Nydia's POV

Hadden said he would personally deliver my baby, but the moment I gave birth, he injected our newborn with a lethal dose right in front of me.

The baby didn’t even get the chance to cry. Its tiny body stiffened in his arms, breathless and lifeless.

He then laughed—a sound so cold it froze me in place.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” he said, his voice sharp with malice. “Nydia, did you know? Cynthia died in my arms just like this. This baby looks just like her... No, Cynthia had it worse. Much worse.”

Glaring at me, he continued, “Tell me, why did she have to die because of you? She begged me not to blame you, even while she was suffering. It should be you who died then, not her! You don’t deserve to live. You don’t deserve anything!”

And so, I gave him what he wanted—I died on the delivery table, my lifeless baby by my side.

But fate was cruel. Even after being given a second chance, I couldn’t escape Hadden’s cold-heartedness.

“Hadden, you should go check on Nydia,” I heard Cynthia plead softly. “What if she’s not pretending? I’d feel guilty.”

“Don’t worry, Cynthia,” he replied, his tone as gentle as ever when speaking to her. “Nydia is the head nurse. She knows her own condition better than anyone. Besides, you’re already weak from your hospital stay, and now you’ve inhaled the virus. Even with the antidote, it won’t work immediately. Stop worrying about her—have you forgotten how she treated you?”

It wasn’t just Hadden who defended her. Even my coworkers, the people I worked with every day, took her side.

In my previous life, Cynthia sent me a taunting text. She accused me of monopolizing Hadden’s time, saying he spent all his hours outside of work with me. She told me she was going to take him back, the man who had been by her side since childhood.

A few days later, she claimed she wasn’t feeling well and requested to be hospitalized—not just anywhere, but in our department. As such, Hadden pulled every string he could to make it happen, and before long, she was settled in.

But no matter how many tests I ran, I couldn’t find any real illness. However, her performance was flawless. She stirred up misunderstanding after misunderstanding, painting herself as the victim.

With that, everyone believed her. With just a few words from her, everyone accused me of hiding her condition. And Hadden? He stopped coming home at night, staying by her bedside instead.

At first, my coworkers whispered about it behind my back. But soon, they didn’t bother hiding it. They told me to my face that Hadden and Cynthia were a perfect match. They criticized me, saying I was not only unprofessional but also petty, interfering with Hadden’s work as her attending physician.

I couldn’t bear the pain anymore. The contractions were relentless, and I was desperate to get out of that contaminated ward. “Please,” I begged, “take me out of here.”

But no one listened. Just outside the ward, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.

“Nydia, you weren’t even at the nurse’s station when we arrived. So how come you'll be infected by the virus? Drop the act now! Do you think we’re stupid?”

In their eyes, I was nothing but a jealous, vindictive woman.

But soon, Hadden approached me in his hazmat suit. I thought, foolishly, that he might offer me some kindness. But I was wrong.

As I reached out to grab the hem of his pants, he coldly pulled back his foot and kicked me over. I fell backward and warm fluid quickly pooled beneath me as I lay there helplessly.

But despite that, he didn’t care. Not about me, not about our baby.

“Weren’t you always so good at scheming?” he mocked. “What happened? You tried to release the virus to harm someone and ended up taking yourself down instead?”

He laughed cruelly. “You’re an idiot. Next time you try to hurt someone, use your brain.”

He thought I was the one who opened the vial. Did he think so highly of himself that he believed I’d ruin lives for his sake?

“As the head nurse, you should know better. Leaking an experimental virus is a serious medical offense,” he continued. “Do you have any idea of the consequences? Do you know how much of our research you’ve just destroyed because of your carelessness?”

Nydia's POV

"Even the higher-ups won't let you off the hook for this!"

Hadden kept rattling off my supposed crimes, but his words blurred into the background. My mind was foggy, and the contractions were hitting harder and faster.

"Dr. Fletcher, I think Nydia is really going into labor," one of the coworkers finally noticed, seeing me struggling to breathe, my lower body soaked in a mixture of amniotic fluid and blood.

"Nydia, I've observed you’ve been drinking soda lately—couldn't it be due to that?" Cynthia said.

"Yeah, you might be right," another chimed in. "She probably has a UTI or something. Maybe she’s just peeing blood."

