My best friend Nathalia Foster and I both married into the Berry family, and soon after, we each found out we were pregnant.

I married the elder brother Donavan Berry, who was the rescue team leader, while she married the younger brother Victor Berry, an emergency doctor. Our families lived in the same neighborhood.

When we were seven months pregnant, the city was hit by a torrential downpour.

My whole body was soaked in the rain, my abdomen was cramping, and the water around me was tinged with red.

Trembling, I hid on the balcony and shakily called my husband for help.

He hung up on me five times in a row before finally answering, his voice full of suppressed anger.

"It's pouring rain, and I'm out on a mission. Don't you watch the news? Stop bothering me! If you need help, find the person responsible for that area! Kelsie's legs cramped while escaping, and I still have to get her to the rescue station. I'm busy now!"

In my moment of despair, Nathalia arrived in an inflatable boat and saved me.

Seeing my skirt stained red with blood, she immediately called her husband for help.

But he ruthlessly scolded her, "Don't you know the hospital is swamped with victims today because of the storm? I'm so busy, and you insist on arguing with me now? Kelsie is hurt and waiting for me. Calm yourself down!"

At some point, a hole appeared in the inflatable boat.

With my added weight, the air was leaking out faster and faster.

Finally, Nathalia had to drag me through the water and swim to the hospital.

I barely survived, but she lost her child.

The moment I woke up, we both decided to get divorced.

***

When the anesthesia wore off and I opened my eyes, the city's rainstorm had finally stopped.

My phone had long been swept away by the flood, so I borrowed Nathalia's phone to call Donavan and tell him I wanted a divorce.

The phone rang until it was about to cut off when he finally picked up.

He thought it was Nathalia calling, and his voice was filled with impatience and anger.

"If you need something, call Victor. I'm still busy."

In the background, I faintly heard Kelsie Rocha's soft cry of pain.

And there was Victor's gentle reassurances.

I smiled bitterly, "Let's get divorced. Contact me when you're done."

He paused for two seconds after hearing my voice and then burst into anger.

"Isn't it enough? Didn't I tell you I'm busy saving lives? Didn't you figure out why I blocked your number?

"You're comfortable lying at home, but do you even know what's happening outside? I don't have time for your nonsense! Kelsie is just someone I happened to rescue. If you insist on misunderstanding, that's on you!

"I'm telling you for the last time. Don't joke about the baby or divorce. I'm busy with work! Call me again, and I'll block your best friend's number too!"

Before I could respond, he hung up.

My arm fell weakly, and the phone landed on the blanket.

I never would have thought that after five years together, this was how things would end.

Was Kelsie really just someone he happened to rescue?

Her home was nowhere near his assigned rescue area.

He was so busy saving others that he completely forgot that our neighborhood was low-lying.

Or had he ever cared about me?

He assumed I could survive just by staying on the second floor.

When our home flooded, he didn't even bother to call.

I was driven to the balcony by the rain, shivering from the cold, with my teeth chattering.

My entire body was soaked, my abdomen cramping, and the water around me was tinged with red.

The first time I called him, the phone alerted me that he was on another call.

The next four times, he directly hung up on me.

The rain was slowly rising to my neck as tears streamed down my face.

I raised my phone high and called him one last time. This time, he finally picked up.

My voice was so weak it was almost inaudible, "Honey, the house is flooded... Please save me. My stomach hurts so much. I'm bleeding..."

As I struggled to speak, the water around me turned an even deeper shade of red.

After waiting a few seconds, all I heard on the phone was the howling wind.

And it was followed by Kelsie's sobs.

"Donavan, you finally came. I thought I was going to die... Weren't you far away? Did you come all this way just to save me?"

Donavan suddenly remembered that he hadn't hung up the phone.

He picked it up and said coldly to me, "Stop pretending. Isn't two stories enough for you to hide in? I've got things to do over here. Stop making a fuss. I'm hanging up."

As I waited for his response, the water reached my mouth.

There was no time to feel sad. I hurriedly told him not to hang up, and I begged him for help again.

The rescue boat seemed to jolt, and Kelsie screamed in fright.

Donavan finally lost all patience and yelled, "It's pouring rain, and I'm out on a mission. Don't you watch the news? Stop bothering me! If you need help, find the person responsible for that area! Kelsie's legs cramped while escaping, and I have to get her to the rescue station. I'm busy!"

As soon as he finished, a wave splashed against my face.

Just when I was about to lose all will to survive, Nathalia arrived in an inflatable boat and pulled me from the water.

Seeing the five rejected calls on my phone, she became furious.

She snatched the phone from me and sent a voice message screaming, "You call yourself a father? You don't even deserve to be a man! Even a dog would know to save its owner, but you're nothing but a beast! A divorce is necessary!"

