The day I found out I was pregnant with my second child, the impossible happened: the baby in my womb spoke.

"Stupid sister, are you even listening? Mom said that as soon as you graduate, she's selling you off. That money is for my future wedding!"

My daughter went still. She didn't say a word, didn't confront me, didn't even cry. She just quietly applied to study abroad. And from that day on, I never heard from her again.

My husband, seeing how devastated I was, moved to comfort me. But the baby's voice cut through the silence once more.

"Comfort her? You're the biggest fool in this house! When I'm born, I'm not calling you 'Dad.' My real dad is that handsome guy from the bar!"

The color drained from Sean's face.

Before I could utter a word of explanation, he dragged me straight to the hospital for a paternity test.

The results came back quickly—my best friend had pulled some strings to expedite them.

And there it was, in cold, clinical print: NO PATERNITY BIOLOGICALLY ESTABLISHED.

He didn't let me speak. He filed for divorce immediately.

In a panic, the baby's voice cried out from inside me again, "Why is the idiot backing out now? Did he finally figure out Mom tricked him? The one who saved his life all those years ago wasn't her—it was her best friend!"

That one sentence shattered my entire world. My husband turned his back on me and married my best friend.

As for me… the shock and grief hit me like a physical blow. I felt a hot, sudden gush of blood. Before the doctors could save me, I died on that cold hospital bed, my hands clutching my swollen belly, my mind still reeling, unable to comprehend how my life had unraveled so completely.

It wasn't until I was reborn, and once again heard the treacherous little voice inside me, that I finally began to understand the truth.

"Natalie, congratulations! This one's for real—you're pregnant with your second. You've got both a son and a daughter now; there's no happier mother than you!"

A familiar voice buzzed in my ear. I flung my eyes open and saw my best friend, Ashley Lemmon, holding the ultrasound printout. Only then did I finally believe I had truly been reborn.

When my husband, Sean Newman, learned the second child would be a boy, he beamed. Our daughter, Julie Newman, who was about to graduate from university, and Sean argued over who would name the baby.

But in the next instant, the baby inside me spoke—clear as a bell, "Stupid sister, I don't want you to name me! Mom said once you graduate, she'll sell you off, so she can use that money for my future wedding!"

My daughter's face drained of color.

It had happened this way in my last life too. The moment she heard the baby's voice, my daughter's smile vanished. Bright and outgoing, she shut down and stopped being close to us.

I thought at first it was stress from her thesis, but the day she graduated, she applied to study abroad—and we never heard from her again. Two months later she called to sever ties.

"Mom, this is the last time I'll call you 'Mom.' I'm never coming home. I'll get married and have children overseas. Just pretend I was never your daughter."

I never expected her to say such things. I wept until it felt like my insides were being torn out.

Now, watching the disappointment in her eyes, I grabbed Julie's hand without thinking. "Julie, I'm not keeping this baby," I blurted. "Don't worry, you'll always be my precious daughter."

She froze.

Ashley freaked out beside us. "Natalie, are you out of your mind? You're fine. Why would you abort this baby?"

Sean looked puzzled. "Yeah, what's wrong, honey? Weren't you the one who wanted both a son and a daughter? We can afford another child. Why would you want to end it?"

Seeing his confused face made me sure he hadn't heard the baby's voice. It seemed the child could choose who could hear him. To prevent the tragedy that had destroyed my last life, I had to get rid of him.

"Honey, you have to trust me this time. We must terminate this pregnancy."

No sooner had the words left my mouth than the child kicked sharply, and his voice rushed into my head in outrage, "Mommy! How can you be so cruel? Just because you're afraid Dad will find out I'm not his biological son, you want to abort me to hide your cheating?!"

My baby's voice slithered through my mind like a curse, dragging me back to the nightmare of my past life.

Back then, Julie had just severed ties with me. I spent my days drowning in tears, unable to eat or sleep.

Sean, worried for both me and the baby, kept urging me to take care of myself. But it was during that very time, the baby inside me chose to speak again. And this time, he let Sean hear him.

One moment, Sean's eyes were full of tenderness. Next, he was yanking me by the arm, dragging me to the hospital.

I thought he was afraid something had gone wrong with the baby, so I cooperated obediently with every test and examination. It wasn't until the day we received the paternity results that I realized… he suspected the child in my womb wasn't his.

Impossible. I had never once betrayed him.

Yet the report claimed my second child and Sean shared no biological connection.

That was the day Sean chose to believe the baby's voice instead of me.

And now, in this life, it was happening again. Sean's expression grew tight and still as he listened to the voice I could also hear.

"I'm so pitiful! I haven't even met my real dad yet! He's young and handsome—the most handsome guy at the bar. Way better than this gullible fool! Mom, didn't you say once I'm born, you'll divorce Sean and take me to meet my real dad?"

My blood ran cold.

I had no idea who this so-called "handsome guy from the bar" even was. I'd never set foot in a bar my entire life.

