expected.

But his grip on my wrist didn't loosen.

【Renata, don't start with me right now.】

【Rose is the company's top influencer.】

【Building her up doubles our revenue. That's paving the way for our child's future too.】

I laughed before I could stop myself.

A question that simple, and he still couldn't bring himself to answer. That silence was an answer all on its own.

There was no point pushing it. If I didn't back down, he'd only force me into an even bigger concession to Rose.

And with this belly, I couldn't afford another fight.

The moment the studio lights flicked on, the photographers huddled together, frowning and whispering.

Finally, one of them worked up the nerve to approach：

【Ms. Simmons, we still have a few minutes before we go live. Maybe you could put on some makeup first?】

【It's just……showing up like this might not look great on camera. Could scare viewers off marriage entirely.】

Every pair of eyes in the room was on me. There was nowhere to hide.

I looked to Ervin without thinking, but he just gave an impatient nod toward the makeup artist, signaling her to get started.

I turned my face away and managed an apologetic refusal：

【I'm sorry, my doctor said the pregnancy's unstable. I'm not supposed to use any cosmetics.】

Right on cue, Rose had her assistant pass over her bag and put on her concerned-big-sister voice：

【Renata, all my products are completely natural. Totally safe for expecting mothers.】

【How about I just do a light touch-up for you?】

I knew Rose didn't mean well.

But we were about to go live, and the entire crew was standing there with their equipment, waiting on me.

Even Ervin's patience was visibly wearing thin.

I swallowed the tears rising in my throat, rested a hand on my belly, and gave in：【Fine. Go ahead.】

Just as I'd expected, Rose made a show of carefully doing my makeup.

In reality, she deliberately used a foundation two shades too light and paired it with the most garish hot-pink lipstick she had, making my already exhausted face look like a bad joke.

Rose stepped back with a satisfied grin, turning me toward the room like a finished product, fishing for compliments.

Everyone covered their mouths, barely holding it together.

But I still heard the whispers：

【She looks worse than before. Once we're live, the birth rate's gonna drop by half……】

【Mr. Stephens is such a good-looking guy. How'd he end up with that?】

【Right? Put her next to Rose and it's night and day.】

I told myself not to care what they thought.

I gritted my teeth through another round of mockery in the livestream chat, and when they finally called a break, I went straight to find Ervin.

I was exhausted. I told him I wanted to go home and rest.

Ervin pointed at Rose, who was touching up her makeup nearby, his tone laced with mockery：【When Rose was pregnant, she still managed to work eighteen-hour days without a single break.】

【Renata, I'm starting to wonder if I've been spoiling you too much.】

【Turning you into this much of a drama queen.】

Every other word out of his mouth was about Rose. The resentment sat heavy in my chest.

【If you think Rose is so great, why did you marry me instead of her?】

【You think I didn't want to……】

Ervin's face twisted with fury, but the words died on his tongue.

In the end, a mocking edge settled over his expression, and he switched back to patient persuasion：

【Honestly, when you showed up on the livestream just now, the analytics spiked. You brought Rose a ton of new followers.】

【I've told you over and over, I'm going to make Rose a star.】

【If you leave now, you're cutting her stream short in the middle of a live broadcast. It'll tank her numbers.】

Ervin would never understand how agonizing it had been for me in that livestream.

That hideous makeup hadn't just wrecked my appearance. It had shattered my dignity.

But Ervin never noticed any of that. All he saw was me being difficult.

I was exhausted. I just wanted to find somewhere quiet to collect myself.

Ervin thought I was leaving. He grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

I lost my balance, and my stomach slammed into the corner of the table.

Pain tore through me, so sharp it stole my breath.

The floor director jogged over：【Mr. Stephens, your wife needs to get ready. We're going live any second.】

I sucked in a ragged breath, clutching Ervin's hand so hard my knuckles went white：

【I think something's wrong with the baby. Please, take me to the hospital……】

Ervin hesitated for one second.

But the sight of Rose's follower count climbing won out.

He took my hand, his voice terrifyingly calm：

【I'll call an ambulance, but you'll have to wait for it anyway. You might as well finish the second half of the stream while you wait.】

Then he signaled his assistant to walk me back in front of the camera.