With that, she threw the phone into the water.

The inflatable boat was deflating faster and faster, and I was writhing in pain.

Finally, Nathalia abandoned the boat and dragged me to the hospital, but she couldn't save her baby.

When I had just made the call, the speakerphone was on, so Nathalia heard Victor comforting Kelsie.

Her pale face looked so miserable.

Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her chin quivered slightly.

It took her a while after the call had ended to muster the strength to speak, "There isn't a single good person in the Berry family."

We fell into silence at the same time, until her phone rang.

When she answered, Victor's irritable voice came through the receiver.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of Donavan's business? Can't you understand? Veronica Gilmore is your best friend. How could she say anything good about Donavan?

"Donavan is a rescue team leader. Don't you think he knows how high the water level is? Can that even reach the second floor? Can you stop believing everything your best friend says and use your brain?

"Kelsie's legs cramped, and she almost drowned in the flood. Even if she were a stranger, we wouldn't just let her die!

"If you're going to act crazy and want a divorce because we saved someone, I have nothing more to say! Fine, then divorce! But the child will stay with me. I'm not letting a lunatic like you raise it!"

Nathalia hadn't even had a chance to say anything before the call was cut off, just like mine had been earlier.

We exchanged a glance, and without speaking, shared a bitter smile as tears welled up in our eyes.

From the moment the incident happened, we hadn't received a single word of concern.

There was only cold-hearted blame and angry resentment.

Even if Donavan didn't love me anymore, shouldn't he at least have asked about the baby?

But he did nothing. He just blocked my number.

Even when I called to ask for a divorce, he just hung up on me.

I did not doubt that if I had died in the flood, my funeral would have been scheduled after Kelsie's.

The bitterness in my heart grew.

If he never loved me, why did we get together in the first place?

I, Nathalia, and our children were all just pawns to fuel Kelsie's possessiveness, weren't we?

No one could answer that question for me, but the truth had always been there, plain as day.

When you could no longer feel love, leaving was the last shred of dignity an adult could cling to.

As the floodwaters gradually receded, Nathalia and I huddled on the same bed, scrolling through our phones.

The screen stopped on a photo of three people.

It was Kelsie's latest post.

Donavan was shirtless, showing off his well-toned eight-pack abs, a little pale from being in the floodwater.

Victor was in a doctor's coat, smiling softly.

The two men stood on either side of Kelsie, who looked completely safe and secure between them.

The caption read: [What does it feel like to be saved by the childhood sweetheart you once had a crush on?]

She didn't explicitly say it, but even the punctuation radiated ambiguity.

The comments section was filled with teasing banter.

[Hey, girl! You've been hiding this from us! Which one's your childhood crush? Come on, tell us. It's both, isn't it?]

[Where are all the romantic writers? Pick up your pens! I want to read a story about this today! A love triangle seems so exciting!]

Nathalia went quiet, zooming in on the picture.

Neither man had a wedding ring on his finger.

She gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Their jobs just gave them more opportunities, not wearing wedding rings, playing the hero, and saving the beauty in distress."

I rubbed my dry eyes, took a deep breath, and turned off my phone.

"Don't think too much about it. We've already decided to divorce. What they do now has nothing to do with us."

A few more days passed, and I gradually regained the ability to move normally.

I tried to contact Donavan with Nathalia's phone, but Nathalia had already been blocked.

I thought about asking Victor to pass on the message, but when I called him, I found I was blocked too.

It was as if they were afraid we'd intrude on their cozy little world of three.

I had no choice but to print out the divorce papers and mail them to them.

Five years of a relationship, and we couldn't even end it peacefully.

Since they didn't want to talk, I figured they could just sign.

The day after I sent the papers, Nathalia received a call from the courier.

After hanging up, she frowned and said irritably, "The courier said they left the rescue center yesterday. Most of the people there have already left."

I thought for a moment and then went with her to the hospital reception desk.

I called Donavan with the hospital's landline.

The phone only rang twice before he picked up immediately.

"Who's this?"

"It's me."

The patience in his voice instantly evaporated, replaced by irritation.

"Didn't I tell you I'm busy? Why'd you send me something? I don't have time to pick up packages! Can't you be more reasonable? Wait a second. Did you send that package just to find out where I was? Can't you be normal for once? I'm out here saving lives, not cheating on you!"

Before I could say anything, I was bombarded with accusations.

He glanced at his phone screen and his voice rose in fury.

"Why is this coming from the hospital's landline? What are you doing at Victor's workplace? You didn't go there to cause trouble, did you? Can't you leave others out of our issues?"

I forced myself to stay calm and said.

"You're overthinking it. I sent the divorce papers for you to sign, nothing else. The courier said you weren't at the rescue center, so I called to ask."

