William probably wanted to explain, but I'd already shut the door in his face.

After showering, I slipped into bed. I was about to fall asleep.

But William slid in beside me, wrapping his arms around me.

"Emberly," he whispered. "I've told you before, you can rely on me. Why didn't you knock if you weren't feeling well? Isn't this baby mine too?"

I ignored him, rubbing my eyes lazily as if I was too sleepy to respond.

But he leaned in, pressing a kiss against me.

The sickly sweet scent of roses overwhelmed my senses.

"You forgive me, right?"

I felt so disgusted that I could barely breathe. I closed my eyes tighter and faked sleep.

Eventually, he let me go.

The glow of his phone lit up the room as he got out of bed. The mattress dipped, then bounced back as he left.

I already knew what I'd find. I grabbed my phone and checked.

Sure enough, Lilah had a new Facebook update.

The picture showed William cradling her feet in his lap, warming them.

The caption read: [The shower may be late, but your love never is.]

It was the middle of the night, yet everyone seemed wide awake, their comments pouring in.

[Maya Whitlock: OMG, this is the sweetest thing ever!]

[Nate Rivera: You guys should get back together already! It's obvious he's still into you!]

[Cleo Corbin: Girl, don't let a good man like him get snatched away by certain women!]

I didn't have to guess who certain women meant.

My parents died in a car accident years ago, leaving me with no one to rely on.

For William's friends, a woman who couldn't give anything to her man was useless.

I thought William would agree, but his response surprised me.

[Don't say that. Emberly and I are doing fine.]

The next morning, I stayed in bed on purpose, refusing to make breakfast.

Normally, William would've yelled at me now, but today he was in the kitchen, cooking.

Lilah sat at the counter, watching him with excitement.

He didn't even need to be asked. He handed her a fork. "Here, try this."

They looked like a perfectly normal couple—him cooking, her tasting.

Turns out, he could make an effort. Just not for me.

But it didn't matter. Once the surgery was over, I'd leave this place for good.

"William, you're amazing! These are all my favorites!" Lilah gushed.

William smiled softly. "I know what you like, so I've been practicing."

I glanced at the table. The dishes were all the same few he'd always cooked—the only ones he knew how to cook.

Back when we first got together, he'd make these meals for me too. I remember once, I'd made the mistake of asking for something different.

His reaction was instant. "You eat what I make. Relationships are about compromise."

I believed him then. I thought we were both compromising.

Now, seeing those same dishes on the table made me sick.

I covered my mouth and bolted to the bathroom, throwing up until I was shaking.

When I came back, Lilah set down her fork and scrunched her nose dramatically. "Ugh! It smells awful in here!"

William was used to this—my morning sickness had started months ago—but his ex's comment made him frown.

"Take your breakfast to the other room," he told me.

I felt a deep chill in my chest, and I lost my appetite to eat. I set my fork and knife down with a little too much force, and clatter of the plates echoed in the room.

William probably thought I was upset. "Pregnancy's making you moodier by the day," he hissed from the dining room.

Then, they went back to eating, laughing and chatting as though I didn't exist.

It wasn't until their meal was over that William finally came to me in the other room.

"Get up. We're going out."

My body ached—my feet, my back. I didn't want to move.

But he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet, commenting, "You've been stuck in the house too long. No wonder you're so petty!"

It wasn't until we stepped outside that I realized it wasn't about me at all.

Lilah wanted to go out. They just wanted me to tag along.

It felt like the candy a cashier gives you as change at the supermarket—something you don't want but have to take. You accept it, step outside, and toss it away.

When I climbed into the front passenger seat, William shot me a look and arched his brow. "Sit in the back. Lilah gets carsick."

I hesitated. "But it's not convenient for me either."

"Enough," he warned, his patience thinned. "Don't make me drag you out of the car."

I didn't argue. By the time I slid into the back seat, Lilah had already claimed her spot up front.

She looked at the cartoon sticker on the dashboard and let out a laugh.

"I stuck this here last time! Why haven't you taken it off?"

From the rearview mirror, William looked at me, but I averted my gaze.

"I forgot," he muttered.

Forgot? Or couldn't bear to?

I remembered the first time I saw that sticker—it was during a prenatal checkup, that one time he accompanied me. He had always hated these "girly" stuff, yet when I tried to peel it off, he stopped me.

