Upon returning home, the sight of the empty rooms made me realize that Callum had gone to the hospital to tend to Catherina.

I pushed open the nursery door and stared blankly at the pastel pink interior.

A delicate pink crib loomed in the space. It was adorned with toys: a pink rattle drum and a strawberry-shaped plushie.

The wardrobe was fully stocked with frilly pink dresses from the size of a newborn to a three-year-old kid.

When I first learned of my pregnancy, I was momentarily stunned and unprepared for motherhood.

Callum, however, was over the moon.

One midnight, when I woke up to use the bathroom, I noticed he was missing. I found him sitting at his computer in the study.

The monitor’s glow softened his sharp features as he researched how to care for a pregnant wife. He had filled an entire page with handwritten notes.

Only then did it hit me that I was going to be a mother.

Honestly, all my excitement for this child came from Callum.

Because I carried my beloved husband’s child, I grew to love the baby inside me as I learned to love what he loved.

As my belly grew more noticeable, my love for the little one deepened.

Callum was obsessed with buying baby supplies from every major department store.

He persistently insisted on buying exclusively feminine infant products.

I laughed and teased him, “How can you be so sure it’s a girl? What if it’s a boy?”

Callum wore a proud, coy expression as he pressed his face to my round belly. His eyes shone with happiness.

“You wouldn’t understand. This is a father-daughter bond. I just know you’re carrying our little princess.”

Suddenly, footsteps behind me snapped me out of my thoughts.

I turned to see Callum returning home.

He looked exhausted as he approached and helped me to the couch.

“Babe, you’re pregnant. You shouldn’t stand for so long. Your legs will swell up.”

When I was silent, he continued, “Babe, please don’t be mad. It was an emergency. I’m so sorry for leaving you alone at the hospital. It won’t happen again.”

He sounded sincere. I would have thought he meant every word.

But this was not the first time he had made that promise. Whenever Catherina had “an accident,” she always came first.

As he reached to massage my calves, I caught a whiff of a sweet perfume on him. It was the rose scent Catherina adored.

A wave of nausea hit me, and I vomited.

Callum looked flustered as he handed me the trash bin. “What’s wrong? Is it morning sickness?”

After recovering slightly, I answered tiredly, “Not morning sickness. I just feel sick to my stomach.”

“What did you say?” He had not caught my words.

“I said it’s not morning sickness. Your cologne is making me sick.”

He looked hurt.

“Babe, I—”

I cut him off. “Let’s get divorced.”

He froze momentarily before quickly embracing me. He then said in a trembling voice, “Babe, you can’t say that like it’s nothing! It’s hurtful. We’re going to have a child together. How could we get divorced? We’re supposed to grow old together.”

I pushed him away and stared at him.

“Callum, didn’t I say earlier that if you walk out that door, we’re through? Did you not hear me?”

He felt anxious. “It’s not what you think...”

I shoved him away. I did not want to hear his excuses anymore.

Ever since Catherina had returned, he always chose her over me when something came up.

I walked into the bedroom and locked the door behind me.

Tears streamed down my face as I ignored Callum’s frantic knocking.

The baby in my womb seemed to sense my distress and grew restless. I stroked my belly comfortingly.

“I’m sorry, little one. Because of me, you’ll have to grow up without a father.

“I don’t want you to experience what I did. I don’t want you to be abandoned by your father again and again and watch him run to someone else.”

At night, I dreamed again of those years of terror. I woke up from the nightmare drenched in cold sweat.

The memories of that living hell flooded back and made me cry.

The traffickers had sold me to a destitute village, where an old man purchased me to serve his mentally disabled son, John, and marry him when I grew up.

From that day onward, I woke before dawn daily to work, which ranged from washing mountains of filthy clothes, feeding pigs, toiling in fields, and spoon-feeding John.

They even bought an iron chain to tie me to him.

After each day’s work, I became his shadow. I was forced to endure the bullying he suffered from village children.

For every bruise found on his body, they repaid me with twice the beating.

Every night, I curled up to sleep beneath John’s bed.

After six months of sharing meals and living space with him, a strange bond formed between us.

I tricked him into unlocking my chains and tried to escape, only to be recaptured at the village outskirts.

They beat me so badly that they broke two canes across my back.

My body was drenched in blood, and my leg was fractured.

They only treated my injuries to keep me mobile enough to protect their son.

They chained me in the pigsty without food for three days as punishment for escaping.

I was starved to the brink of madness.

I stared at the pig slop with desperate hunger, but my shackles kept me in the farthest corner. I could not even reach the trough.

Three days later, John’s brother, Jack, brought me a bowl of spoiled food.

The rancid meal had green mold. Its texture was sticky and stringy.

It reeked of sour decay.

I gagged.

Even after days of starvation, my stomach revolted at the stench.

