Chapter 1

During my third miscarriage, Caleb’s childhood sweetheart called, threatening to jump off a building.

Once again, Caleb abandoned me in the operating room just for her.

He said, "Serena’s life is in danger! I have to go save her!"

That night, she posted a sweet photo of the two of them on Instagram.

"He saved my life three times. I will spend forever loving him."

Lying cold on the hospital bed, I woke up the System after years of silence.

"I’m exhausted. Take me home."

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I have to go."

"Serena’s life is truly on the line this time. Only I can talk her down!"

"Be sensible. Stop throwing a tantrum and just wait for me here, okay?"

Just like the last two times, Caleb threw those careless words at me and walked straight out of the room.

I didn't even have the strength left to beg him to stay. I just watched him rush out of the hospital.

In a flash, all that remained was his towering silhouette disappearing down the hall.

Everyone in the ward looked at me—mockery, sneers, cold stares, pity.

I lay quietly on the bed alone, like an abandoned stray dog.

I didn't break down. I didn't scream. I wasn't even angry. I just stared blankly at the empty doorway.

This was the third time he walked out on me during my miscarriage.

And it was the third time his so-called innocent childhood friend chose to attempt suicide the exact moment I was losing our baby.

Every single time, right before I was wheeled into surgery, she would send Caleb a video of herself standing on a rooftop ledge.

And every single time, Caleb dropped everything to run to her side.

His excuse was always the same: a human life was at stake, anyone would do the same.

Yet Caleb seemed to forget that I was also on the brink of death, about to undergo emergency surgery.

Maybe he knew. He just didn't care.

The first time it happened, I cursed at his retreating back, and he snapped:

"Chloe! Can’t you be more mature? Someone is dying!"

"Stop being so selfish! You're only making me despise you!"

The second time, I gripped his sleeve from the hospital bed, begging through my tears, telling him I needed him, pleading with him to stay.

He coldly tore his arm away from my grasp, caring neither about me nor the baby slipping from my body.

This was our third baby.

I had been so careful with everything. I promised myself I wouldn't lose this child.

Yet on my way to a routine ultrasound, a speeding car crashed straight into my taxi.

As the paramedics wheeled me into the emergency room, I grabbed the doctor’s coat with the last ounce of my strength:

"Please... my baby... save my baby..."

I could feel the warm blood rushing down my legs. I could feel the life draining out of me.

Caleb arrived shortly after. He sat by my bed, holding my hand tight.

"You'll be okay, Chloe. Everything’s going to be fine."

I looked into his eyes, trying not to be afraid, praying nothing else would go wrong.

I didn't know whether to blame my bad luck or my terrifying intuition.

Right before the surgery doors opened, Serena sent him another video. Her voice trembled through the speaker:

"Caleb... I can't hold on anymore..."

On one side was me, shattered and soaked in blood; on the other was Serena, completely unharmed, sobbing like a fragile damsel in distress.

Without a second thought, Caleb let go of my hand. In the darkest hour of my life, he chose Serena once again.

The surgery ended quickly. When the nurses wheeled me back to the recovery room, the doctor delivered the news: the baby was gone. After three miscarriages and the trauma of the car accident, I could never conceive again.

The doctor walked out, leaving me alone in the silent, empty room.

I forced myself to reach for my phone, desperate to call Caleb.

I wanted to beg him one last time to come back, to tell him how broken I was.

The moment I unlocked my phone, an Instagram notification popped up. It was Serena's new post.

In the picture, she leaned intimately against Caleb, a smudge of white cake frosting playfully dabbed on her nose.

On the table sat a half-eaten cake and several home-cooked dishes that I knew, at a glance, Caleb had made from scratch.

The adoration in Caleb's eyes overflowed through the screen, unmistakable even in the soft candlelight.

Her caption read:

"He saved my life three times. I will spend forever loving him."

I slowly lowered my phone.

I knew even if I called, he wouldn't pick up.

Surrounded by the cold, dark silence of the room, staring at my pale reflection on the screen, a quiet laugh escaped my lips.

"System, wrap it up. Send me home."