"My friend's kid put it there," he reasoned. "The kid would check next time. If you take it off, we won't be friends anymore."

Only it wasn't a kid but an adult.

Lilah turned and threw me a smug look, satisfied with my silence.

The ride was long, and Lilah filled the quiet with comments mocking how I looked.

"Girl, you look so... bundled up today. Isn't it uncomfortable? It's like you've gained a hundred pounds in that outfit."

I bit back, unable to help myself. "I'm carrying William's child, so of course I have to dress warmly. How about you? Aren't you uncomfortable wearing a crop top in winter? Do you not worry about your uterus?"

Her face darkened. The smugness disappeared. She turned back around and stayed silent.

I didn't realize where we were going until we pulled up at an amusement park.

We wandered through the park until we reached the Ferris wheel. Lilah turned to me, pretending to be concerned.

"Emberly, you're pregnant, so roller coasters are out. Let's ride the Ferris wheel together instead!"

My gaze lifted to the towering wheel, its metal structure disappearing into the clouds. My ears buzzed, and sweat immediately pricked at my forehead.

I couldn't ride it because of fear of heights, so I refused right away.

Lilah's expression? It fell into practiced disappointment. "Aww, girl, are you still mad at me?"

Instinctively, I reached for William's hand. He flinched, surprised to find my palm damp with sweat.

"I… I really can't," I murmured. "I'm afraid of heights."

For a moment, William hesitated until he suggested, "How about Lilah and I go up? You can rest here."

Lilah tilted her head, feigning concern. "Fear can be conquered, right? William, you don't want to ruin the day, do you?"

Her words were like a hook that reeled him in. He nodded, resolved.

And before I could protest, I was ushered into the Ferris wheel cabin with them.

The Ferris wheel jolted to life, and the sensation of being suspended in midair set my nerves on fire.

I gripped the seat so hard my fingers ached, my shallow breaths the only sound in the small cabin.

Across from me, Lilah sat comfortably next to William, and a wicked smile played on her lips.

Suddenly, she held something out. "You know," she began, "they say focusing on something else helps with the fear. Here, look at this."

Her hand opened. A flash of bluish-green caught my eye.

My hand flew to my collarbone. Empty. It was my emerald pendant!

It had been my mom's most cherished possession!

The year she had me, she'd gone to a stone market and chosen the least impressive stone out of sheer instinct. No one expected it to hold anything valuable, but when it was cut, the finest emerald emerged.

That pendant had protected Mom twice. Before she passed, she'd pressed it into my hand.

"Emmy," she whispered, "this will protect you when I no longer can."

Now, I stared at it, my fear momentarily forgotten, replaced by raw desperation.

"That's mine! Give it back!" I choked out.

Lilah's smile turned sharp as she dangled the pendant out the cabin's small window.

"Afraid of heights? Funny, you don't seem so scared now."

Her words blurred around me. My vision tunneled, narrowing to that emerald pendant swaying over the empty expanse below.

I wanted to claw through the window and snatch it back.

"Give it to me!" I gritted my teeth, fists clenched so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

William finally noticed something was wrong. "Lilah, stop messing around."

Lilah pouted, pretending to be upset, but in the next moment, her hand loosened and the pendant slipped.

I lunged forward without thinking, my hands wrapping around that bitch's throat. Her shriek filled the cabin as she struggled against me. The commotion made the cabin creak and sway, the sound vibrating through the air.

Her face turned red, then purple.

"Enough!" William pried my hands away and pulled me into his arms, locking me down. My strength was no match for his, so I screamed and struggled, sinking my teeth into his arm.

He groaned, veins bulging from the pain, but he still didn't let go.

Lilah coughed, rubbing her neck. "I didn't... mean it! she whined weakly.

But whether she did it intentionally didn't matter anymore. I had already lost.

I lost my husband's love. I lost my child. And now, I had lost my mother's pendant.

I knew Lilah wanted me to break down and cry. But I wouldn't give her that satisfaction.

I gritted my teeth and endured it all, and somehow, I wasn't afraid of heights anymore.

The moment the Ferris wheel stopped, I bolted out, stumbling as I rushed toward the area where the pendant might have fallen.

