On the day I'm due for my labor, Chad Nelson's first love, Lucy Baker, who's diagnosed with depression, barges into the maternity ward. Without warning, she plunges the knife she's holding into my belly.

By the time Chad and the medical team arrive at the ward, I'm already lying in a pool of my own blood on the bed. The machine recording my vitals keeps screeching loudly the whole time.

But Chad crouches down next to Lucy, who has gotten shoved to the floor by a nurse earlier. It seems that her elbow has suffered from light abrasions.

"Dr. Nelson, your spouse is in critical condition. She needs to undergo a surgery immediately!"

Chad raises his head to glance at me. His tone is cool and professional.

"None of Caitlin's vital organs are hurt by the stab, so she can still endure the pain for now. Lucy, on the other and, has a coagulation disorder. Even though she has only suffered from abrasions, there's a chance that her blood flow can't be staunched at all. This makes her situation more critical than Caitlin's.

"Anyway, give the two bags of blood in the blood bank to Lucy."

When I get pushed away, I use all of my strength to grip Chad's white coat tightly. He just frowns at me in return.

"Lucy didn't do this on purpose. Her depression has gotten triggered, that's all. Since you're a woman of medicine, you should be more empathetic toward the patient."

After that, Chad digs out a letter of forgiveness from his pocket that he has already printed out in advance.

My husband, Chad Nelson, held my blood-soaked hand and pressed my thumb onto the signature line.

"The next batch of blood bags will be here soon. Just hold on a little longer."

With that, he carried his first love, Lucy Baker, away.

The hallway was empty. No one looked back as the baby in my belly kicked violently, over and over again.

…

"Quick! Establish IVs in both arms, and start pressurized fluids! Rush the blood bank!"

"Dr. Atkinson, the patient's blood pressure is down to 50! Blood loss is over 2,000cc!"

"Where are those two bags of packed red blood cells reserved for delivery?"

I floated above the operating room, watching the crowd scramble around my body.

Dr. Jake Atkinson's scrubs were already soaked in my blood.

I wanted to touch my stomach, but my hand passed right through the air.

The wound Lucy inflicted wasn't just a scratch, despite what Chad believed.

She had slipped past the nurses, hiding a paring knife up her sleeve.

As she drove it in, she whispered in my ear, "As long as you and this baby are gone, Chad will only have me left."

When she pulled the blade out, she had even twisted the handle on purpose.

"The blood bank just responded. Those two backup bags were signed out by Dr. Nelson five minutes ago." The nurse's voice cracked.

"Signed out? Is he insane? This is a high-risk patient's lifeline!"

The veins on the back of Jake's hands bulged.

"Dr. Nelson said Ms. Baker has a severe coagulation disorder and needs emergency backup blood for an arm scrape."

The operating room went dead silent.

Only the monitors kept up their piercing shrieks.

I watched Jake frantically pack gauze, trying to stop the bleeding.

I wanted to tell him not to bother.

I never got the next batch of blood Chad promised.

The rapid ticking of the fetal monitor slowed, beat by beat, until it finally flattened into a continuous drone.

The baby who had just been kicking me went completely still.

"Fetal heartbeat gone. The patient is in V-fib. Prepare to defibrillate! 200 joules. Charging. Clear!"

With a loud thud, my body jolted off the table and fell back down heavily.

The EKG struggled for a few final twitches, then smoothed into a straight line.

The head nurse pushed the door open, her eyes red. "Dr. Nelson said the next batch of blood will arrive from the city blood center in ten minutes."

Jake put down the defibrillator paddles, his voice completely shot. "No need. Time of death, 8:07 pm."

I watched the nurse pull a white sheet over my head, covering my wide-open eyes.

Right across the wall in the VIP suite, Chad was using an iodine swab to clean a scrape on Lucy's elbow.

"Chad, did I kill Caitlin?" Lucy curled up on the hospital bed, her shoulders shaking.

