Melinda's soft, pitiful voice came from upstairs. "Chuck! Harry! I'm so scared!"

Chester's expression darkened, and he turned his head angrily, snapping, "Shut up! If you make another sound, I'll kill you right now!"

Harry, who was on the floor below, could see Chester was serious. After a brief pause, despite Chester's threat, he signaled the sniper to fire.

Chuck rushed in the moment Chester fell. Looking at the bombs strapped to the three of us, Chuck hesitated, his eyes scanning between us.

Melinda's eyes were red with tears. "Chuck, please save me, I don't want to die."

Chuck touched Melinda's face with trembling hands. His voice was hoarse as he comforted her. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

He completely ignored me—his wife—beside them.

My heart grew colder by the second.

As Quinn's cold hand gripped mine, I looked over at her. I realized I couldn't let this happen. Even if Chuck abandoned me, I couldn't let Quinn get hurt. After all, she was pregnant too!

I raised my voice. "Chuck, I'm pregnant!"

I had thought Chuck would choose me and Quinn for the child's sake.

But to my shock, Chuck's expression turned impatient. "Scarlett, how can you be so selfish? Are you actually lying just to save yourself? Do you think I wouldn't know if you were pregnant?"

He lowered his head and carefully began disarming the bomb on Melinda. "Also, so what if you were pregnant? I checked the bombs. They won't kill you. They'll just injure you a little."

He added, "Mel is still young; she's never been through anything like this. I promised her I'd protect her."

I was stunned. It felt like I was seeing the man beside me for the first time. The pain in my chest was now far worse than the fear.

Quinn sighed softly. "Don't be afraid, Scarlett. I'm here."

Tears slowly slid down my cheeks.

Just a few hours ago, I was still looking forward to the birth of my child, imagining it growing up alongside Quinn's, just like we had grown up together as best friends.

The beeping of the bomb strapped to my stomach grew more rapid. My heartbeat, too, quickened.

At that moment, my eyes lit up when I saw Harry rush in. If Harry knew that Quinn was pregnant, surely he would make Chuck choose to save us both.

Quinn also looked at Harry and softly called out to him, "Harry."

Harry glanced at Quinn, his steps faltering for a moment.

I quickly said, "Harry, Quinn is pregnant. You can't let Chuck save only Melinda."

Harry froze as if struggling to find the words.

On the other side, Melinda's sobs grew louder as her arms reached out to Harry. "Harry, I'm so scared! Why did it take you so long?"

Chuck frowned deeply and reprimanded us sternly, "Scarlett, Quinn, are you two done? One moment, Scarlett is pregnant, and the next, it's Quinn. To steal Mel's only chance of survival, you're both willing to tell such vile lies.

"Harry, don't listen to them. Come comfort Mel; she's terrified."

Ignoring Quinn entirely, Harry walked straight toward Melinda.

But Quinn wasn't like me. She was decisive. She spoke firmly, "Harry, if you go to Melinda, we're getting a divorce."

Harry turned to look at her with his eyebrows raised slightly, clearly irritated. "Are you threatening me?"

When Quinn lifted her head, her eyes were filled with disappointment. "I'm not threatening you, Harry. I'm informing you."

Harry turned away indifferently and coldly said, "Do what you want."

Quinn and I stared at the two men before us in disbelief. They weren't like this when we fell in love and got married.

Though stern and rarely smiling, my husband, Chuck, was always considerate. In private, he would even clumsily try to braid my hair.

Meanwhile, Quinn's husband, Harry, was a gentle and patient man. He was always willing to yield to her strong-willed nature.

When we got married, people praised us for finding the perfect partners.

But why had they changed so much in just one short year? Or had they been like this all along, and we just didn't see it?

I couldn't wrap my head around it.

As the pain from the bomb became unbearable, I screamed and clutched Quinn's hand. We huddled together like two helpless, wounded creatures, trying to comfort each other.

In the last moment before I blacked out, I saw Chuck carefully holding Melinda, carrying her out the door while murmuring comforting words to her.

A thought flickered in my mind as consciousness slipped away. It seemed like everything started to fall apart the moment Melinda returned from abroad.

…

I could vaguely hear Melinda's voice over the phone, sweet yet tinged with a hint of triumph. "Chuck, is Scarlett throwing a tantrum again? It's all my fault. It's because I was so scared that I had you to myself.

"Scarlett must be upset because of that. She didn't really mean it when she asked for a divorce. Go and comfort her. My foot is fine now."

Chuck's voice softened slightly. "Don’t say such childish words. A sprained ankle needs proper care, or it'll leave lasting problems. Don't worry about Scarlett. She's just acting out."

After he finished speaking, he casually hung up the phone.