There was silence for a couple of seconds before he exploded in frustration.

"Divorce? Just because I blocked you and didn't answer your calls? I'm genuinely busy with work! You just stay at home all day long, letting your imagination run wild like some crazy person! I've told you before. Kelsie is just someone I happened to save. I didn't explain everything because I didn't want you to overthink it.

"I've been explaining myself for five years now. If there was anything between us, it would have happened already. I see her as a little sister, nothing more. Look, I'll help clean up Kelsie's place since it was flooded, and then I'll come home, okay?"

In the background, Kelsie's playful laugh drifted through the line.

"Did Veronica call you? You two are so sweet. Only girls who care about you get worried like that. No one ever worries about me like that.

"Oh, by the way, how has she been handling meals these past few days? Has she been managing okay?"

Donavan interrupted impatiently, "Stop talking about her. It's killing my mood. The property management won't let her starve. She's pregnant, so of course, she and the baby need nutrition."

At that moment, his familiar voice became utterly foreign to me.

I covered my mouth to stifle my sobs.

Nathalia snatched the phone from me and angrily hung up.

She reached over and gently patted my chest.

"Don't cry. He's not worth it!

"When the divorce is finalized, we'll leave them to it! Those three scumbags can make a movie out of their lives. I just feel so disgusted about it!"

After returning to the hospital room, we found that Donavan had removed Nathalia's number from his blacklist.

There was a message from him.

[Don't cause trouble at Victor's workplace. Go home right now!]

I looked at the message on the screen, and my fingers flew across the keys as I typed a response.

[We are about to get divorced. Where I am is none of your concern. See you at the Family Court in three days.]

In the following three days, Donavan disappeared without a word.

Not a single attempt to reconcile.

Meanwhile, Kelsie's social media was filled with updates.

In her latest post, empty wine bottles cluttered the table.

It was followed by the caption: [When you are happy, I'm behind you. When you are sad, I'm by your side.]

In the corner of the photo, Donavan's bare shoulder was visible, with ambiguous red marks on his skin.

I felt nauseous.

The discomfort surpassed even the pain of having my stitches removed.

I handed the phone to Nathalia. After reading it, she sneered in disdain.

"No wonder he hasn't returned to the hospital since the rescue ended. He's been busy. Looks like the three of them finally seized their opportunity!"

She turned off the phone, and we both started packing to leave the hospital.

As we stepped out of the ward, Donavan called.

"Where is Veronica? Why isn't she answering my calls? Is she with you? Give her the phone!

"The house is a mess, and instead of cleaning up, why is she out messing around?"

Nathalia burst into a cold laugh. "Messing around? And you have the nerve to say..."

Before she could finish, the call was abruptly cut off.

We didn't think much of it and continued heading out to finalize the discharge procedures.

Once done, we were about to hail a taxi when Donavan suddenly rushed past us, carrying Kelsie in his arms.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw me, his voice seething with suppressed anger.

"Veronica, you've truly disappointed me this time! We'll settle this later."

Only then did I notice blood streaming from Kelsie's hand.

Before I could get a better look, Donavan had already dashed inside the hospital.

Victor, sweating heavily, followed closely behind, directing Donavan toward the emergency room.

Neither of them even glanced at our now-flat bellies.

Nathalia's eyes flared with rage as she scolded, "Disappointed? How dare he say that? If we don't settle things face-to-face today, we're not leaving!"

Rolling up her sleeves, she spun around, heading back into the hospital.

Realizing that I needed them to sign the divorce papers, I followed.

But as soon as we reached the emergency room, Victor stopped us.

His face darkened with anger the moment he saw me.

"Donavan was just helping Kelsie clean up her house. Why did you have to go after him? Were you planning to commit murder? He said you were being unreasonable, and I didn't believe it. But now I think he's right about it!"

Upon hearing his baseless accusations, Nathalia charged forward and slapped Victor across the face.

Infuriated, Victor bellowed, "You hit me? Are you crazy? This is my workplace!"

With that, he shoved her hard in the chest.

Nathalia staggered back, falling heavily to the ground.

Victor immediately realized the mistake and went pale with fear.

His gaze landed on her belly.

At that moment, the emergency room door opened, and Donavan stormed toward me, his face contorted with fury.

Before I could say anything, he lashed out, slapping me across the face with hospital discharge papers.

The sharp edge of the paper left cuts on my skin, and blood began to bead along the lines.

"Didn't I tell you that I was only working? I saved so many women during the flood. Do you plan to visit each one's house and start a fight? Do you even realize that trespassing is illegal? Do you know that tracking my location is an invasion of privacy?"

Before I could respond, Victor pointed at my belly with a trembling finger.

"Donavan, the baby… is gone."