Chad tossed the swab into the medical waste bin and said flatly, "No. She only has a superficial wound. You had an episode and couldn't control yourself. You won't be held legally responsible."

"But she was bleeding so much. The way she looked at me was terrifying."

"That was just her water breaking, mixed with some blood. It looks worse than it is. She's a medical student herself. She knows how to avoid having her vital organs injured."

Chad leaned down and blew gently on Lucy's elbow, which had already stopped oozing blood.

"Look at you. You know your blood doesn't clot well, so why were you running around? What if this scrape wouldn't stop bleeding?"

Lucy leaned into his chest, her tears smudging his white coat.

Right on the hem of that white coat was a bloody handprint I had left behind in my final struggle.

"I was scared that once you had a baby, you wouldn't want me anymore. I couldn't help myself," Lucy choked out.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Chad stroked her hair. "I already got her thumbprint on the waiver. Once she delivers and calms down, I'll have her come over and tell you herself that it's fine."

He spoke as if he were simply scheduling tomorrow's clinic hours.

The door to the operating room pushed open, and Jake took off his blood-stained mask. His voice was incredibly hollow as he said, "We lost them both. The mother and the child."

The nurse, Sofia Allen, stood at the doorway of the VIP suite, holding a folder. "Dr. Nelson, the obstetrics department needs you to sign off on last night's resuscitation records."

Chad tested the water temperature before handing the glass to Lucy.

He didn't even look back. "Just leave it at the nurse's station. Can't you see that Lucy needs me right now?"

"But Dr. Nelson, this record is urgent. It's about the patient from last night—"

"What's so urgent? The obstetrics department has emergencies every single day," Chad cut her off.

He grabbed a tissue and wiped the water from the corner of Lucy's mouth.

"I stayed up all night watching over Lucy, and I don't have the energy for anything else right now. Have Dr. Pitts sign it."

Sofia opened her mouth to argue, her eyes welling with tears.

Clutching the folder tight, she ultimately said nothing and walked away.

I followed behind her, watching as she slipped my death certificate into a drawer.

She stuffed it into a medical records folder, right alongside a pink newborn ID ankle band that never got the chance to be worn.

The morgue was freezing.

My baby and I lay inside a refrigeration unit, our eyes forever closed, with no one there to claim us.

I had no choice but to float back to Chad's side.

After finishing her water, Lucy timidly tugged at Chad's sleeve. "Chad, the way Caitlin looked at me last night was so vicious. It was like she wanted to kill me. Is she still mad at me? Is she hiding on purpose just to avoid you?"

Chad pulled out his phone and stared at our empty chat history.

His brows knit together slightly.

Usually, if he were gone for more than two hours, my messages would flood his screen one after another. I'd ask when he was coming home or if Lucy was having another episode.

But from last night until now, my chat box had been dead silent.

"She's just stubborn. She thinks I'm favoring you and is throwing a tantrum."

Chad's fingers tapped across the screen.

I floated over, reading the texts he was sending me.

"Have you thrown your fit yet? Let me know when you're done. Lucy has been through enough. Stop pushing her.

"Our baby isn't a tool for you to use to vie for my attention. Do you really think playing the missing person is going to make me give in?"

As soon as he sent them, he locked his screen.

As Lucy watched him, a flash of smugness crossed the depths of her eyes.

She bit her lip, and tears began to stream down her face again. "What if she calls the police on me? I'm so scared."

Chad pulled out the copy of the waiver. "With this, she can't press charges. Besides, she's a doctor herself. She knows if she's in danger. Once she cools off, I'll make her apologize to you. After all, she really did provoke you last night."

I watched him with total detachment as I listened to him use his gentlest voice to convict a dead woman.

Outside in the hallway, two passing nurses lowered their voices to gossip.

"That pregnant woman last night was a tragedy. She completely bled out."

"I know, right? They couldn't even save the baby. I heard it was a fully formed baby girl."

The hand Chad was using to hold his glass froze.

He suddenly remembered that that day was supposed to be my due date.

