Chapter 3

The footsteps faded away.

I leaned against the door, my body ice cold.

My nails dug deep into my palms, drawing blood.

I pushed the door open abruptly and rushed out.

Through the glass window of the patient's room, I saw them.

Ethan's voice was gentle, like he was comforting a child: "Drink slowly, it's hot."

I pushed open the door.

Chloe saw me first. "So-Sophie..."

Ethan turned, and the moment he saw me, he instinctively shifted, shielding Chloe behind him.

He'd made the same move just a few hours ago in our apartment.

His voice turned cold. "I told you not to bother her."

I stared at Chloe's flat stomach.

"Pregnant?"

Chloe's tears fell, and she turned her face away, not daring to look at me.

"Yes," Ethan answered for her. "It's mine. Three months."

Three months...

Three months ago, Ethan went on a business trip, and there was an unexpected earthquake.

Messages, calls, all went unanswered.

I took leave overnight and drove there.

Halfway, an aftershock hit. I was thrown forward, my stomach hitting the steering wheel.

The child I hadn't even had a chance to tell anyone about, was gone in that chaos.

When Ethan arrived, he knelt by my bed, holding me, his voice trembling.

"I'm so sorry, Sophie... We'll have another child, I promise we will..."

It was the first time I'd seen him cry.

I stroked his hair and said, "As long as you're safe, we'll have more."

Turns out, he wasn't on a business trip at all. He was with Chloe.

They conceived a child at that time.

And I, on my way to find him, lost our child.

"Sophie..."

Chloe's voice pulled me back to reality. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked utterly pathetic.

"The baby can't grow up without a dad... Please, let us be..."

SMACK.

My palm connected hard with her face.

The patient room fell silent for a moment, then Chloe covered her face and began to cry.

Ethan shot up, grabbing my wrist.

"Sophie Miller! That's enough! Take it out on me!"

His eyes were filled with rage.

In twenty years, I could count the times he'd gotten angry with me on one hand.

Each time it was because I worked too hard, neglecting my own body.

But now, it was for the woman he cheated with.

"Take it out on you? Ethan, do you even deserve it?"

I yanked my hand free and stepped back.

Something slipped out of my pocket and clattered to the floor.

It was a tactical knife.

Ethan and I both froze.

Three years ago, on the day he proposed, he slid the ring onto my finger, then put a knife in my hand.

"Sophie Miller, you're the only one for me, forever. If I ever betray you, use this knife and stab me through the heart."

I looked down at the knife, my head buzzing.

Then I bent down and picked it up.

In that moment, a massive wave of resentment and fury surged from my chest, making my eyes burn.

I really wanted to plunge it in.

I wanted to press the tip against his heart and ask him why, and how dare he.

I wanted him to hurt, to taste the feeling of being stabbed in the back by the one he loved most.

Chloe screamed, spreading her arms to shield Ethan.

"Sophie! It's my fault, not his!"

I gripped the knife and took a step toward them.

Just one step.

Ethan's expression changed. He yanked Chloe behind him, then raised his hand and pushed me.

I went flying across the room.

My head hit the tiled floor with a sickening thud, and my ears were ringing.

When my vision returned, I saw him holding Chloe tightly in his arms.

His voice was soft, so gentle.

"Did I hit your stomach?"

Chloe shook her head, crying.

He never once looked at me.

The hallway was filled with people.

"Oh my god, is that Dr. Miller? She looks so miserable..."

"Dr. Miller usually seems so calm, why is she acting like a maniac?"

I lay on the floor, my head throbbing.

When I was eight, my mother left me with my alcoholic and abusive father. I knelt on the floor, clutching her hand, demanding to know why, crying until I fainted.

Since then, I had never broken down for anyone.