Chapter 1

At seven months pregnant, Logan had me climbing up and down ladders in the living room, hanging Christmas decorations.

All to welcome his friends and his childhood bestie, Amber, who had just returned from abroad.

He claimed it was to give them that familiar, festive holiday vibe.

At the party, Amber walked up to me with a beaming smile, holding out a glass of red wine.

"Vivian, a little red wine boosts blood circulation. Pregnant women in Europe drink it all the time."

The guests immediately joined in, cheering and pressuring me to take the drink. Cold-faced, I waved my hand and firmly refused.

Instantly, tears welled up in Amber’s eyes as she grabbed the hem of Logan’s shirt.

"Logan... does she look down on me? Is that why she won't even take a sip?"

With that single sentence, Logan completely lost his temper and flipped the table.

"Look at you! You're bloated like a pig, and you make me sick just looking at you! Who are you to ruin everyone's mood?"

Outside, a brutal blizzard was howling. Barefoot, I was shoved out into the freezing snow by my own husband.

He turned around, pulled Amber into his arms, and whispered softly,

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one will ever mistreat you."

"Just watch. In a minute, I'll have her on her knees, begging for your forgiveness."

What he didn't know was...

The moment I scrambled to my feet from the snowbank, I pulled out my phone and called my best friend, who worked as an OB-GYN.

Shivering violently, the first words out of my mouth when I saw her were:

"Nina, I'm terminating the pregnancy."

If anyone wants to bear that bastard’s child, be my guest.

Because I'm done.

My best friend, Nina, slammed her hand onto the desk.

"I support you a hundred percent!"

"I told you to dump that scumbag ages ago, but you were so head over heels you insisted on marrying him. Did the blizzard finally freeze some sense into you?"

I offered a bitter smile and stayed silent.

She flipped through my previous prenatal records on her computer and asked hesitantly,

"You're already seven months along, and all your scans have been completely normal. Have you considered keeping the baby and just raising it without him?"

I hesitated for a long time, but finally shook my head.

"No."

As an expectant mother, my heart broke at the thought of losing my baby.

But the thought of keeping it—and remaining tethered to Logan in an endless, toxic cycle—felt like a massive boulder crushing my chest. I couldn't breathe.

Seeing my resolve, Nina swiftly printed the consent forms and handed them to me.

"I scheduled your termination induction for next week. The only tricky part is that legally, it requires both of your signatures."

I took the paper and tucked it against my chest, right inside my bra. The sharp edge sliced lightly against my skin, sending a tiny jolt of pain through me.

A flimsy piece of paper, carrying the weight of a woman’s entire future.

"I'll figure out a way to get his signature."

I declined Nina's offer to drive me home. Under her worried gaze, I trudged back out into the swirling snow, my boots sinking into the white drifts.

Snowflakes lashed against my face, quickly piling onto my shoulders and hair. The biting chill seeped through my clothes, gnawing at my bones.

Yet I felt completely numb, just putting one foot in front of the other.

When I opened the front door, Logan was sitting on the sofa, patiently peeling an apple for Amber.

Amber leaned closely against him, a sweet, radiant smile on her face as she murmured playful jokes.

It looked so warm, so picture-perfect. But to me, it was a dagger plunged straight into my chest, piercing through the numbness and twisting hard.

Hearing the door, both of them turned. Logan’s brow instantly pinched into deep, ugly furrows.

"So you finally decided to drag yourself back? I said two harsh words, and you throw a tantrum? Who are you trying to guilt-trip?"

"Amber just moved back. Her lifestyle and habits are different. She offered you a glass of wine out of kindness—why do you have to be so damn petty?"

"She's younger than you. Couldn't you be a little more gracious? Look at yourself right now. You don't look like an expectant mother at all. Throwing fits all day, never once considering how others feel."

His harsh accusations were like rusty nails hammered into my heart.

Every time Amber was around, he became this exact monster.

No matter how out of line she was, the moment I showed the slightest bit of hurt or frustration, he would leap to her defense and attack me for being unreasonable.

It was as if I were the unwanted intruder in my own home.

Had either of them ever cared about my feelings?

I was barely three months older than Amber.

Noticing how soaked and pathetic I looked, Amber's lips curled into a faint, smug smirk before she spoke in a sweet, innocent voice,

"Logan, please, stop. Since Vivian came back, she must know she was wrong. Let her go change before she catches a cold."

With one breezy sentence, she framed me as the guilty party.

Logan scoffed, shooting me a look of pure disgust.

"Don't waste your sympathy on her. She brought this entirely on herself."

I closed my eyes, a wave of profound disappointment washing over me.

In the past, I would have screamed at him, fighting desperately for basic respect.

Now, I was just exhausted.

He was right about one thing: I did bring this on myself. Marrying him blindly in the name of love was the curse I was paying for.

Wasting another second of my energy on this man and this marriage simply wasn't worth it anymore.