He stood, feeling a sudden tightness in his chest. "I'm going to step out and check on the obstetrics department."

He had barely taken a step when Lucy suddenly clutched her arm and shrieked, "Ouch! Chad, my head is spinning. Am I going to start bleeding again?"

Chad turned around instantly, sitting right back down at her bedside to hold her hand.

Out in the hall, the nurse muttered, "I think the father's surname on the baby's ID tag for that poor woman was Nelson."

Just as Chad was about to turn around, Lucy let out another sharp cry and threw herself entirely into his arms.

When Chad reached home, the nightlight in the nursery was still on.

Its warm glow pooled over the brand-new crib, which was neatly made with the sheets I had washed and dried.

My hospital bag sat wide open on the couch, packed with tiny clothes and diapers. On the entryway shoe rack lay my pregnancy journal. And on the dining table was a note with my pre-written postpartum meal plan.

Chad looked around the empty living room. His brows furrowed deeper.

He probably expected to find me sitting on the couch waiting for him, demanding to know why he saved Lucy first with red-rimmed eyes.

But the house was dead quiet, save for the ticking of the wall clock.

He walked over to the table and picked up the note.

On the back of it was an emergency contingency plan I had written out for my delivery. "If I hemorrhage, please prioritize the baby. If I don't make it off the operating table, please tell Chad never to let Lucy near our child."

Chad let out a cold sneer, crumpled the note into a ball, and tossed it into the trash can.

"Playing these scare tactics again," he muttered.

He pulled out his phone and dialed my number again.

The line offered nothing but a cold, automated voice stating the phone was turned off.

Switching to the messaging app, he tapped the screen forcefully.

"That's enough. Your due date is any day now. Stop risking your health over a grudge.

"I've already handled the situation with Lucy. She's a patient. Don't need to keep score with her.

"Once you're on maternity leave, you'll have some free time to keep Lucy company and help her through this with some counseling."

The messages were sent, but the silence remained unbroken.

Chad threw his phone onto the couch and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Right then, his phone rang.

The caller ID showed Professor Eve Richards, my medical school advisor, who had always treated me like her own daughter.

Chad answered, his tone shifting back to his usual polite but detached voice. "Professor Richards, what can I do for you?"

"Chad, where are you right now?" Eve's voice was trembling, thick with suppressed rage.

Chad glanced at the crumpled note in the trash, naturally assuming I had run to complain.

"I'm at home. If Caitlin sent you to play mediator, you can save your breath. If she wants an apology, she can walk back through that door herself. She's about to be a mother, yet she's still acting this spoiled."

A heavy, ragged breath came through the receiver. "Spoiled? Chad, do you have any idea what happened last night?"

"Of course I do," Chad said, his tone turning icy. "Lucy had an episode and accidentally scratched her. I already had Lucy apologize. What more does she want?

"If she feels that wronged, I'll buy her that jewelry set she's been eyeing for months as compensation once the baby is born."

"Are you even human?" Eve roared into the phone. "I don't care how much you usually favor that other woman, but last night was her due date! You—"

Before Eve could finish speaking, Chad's second phone started buzzing. It was a video call from Lucy.

Without a second thought, he hung up on Eve.

He answered the video call, and Lucy's tear-streaked face filled the screen.

"Chad, you have to come back! Quick! I dreamed about her! She came after me with a knife, saying she was going to kill me! I'm so scared!"

Chad stood up and grabbed his car keys without a moment's hesitation. "Don't be scared. I'm on my way."

As he reached the entryway, his eyes caught a beautifully wrapped velvet box.

It was a silver baby anklet he had picked up on a whim while attending a medical forum last week.

Engraved on it was the name he had casually thrown out—Grace.

It seemed he originally planned to use it to appease me after the delivery.

He slipped the box into his pocket and locked the door behind him.

…

By the time Chad rushed into the VIP suite, Lucy was cowering in the corner of her bed, pointing out the window and screaming, "She's here! She's holding the baby, and she's coming for me!"