I stared blankly at the phone, listening to the beeping sound. After holding myself together for so long, I could no longer stop my chest from tightening. Tears began to roll down my cheeks.

Just as my call ended, Quinn's phone rang.

Harry's impatient voice came through. "Quinn, when are you and Scarlett going to stop with this farce? This whole situation started because of Chuck's and my work.

"Since Melinda got caught up in it, why is it a problem if we take better care of her? You're two grown women throwing a fit over a young lady. How childish can you be?"

Quinn closed her eyes in frustration, trying to remain calm, but she couldn't help reminding him, "Harry, are you and Chuck even human? Melinda only twisted her ankle, but Scarlett and I ended up in the ICU because of the explosion.

"It's bad enough you two are fawning over Melinda. How dare you blame us now? Have you ever considered that we just got married?"

Harry scoffed. "You two are alive, aren't you? Listening to you, one would think you were dead. When we got married, Chuck and I warned you that our jobs were dangerous. Being with us meant taking on risks.

"Do you remember what you said back then? You said you weren't afraid, that you'd support our work. Now, what's changed? Is it just because of Melinda? Why are you two acting crazy otherwise?

"And pregnancy? I didn't even know you were pregnant! Quinn, if I remember correctly, you took the pill every time we did it. You said you were afraid having kids would affect your career."

Quinn was trembling with anger. Worried about her injury, I glanced at her with concern.

I had never seen Quinn cry before. However, her eyes were now red, though she tried hard to keep her voice steady. "Harry, I didn't take the pill last time. I'm pregnant."

Harry gave an ambiguous laugh. "Sure, if you say you're pregnant, you're pregnant. Whatever you say, Don't bother me before Melinda's mood gets better."

Harry was about to hang up when Quinn stopped him in a hoarse but firm voice. "Wait. Before the bomb exploded, I told you we're getting divorced."

"And I said,"—Harry's tone turned cold—"do what you want."

Both Quinn and I were pregnant, but not only did Chuck and Harry not believe us, they didn't even care if we were injured during the explosion. The fact that we lost our ability to have children meant nothing to them.

Quinn turned to me and insisted, "Scarlett, no more tears. We're getting divorced."

I wiped my tears and nodded resolutely.

…

On the day we were transferred to the general ward, we had our lawyer deliver the divorce papers to Chuck and Harry.

However, both of them were furious upon seeing the documents. They kicked the door open and stormed into the ward.

"Are you two out of your minds? Do you want a divorce?"

Quinn remained calm. "That's right. That way, you'll have room for Melinda."

Harry's eyes flashed with barely restrained anger. He pulled out a lighter from his pocket and was about to light a cigarette when the doctor walked in, frowning.

"What are you doing? No smoking in the ward."

After saying that, the doctor handed two documents to Quinn and me. It was a notice regarding the handling of our unborn children.

"The aftermath of the explosion was too severe," the doctor explained. "We've preserved the remains of your fetuses as much as possible. You can choose to let the hospital take care of them, or you can take them home."

I forced myself to sit up and calmly replied, "We'll take them home. Thank you, doctor."

The sound of a lighter dropping to the floor echoed from the doorway. I looked up to see Chuck and Harry's faces filled with disbelief.

Chuck's voice wavered when he asked, "Doctor, what did you just say?"

The doctor turned, looking confused at the expressions on both Chuck and Harry. "And who are you two?"

Harry's gaze flickered between Quinn's and my pale faces. He instinctively answered, "We're their husbands."

Hearing Harry's response, the doctor wore a disdainful and disapproving expression. "Both patients have been hospitalized for a week. Why haven't you shown up until now?"

Just then, Melinda peeked out from behind Harry, timidly looking at Quinn and me. "Scarlett, Quinn, it's all my fault. The explosion a few days ago left me with severe emotional trauma. Harry and Chuck were just taking care of me. That's why they couldn't come to see you."

Her voice, so delicate yet laced with subtle provocation, made me clench my eyes shut in frustration. Despite my efforts to hold back, I couldn't contain myself any longer.

"Chuck, can you take your sweetheart and get out of this room?"

Chuck, still trying to process the news he'd just heard, instinctively defended Melinda. "She didn't say anything wrong. She's just trying to comfort you.

He added, "Scarlett, do you really have to act like this? I never realized you were this kind of woman."

His words ignited a storm of bitterness and anger in my heart. I thought of the child I had just lost and all the times Chuck had defended Melinda.

I now looked at him with a mixture of resentment. "Does it even matter to you what kind of person I am? We're getting divorced anyway."

Chuck seemed to finally notice the hatred and resolve in my eyes. He only stood there, stunned.