"Cynthia, you’re so smart—definitely sharper than some people. It's a pity you're still a nurse."

"Oh, stop it, Hadden, you’re just flattering me!” Cynthia giggled, and they continued flirting like it was just another ordinary day.

I couldn’t take it anymore. Through gritted teeth, I forced out a plea: "For the baby’s sake, please help me."

"Stop pretending," Hadden snapped, his tone icy. "What? Trying to win sympathy now? If you’re in such a hurry, go to the obstetrics ward yourself. You’re a nurse, aren’t you? Or are you just that bad at your job? If so, I really should report you and get you fired."

He muttered something else under his breath, but I didn’t catch it. My survival instincts kicked in, and I reached out to grab his hazmat suit, but my fingers slipped.

Just like that, they all walked away, sprayed disinfectant everywhere, sealed the windows, turned off the lights, and locked the doors behind them, just like they would at the end of any regular shift.

By then, it was night. The emergency exit signs cast a faint green glow in the dark, barely illuminating the ward.

I had no choice. I dragged my heavy body, step by agonizing step, to the restroom. Once there, I stripped off my nurse's uniform and laid it over the toilet seat. I had to deliver my baby alone.

The pain was unbearable. Without any pain relief, I passed out from the agony, only to wake up again when the contractions hit harder.

Time blurred. I could feel the baby crowning, but then—suddenly—there was nothing. The baby stopped moving.

I knew what that meant. My baby was suffocating, and there was nothing I could do. The floor of the restroom stall was soaked with blood and other fluids, but I pushed one last time, summoning every ounce of strength I had left. Something slid out of me, and then... darkness.

When I woke up, I was lying in the obstetrics ward.

“You’re awake?” The voice belonged to Elise Field, a young intern. She stood by my bedside, her expression filled with unease.

For some reason, my chest felt hollow, as if something vital had been ripped away.

“Miss Nydia, when I came in this morning to open the ward, I found you in the restroom. You’ve already delivered the baby…” Her voice faltered, and I knew what was coming.

Tears blurred my vision before she could finish.

“I brought you here as quickly as I could, but… the baby’s face was blue. It must’ve been deprived of oxygen for too long. It was a stillbirth.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t cry or scream. I just sat there on the hospital bed, numb.

The urge to cry was gone, as was the ability to feel sorrow. At that moment, it was as if my entire being had emptied itself. There was nothing left inside.

Two of the most important people in my life—my baby and Hadden—had disappeared from my world in a single moment.

“Miss Nydia, I haven’t told the others yet. I’ll go inform Dr. Fletcher now,” Elise said hesitantly.

“No need. Thank you, Elise,” I said quietly.

She hesitated at first, but then later sighed and left.

A while later, the obstetrician came in, concern and frustration written all over her face. “You’re a nurse. Why didn’t you come to the obstetrics ward sooner? Do you realize how dangerous this was?”

Her tone softened, but her worry didn’t waver. “Your body is in bad shape. You need to rest properly during your recovery.”

“Thank you for your concern, Doc. Could you help me with the discharge paperwork?” I asked emotionlessly.

The doctor’s face darkened. “You’re being reckless! That intern mentioned your husband is a doctor here too. Which department? I’ll call him. How could he neglect you like this?”

“There’s no need. He’s probably too busy to notice,” I replied with a bitter smile.

On my way out of the hospital, I passed by the patient wards. I was in an adult diaper with a urine bag hanging from my side.

Nydia's POV

Sitting in the borrowed wheelchair, I slowly wheeled myself forward until I heard two voices.

“Ah, Hadden, it’s fine! I don’t need it!”

“No way. You must drink this bird’s nest soup.”

I could hear Cynthia’s soft and coy voice, like a kitten’s, as she lay on the hospital bed, pretending to push Hadden away.

The two of them were shamelessly affectionate, their behavior completely unrestrained. She kept protesting with her words, but her body pressed closer to his, teasing that she wouldn’t drink unless he fed her with his mouth.

And he actually did it. He leaned in, soup in his mouth, and kissed her.

I couldn’t help but laugh—how ridiculous.

Once, I had been the top student in medical school, and he was just a shy admirer chasing after me. After two years of persistence, he finally wore me down, and I agreed to date him. When we graduated, I even turned down an opportunity to study abroad, choosing instead to work as a nurse at his hospital.