But Sean's face darkened by the second, his eyes clouded with suspicion.

"You're so desperate to abort this baby…" he said. "Could it be because—"

"This baby is yours," I cut him off before he could finish. "If you don't believe me, we'll do a paternity test right now!"

He blinked, startled by how firm I sounded. The tension in his brows eased a little.

"Honey, it's not that I don't believe you. I just—"

Before he could finish, Ashley jumped in with a bright smile, trying to smooth things over.

"Oh, come on, you two. It's just a paternity test. I can handle it for you. We'll get the results in four hours, tops!"

I let out a cold laugh and looked her straight in the eye.

"Thanks, Ashley. But I'd prefer to do it at another hospital."

"No!" A flicker of panic crossed her face. "I mean… why bother? I'm a doctor and your best friend! Why go to all that trouble? Don't tell me you don't trust me?"

Trust her?

I didn't dare.

After all, in my previous life, she was the one who "helped" me with the paternity test and the one who branded me a cheating wife, ruined my marriage, and left me with nothing.

And when I was driven out of my home in disgrace, Ashley used my baby's manipulative little "truths" to take my place and marry Sean herself.

She'd gained everything from my downfall. How could I possibly believe she and this baby weren't connected?

So I feigned righteous sincerity and turned to Sean.

"A paternity test is a serious matter. Ashley may be my best friend, but shouldn't we make sure the results are absolutely accurate? Can you really feel at ease letting her handle it?"

He hesitated, clearly wavering.

Just then, the baby's gleeful little voice echoed once more, "Mommy, you're so clever! That fool would never guess you've already bribed the doctors. No matter which hospital you go to, the report will say I'm his biological son!"

Was my baby trying to drive me to my death again?

I forced down the rage clawing at my chest and finally threw the impossible choice back at Sean.

"You decide where to do the paternity test," I said coldly. "There are thousands of hospitals in this country. Pick any one you like."

He rubbed his temples, looking exhausted.

"Forget it," he sighed. "Let Ashley handle it. We'll watch her the whole time. Nothing can go wrong."

I hesitated. Four pairs of eyes on her—surely even she couldn't pull any tricks under that kind of scrutiny.

Ashley's expression faltered for a moment, but she quickly composed herself and went through the motions, drawing our blood samples with practiced ease.

Four hours later, the paternity results arrived.

When I saw the report, relief swept through me like a tide. Whatever that twisted child inside me was trying to do, biology didn't lie. The test confirmed it—he was indeed our son.

Ashley put on a sympathetic smile.

"See? You two were worrying for nothing. I've watched your love story from the very beginning. How could a paternity test between you ever be wrong?"

But the moment her words left her lips, the baby's mocking voice rang out, "Mom really is something else. She even made Ashley give up her medical ethics just to fake a paternity test for her."

Sean's face turned red with fury. He grabbed Ashley's arm, his voice shaking.

"Ashley! Swear on your career. Tell me this report is genuine!"

Ashley bit her lip, tears welling up. She remained silent. Her pitiful expression made it look as though I had begged her to forge the report.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but the baby's voice cut in again, "Mommy! Tell the fool to let go of Ashley's arm! If he sees the burn mark on her arm and realizes she's the one who saved him back then, your secret will be exposed! He'll know you pretended to be his savior just to marry him!"

My blood ran cold.

Pretended? That was never true.

Back then, Sean had been in a car accident and rushed to the hospital, unconscious and bleeding out. The blood type he needed wasn't in stock, and the situation was critical.

I broke hospital protocol and donated 800cc of my own blood to save him. Afterward, weak and dizzy, I accidentally knocked over a kettle of boiling water, scalding my arm and leaving a scar that would never fade.

My colleagues had teased me, saying, "With a scar that big, how will you ever get married?"

And then, half-conscious from blood loss, he had murmured, "I'll marry you."

I'd laughed it off as delirium, nothing more. But later, when he'd recovered, he recognized me by that scar, and that was how our story began.

We fell in love, married, and had a child. We'd spent sixteen wonderful years together.

I thought that bond was unshakable. That he would never doubt me because of a single whisper from an unborn child.

But before I could stop him, he seized Ashley's wrist and yanked up her sleeve.

There it was—a scar, identical to mine, in the exact same place.

His grip on her hand tightened, his voice raw.

"Where did you get this scar?"

Ashley flinched, her gaze darting toward me, a faint tremor in her voice.

"It's been over ten years. What's the point of bringing it up now?"

"I want the truth!" he shouted.

With a trembling sigh, she forced out two pitiful tears.

"Back then, I donated 800cc of blood to save a car accident victim. I accidentally burned my arm afterward. He said… he'd marry me. But I waited all these years, and he never came for me."

"Don't listen to her!" I cried, clutching his arm desperately. "She's lying. She's framing me!"

But he shook me off as though my touch burned him.

"Natalie, I never thought you'd stoop so low… impersonating my savior and stealing your best friend's life."