I had no choice. I swallowed the pain and forced the thinnest sliver of a smile.

Sharp-eyed viewers in the chat picked up on it immediately.

【The pregnant woman next to her looks really pale. Is she okay?】

The pain was so bad I couldn't speak. All I could do was press both hands against my stomach and pray my baby was safe.

Rose saw the chat shifting and jumped in with a laugh to smooth things over：

【Don't worry, everyone! Renata lost her parents young and her family went bankrupt, so she's been under a lot of stress. She just doesn't have the energy to keep up her appearance. Her color's always a little off.】

The comments poured in the moment she finished：

【That explains it. Looking like that, she probably couldn't marry into anything decent, right?】

【Definitely not as well as our Rose did!】

Rose caught those comments and read them aloud in a drawn-out, sing-song voice, one hand covering her smile：

【You're all wrong, actually! Renata is our boss's wife. She has a perfectly happy family.】

I barely registered Rose's poisonous little performance. All I could feel was a warm, steady gush soaking through beneath me.

I looked at Ervin, begging him with my eyes.

But by the time I blacked out, the person I needed most still hadn't come.

Rose shot to her feet in shock. The chat exploded：

【Oh my God, is that blood under the pregnant woman?】

【Is she having a miscarriage?? That's terrifying.】

【Didn't Rose just say she only looked pale? Why is she bleeding?】

The livestream cut to black. I collapsed into Ervin's arms.

For the first time since we'd arrived, something close to worry flickered in his eyes.

He barked at his assistant to get the ambulance there now.

Rose put on a convincing show too, sobbing like her heart was breaking.

【Ervin, Renata's baby is going to be okay, right?】

【If she had a miscarriage during my livestream, the internet will tear me apart.】

Ervin stood immediately, pulling Rose into his arms, his voice soft and soothing：

【I'm here. Don't be scared.】

【Even if something did go wrong, none of it will touch you.】

【I'm the baby's father. I'll explain everything to the public myself.】

To calm Rose down, Ervin actually reopened the livestream.

He went on camera as my husband and lied for her：

【Everyone, sorry if we scared you just now! That was all just a livestream stunt, a little joke.】

【My wife wanted to head home early and rest, so she splashed some tomato juice around to prank Rose. All in good fun.】

That night, the livestream broke its all-time viewership record.

And I lay in the back of an ambulance, watching the doors close without ever seeing Ervin's face.

Jamie was frantic, dialing Ervin's number with shaking hands：

【Mr. Stephens, the ambulance is here. Aren't you coming?】

I thought, looking like this, bleeding like this, Ervin would feel at least a shred of concern.

But the voice that came through the receiver killed the last trace of warmth left inside me.

【I already promised Rose a wrap party. It's just a little blood. She'll be fine.】

【Besides, the doctors are with her. There's nothing I can do even if I go.】

【I'll head over once the party wraps up.】

That night, I lost the baby.

Ervin's phone never went through. The only person at my bedside through all of it was Jamie, a man I barely knew, running back and forth, handling everything.

By dawn, Ervin still hadn't come.

I sent Jamie home to rest.

Then I dragged my body to the edge of the bed, called a lawyer, and booked a flight.

The nurse couldn't talk me out of it. In the end, all she could do was help me into a cab headed for the airport.

The driver took one look at my face, white as paper, and said：【Miss, you don't look well at all.】

【Whatever it is, it can't be worth rushing to catch a flight in this condition.】

【If your family saw you like this, they'd be worried sick.】

That small kindness from a stranger broke me. Tears streamed down my face before I could stop them.

Three years of marriage, and Ervin had never shown me the concern this stranger just did.

I knew then that I wasn't wrong. I should have left a long time ago.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and managed a smile, light and free.

【Thank you, sir. I don't have any family.】

【But I'll remember what you said. I'll take better care of myself.】

The moment the plane broke through the clouds, bright sunlight poured through the window and fell across my skin.

Everything from before seemed to turn to dust in that single instant.

I whispered：【Goodbye, Ervin.】

No. Better yet, goodbye forever……