Jack stomped my face into the tub of rotten food.

He sneered and said, “If you won’t eat this, you’ll have to starve for another three days!”

I did not want to starve. I wanted to live.

Even if it meant losing all my pride…

I held my breath and swallowed the rotten food little by little.

He turned and scampered off in excitement.

“Hahaha! I won the bet! John’s wife gobbled up what the dog wouldn’t even touch!”

After he left, I threw up all the spoiled food.

From that day on, I developed severe stomach problems.

After meeting Callum, he learned about my stomach condition and began waking up early to make me soothing oatmeal, which he delivered to my door.

My friends all marveled at how I had found the perfect boyfriend who adored me entirely.

I had no idea about his history with Catherina. Had I known, I would never have gotten involved with him in the first place.

I had already endured the nightmare of her stealing my parents and my brother. The thought of anyone close to me having even the slightest tie to Catherina was unbearable.

Five months into my pregnancy, when Catherina returned from abroad, I discovered they had been in love with each other in the past.

The day Catherina returned, I saw Callum truly flustered for the first time. He smoked on the balcony all night.

This was the same man who had quit smoking for months for the sake of our baby.

Perhaps I should have known that with Catherina back, I never stood a chance.

When I woke in the morning, I found Callum bustling about in the kitchen after his sleepless night.

Seeing me, he eagerly served me a bowl of oatmeal.

“Babe, have some of this savory oatmeal I made for you. It’s good for your stomach.”

My heart warmed momentarily.

But then my gaze turned cold when I spotted the insulated lunch bag in his hand.

His face faltered as he quickly hid it behind his back.

“Babe, don’t misunderstand. Mom said Catherina has no appetite and asked me to make some oatmeal for her, too.”

I gave him a bleak smile.

“Callum, while cooking this oatmeal, were you thinking of your pregnant wife or your depressed ex-girlfriend who keeps threatening you with suicide?”

I looked down at the oatmeal in my bowl as a tear rolled down my face.

“Guess you were thinking about your ex, huh? I’ve always hated cilantro.”

Catherina loved cilantro.

“Let’s get a divorce.”

I was exhausted from feeling this way. What use was a husband whose heart belonged to someone else?

Panic flashed in his eyes as he tried to explain, but his phone rang and completely distracted him.

“We’re not getting a divorce. Don’t even think about it. We’ll talk when I get back.”

With those words, he grabbed the lunchbox and hurried out.

I rested a hand on my belly and smiled bitterly.

“See? He’ll never prioritize us.”

I lost my appetite, but I still bought milk and bread and managed to force down a few bites.

Then, I hailed a taxi to the hospital.

It was time to visit my dear cousin Catherina.

At her hospital room door, I paused outside the glass window.

There sat my biological mother, who was peeling an apple for Catherina with affection.

Catherina leaned against Gale’s shoulder and laughed as she played video games with Callum.

“Cal! Save me! I’m about to get killed by the opposite team!” she said merrily.

Callum watched her with an indulgent smile.

This scene reminded me of the time when I was obsessed with King’s Honor. I begged Callum to pair up with me as in-game lovers.

He hesitated for a long moment before claiming he did not know how to play and had no interest in the game.

As it turned out, he knew how to play games, just not with me.

I pushed my distress as I pushed the door open.

When Catherina saw me, her expression shifted instantly. She threw her phone aside and clung to Callum.

With tears in her eyes, she pleaded, “Mira, please give Cal back to me! I can’t live without him.”

The hospital room fell silent.

Martha and Gale were silent. No one rebuked Catherina for shamelessly pursuing a married man.

Callum glanced up at me with panicked eyes. He tried to free his arm, but Catherina clung to him too tightly.

I laughed bitterly as I stared straight at Catherina. “Catherina, why must you steal everything I love? Are you so desperate that you’re willing to be a homewrecker?”

Catherina suddenly became agitated.

“I was with Cal first! We just had a fight. You’re the one who shamelessly came between us!”

She frantically yanked out her IV needle and slammed her head against the wall repeatedly until blood streamed down her face.

All the while, she screamed hysterically, “Why, Mira? Why did you need to take Cal from me?”

Martha and Gale broke their silence and gathered around Catherina with concern and urgency.

“Cath, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt? I’ll call the doctor, okay?”

“Calm down, Cath. I’m right here! I’ll always be here for you!”

Watching this, even my numb heart could not escape the agony.

Callum looked at me with disappointment in his gaze.

“Mira, look at yourself. Your cousin’s barely holding it together, and you’re still causing trouble?”

Gale slapped me hard and snarled, “Mira, how much longer will you keep this up? Must you destroy our family’s peace?

“Cath and Callum belonged together from the start. You’re the one who came between them!”

Even while comforting Catherina, Martha turned to me and snapped, “Get out! Just go! You’re no daughter of mine!”