The grass was thick and damp. To find anything, someone would need to crouch down and comb through it.

But I couldn't crouch with my bulging belly. So I dropped to the ground, hands scraping through the grass.

William pulled me up and carried me a few steps away. "Stop looking."

I couldn't help yelling at him. "That was my Mom's pendant! That's all I have left of her!"

He stilled, silent for a moment, then sighed. "I'll find it for you."

Rolling up his sleeves, he knelt on the wet ground and began searching. His pant legs quickly soaked through, streaked with mud and clinging blades of grass.

I sat nearby, the damp seeping into my clothes.

Lilah walked over, smiling cruelly as she loomed above me. "How does it feel to lose something you care about?"

Her voice sharpened. "You killed my brother. I'll make sure you lose everything you hold dear!"

I didn't look at her.

"I'm sorry about your brother," I said quietly, "but I didn't kill him."

Lilah's mouth opened to retort, but she fell silent the moment she saw William approaching.

He was disheveled—covered in grass, sweat streaking his face. In his hand, he held the emerald pendant.

I stared, stunned. After falling from such a height, it hadn't broken.

He handed it to me, and I ran my fingers over its familiar ridges before quickly putting it back around my neck.

But then, a scream tore through the air.

I looked up.

The Ferris wheel cabin above us was plummeting straight down. It grew larger and larger in my vision.

From the corner of my eye, I saw William grab Lilah, pulling her to safety.

Everything happened so fast that there was no time for me to react.

With a loud band, the cabin crashed onto the ground beside me.

I... was... almost dead.

I froze.

When I finally came back to my senses, my hand flew to my chest. The pendant had shattered.

William rushed over and gathered me into his arms. "Emberly! I'm so sorry! I didn't— I didn't protect you!"

My trembling fingers reached for the shards of emerald scattered across the ground. I picked up each piece, desperate to fit them back together. But it was beyond repair.

Mom didn't lie to me. The pendant really protected me.

Emerald pendant, Emerald pendant… how could you be so cruel?

Are you going to leave me and follow my mom too?

Why didn't you take me? If I could trade places, I wouldn't mind dying instead.

But if you leave, who will love me?

The anger in my chest suddenly dissipated, and tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

William wiped my tears. "Emberly, don't cry. I'll get it fixed. I promise. I'll find someone who can repair it."

I looked at him through my tears, blurry and distant. His eyes were red, too.

William was a contradiction—someone who could abandon me so easily, yet just moments ago had knelt in the mud to search for a broken piece of my past.

He even carried me to a bench nearby and sat me down.

"Your clothes are soaked. I'll buy you something new. Wait here for me," William said.

He glanced at Lilah. "Please look after her until I come back."

Lilah should've been thrilled by everything that had happened, but she wasn't smiling. Her eyes burned with anger as she stared at me.

"I... I just can't understand why you're still alive by now. Why won't you just die?!" she spat. "Your parents are dead—why didn't you go with them?"

I stayed silent, staring at the broken pendant in my palm.

Lilah noticed and suddenly burst into a scoff.

I struggled to stand, my legs still weak, but she grabbed my arm, pulling me back as her gaze followed William's retreating figure.

"Want to play a game with me?" she sneered. "Let's see which one of us matters more to him."

A bad feeling surged through me. Before I could react, Lilah shoved me—hard. My lower back hit the sharp edge of the bench's armrest, and pain exploded through me. I collapsed to the ground.

She let out a theatrical scream and fell down beside me, pretending to be hurt.

William came running back, his face filled with panic. Before he could reach me, Lilah's voice cut through the air.

"William! Someone knocked me down—my ankle hurts so much!"

I was in too much pain to speak, and I felt myself slipping away. In a trance, I felt someone's hands carrying me to a car.

The next thing I heard was the blaring sound of sirens, then the murmur of voices as paramedics surrounded me.

William tried to follow, but Lilah clung to him, and in that moment of hesitation, I was already being wheeled away.

In the ambulance, I murmured to the doctor, "I scheduled an abortion… I want to proceed."

It was the same doctor from that night I scheduled it. "We'll prepare the procedure. Sign here," he said.

I picked up the pen just as William burst through the hospital doors.

"Emberly! What are you signing?"

I looked up at him weakly. "I'm having an abortion."