Back then, he really did love me. We spent every waking moment together. At work, we’d grab lunch in the breakroom; after work, we’d shop at the grocery store and go home to cook dinner. He, on the other hand, gave up his social life, devoting himself to patients and me.

And now? Seeing him with Cynthia like this? I didn’t feel jealous or even surprised. After what he did in my last life—laying his hands on our child—he was already dead to me.

“You’ve got the nerve to show up here?” A sharp voice snapped me out of my thoughts just as I was about to leave.

“Oh, you should be here,” Hadden sneered. “But don’t think you can just apologize and walk away like it’s nothing.”

He then gestured to the empty urine bag attached to my side. “What’s the deal with this? Trying to gain pity? You really think I’m the same fool who used to believe your lies?”

Afterward, Hadden stormed toward me and unleashed his fury without holding back.

“Hadden, why are you being so harsh to Nydia?” Cynthia said weakly, stopping Hadden. “I’ve already let it go. Why can’t you?”

“Cynthia, you’re too kind. Look at you—you’re still taking all those antibiotics!”

“I’m fine,” Cynthia said but then coughed afterward.

“See?!” His voice rose, his anger instantly redirected. In a fit of frustration, he kicked my wheelchair hard enough to nearly topple it.

“Let me tell you something, Nydia,” he spat. “If you weren’t pregnant, I’d have no problem kicking your insides out.”

I clung to the wall to steady myself, managing to keep the wheelchair from completely flipping over.

“Hadden,” I said, my voice cold and calm. “Let’s get a divorce.”

“Oh, playing hard to get now?” Hadden smirked, his eyes narrowing. “What, you think I’m afraid of you asking for a divorce? You really think I’m still that idiot who followed you around like a lovesick puppy?”

He scoffed and continued, “Wake up, Nydia! I’m done falling for your games. Fine, you want a divorce? Have the baby first, and then get the hell out of my life.”

I didn’t bother wasting another word on him. I turned the wheelchair around and left.

Back at the ward, the staff were still busy sterilizing everything. The intern had been sent off to clinical training, while the other coworkers openly gossiped about how I’d disgraced the department.

“She’s supposed to be the head nurse, but she can’t even do her job,” one of them muttered.

Meanwhile, others were discussing how perfect Hadden and Cynthia were as a couple.

“I don’t get it. Why did Dr. Fletcher ever choose her in the first place?”

Just then, one of the nurses who’d been working with Hadden for years flung a memo in my face.

Apparently, because of the recent medical incident, the higher-ups were demanding an investigation. Both the department and I had to submit individual reports.

No surprise there. I could imagine how furious they were. This was the hospital’s first collaboration with the biotech research lab, and I had ruined it. The one and only vial of the antiviral serum—still unapproved for clinical trials—had been wasted on Cynthia.

Now, both my department and my name were publicly criticized throughout the hospital.

Since I’d asked for a divorce, Cynthia had taken every opportunity to talk about her and Hadden’s childhood memories, painting a picture of how they were always meant to be. Somehow, rumors started spreading that I had only married Hadden by manipulating him—using my pregnancy to “climb the social ladder.”

Wherever I went, I was met with whispers and scorn. Even patients, overhearing the gossip, would join in on the insults without knowing the full story.

Some of the more extreme ones—those who idolized Hadden and Cynthia as the perfect “couple”—even threw urine bags at me in protest.

Not even a trip to the bathroom spared me from their hostility. Everywhere I went, their malice followed me.

Yet, they ignored one crucial fact—I was infected too.

My symptoms worsened day by day. I was losing control of my bladder and bowels, and dizziness hit me more frequently. At first, I thought I could manage without the wheelchair, but now I couldn’t even imagine standing without it.

“What are you doing in a wheelchair? You haven't given birth yet. Don't tell me you're working like that? You have a chair in our department, Cynthia. Or, are you just trying to make us look bad? What, do you think we’re mistreating you? Get up!”

Hadden’s voice was laced with irritation. He couldn’t even look at me without growing impatient.

Before I could respond, he grabbed me and yanked me out of the wheelchair. The sudden force sent me crumpling to the ground and my vision spun.

The blanket I had been using to cover my belly also fell to the side, leaving me exposed.