Chapter 1

New Year's Eve, my husband drove me—eight months pregnant—back to his hometown.

When we hit traffic, he suddenly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"Get out!"

I didn't process what he said. "What?"

He stared straight ahead, eyes fixed on the road. "Melissa's cat is missing. I need to go help her find it."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

His phone rang urgently again.

Losing patience, my husband opened the car door and roughly pulled me out from the back seat.

"She can't wait any longer. I'll send someone to pick you up—they'll be here in half an hour!"

I watched Logan's car speed away into the distance.

My heart sank to rock bottom.

Pulling my coat tighter, I tried my best to protect my belly.

But the dull, throbbing pain made cold sweat break out all over my body.

A car pulled up beside me and the window rolled down.

The female driver's eyes showed a trace of concern.

"Are you okay?"

My trembling hand clenched into a fist as I forced out a few words with difficulty. "I think... I'm going into labor."

The driver cursed under her breath and hurried to help me into her car.

Seeing my face turn increasingly pale, she asked anxiously, "Where's your husband!"

I had no answer to that question.

Here I was, carrying Logan's child, near delivery, yet I mattered less than his widowed sister-in-law's missing cat.

He didn't even show as much concern as this stranger on the road.

The pain suddenly hit me. I frantically took a deep breath.

Waiting for the contraction to pass, I pulled out my phone and dialed Logan's number.

He hung up without hesitation.

Once, twice, three times...

It wasn't until the sixteenth call that he finally answered, irritation clear in his voice.

"What do you want now!"

The line was quiet, but within two seconds, I heard Melissa's voice.

"Logan, I think I see Whiskers!"

Hearing this, Logan had no patience to listen to me further. He left me with a single sentence: "My buddy from traffic patrol is on his way—just wait a bit longer!"

Then he hung up.

The words "I'm in labor" stuck in my throat.

A warm liquid flowed down between my legs.

My heart dropped.

Seeing this, the driver frantically tried to move the car to the shoulder.

But at that moment, every lane was completely jammed.

Some drivers, desperate to get home, had even blocked the emergency lane.

She pounded her hand heavily on the steering wheel and cursed.

But she still turned back to comfort me, "Don't be scared. You'll be fine!"

Then she stuck her head out the window, shouting frantically, "Please move! I have a pregnant woman in labor here!"

But the endlessly backed-up vehicles couldn't hear her cries. Nothing moved.

I tried to calm myself down and hastily called Logan's buddy from the traffic patrol unit.

If they could get here in time to clear a path, my baby and I would be saved!

"Mrs. Stewart? What's wrong?" The sound of horns on the other end nearly drowned out his voice.

The pain hit me again.

I bit down hard on my teeth, forcing myself through the agony to explain frantically.

"I'm in labor, but we're stuck on the highway. Can you—"

Before I could finish, I heard a scoff from the other end.

"Mrs. Stewart, if Logan hadn't specifically warned us about your... dramatics, we might've actually believed you."

"You're only eight months along. It's way too early for labor. We'll get there as soon as we can—just sit tight and wait!"

The call was ruthlessly ended.

The pain tormented me until I could barely hold onto my phone.

Seeing this, the driver jumped out of the car and went door to door, knocking on the windows of cars in the emergency lane.

"Please move! There's a pregnant woman about to give birth in my car!"

"This is life or death—please, help save them!"

I collapsed back on the seat, struggling to dial Logan's number.

This was my last hope.

But—

Turned off.

I tried again. Still turned off.