The hurricane hit. I was trapped under a collapsed beam in the ruins of my downtown Miami apartment. A sharp piece of metal had pierced my abdomen, and my life was bleeding out onto the debris.

"She's been impaled! We need to get her out of here now!"

The rescue workers were scrambling toward me when my husband, Julian Sterling, suddenly lunged in another direction. "She hit her head! It's life-threatening, save her first!"

I watched him stare in panic at another young woman, Sloane. The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow: he had no idea I was pregnant.

The paramedic working on me shouted, "She's losing too much blood! We can't stop it here!"

I held on, my gaze locking on Julian, pleading silently. Still, he turned to the paramedics, his voice firm. "I'm her fiancé. I'll answer for it if anything happens."

He wasn't talking about me.

————————

1

At Julian's command, the rescue workers hesitated for a moment before turning away from me.

With someone taking full responsibility, their decision was made.

Lying in the rubble, I could feel my blood soaking the dust beneath me. His words sent my head spinning, and a pain sharper than any metal tore through my chest.

Nearby, volunteers and paramedics murmured amongst themselves.

"This is insane. His wife is pinned down over there, and he's only worried about some other woman."

"And the crazy thing is, she's barely scratched! Demanding an ambulance when someone else is actually dying."

"My God, she has a metal rod in her abdomen, and her husband doesn't even seem to care."

Their words stung like icicles. I turned my head and saw Julian cradling the woman, Sloane Montgomery, in his arms.

On his face was a raw fear and desperation I had never seen before.

In our five years of marriage, I had never seen that look on his face.

It wasn't that he was incapable of emotion—it was that all his emotion was reserved for Sloane, leaving nothing for me.

A chill spread through my body. At this rate, I would lose the baby.

With the last of my strength, I grabbed the hand of a nurse named Chloe. "Please," I begged, "help me... I'm pregnant..."

Just then, Julian strode over, carrying Sloane. Hearing my words, he looked down at me with pure disdain.

"Still pulling stunts for attention? Pathetic. I told you, Sloane has a serious head injury. You'd really lie about being pregnant just to compete with her?"

He snapped at the paramedics, "Ignore her. She's just being dramatic. Sloane is the one in real danger; she needs a full neurological exam."

In that moment, what little strength I had left evaporated. My fingers went slack, and my hand slipped from the nurse's grasp.

She cried out, "Oh no! Her vitals are fading!"

Julian didn't even glance my way. "I already told you—I'm her fiancé. I'll take full responsibility if anything happens," he said sharply. "She's putting on a show; she won't die. All of you, focus on Sloane. If something happens to her, which one of you is going to answer for it?"

The paramedics around me wavered, then turned their full attention to Sloane.

Only Chloe, the nurse, stayed by my side, gripping my hand tightly. "Ma'am, hang in there. We'll get you out."

I struggled to keep my eyes open, fighting the darkness that crept in at the edges of my vision.

My sight began to blur, and I could feel the warmth of my own blood seeping away into the cold ground.

A single tear escaped the corner of my eye. Why did this hurt so much? Five years. We were married for five years, and when it came to life or death, he chose someone else without a second thought. Then, everything went black.

In a daze, I heard someone calling my name.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the emergency room.

"Mrs. Sterling," Nurse Chloe said softly.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, her voice trembling as she fought back tears. "Do you have any other family we can contact? We need a signature on the surgical consent form. We've called your husband multiple times, but he's not answering."

A hollow ache bloomed in my chest. Of course he wasn't answering. He was too busy doting on Sloane to be bothered with his dying wife.

"I'll sign," I rasped, the words catching in my throat.

With every ounce of my remaining will, I gripped the pen and scrawled my name.

The pain was a tidal wave, dragging me under. As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I heard nurses whispering nearby.

"Did you see that influencer they brought in? Her fiancé is treating her like royalty."

"Meanwhile, this poor woman is on death's door, and there's not a soul here for her."

The other nurse, glancing nervously in my direction, quickly shushed her. "That's enough!"

But I didn't feel sad. If anything, I wanted to laugh.

I almost laughed. If only they knew their "perfect fiancé" was the same man who'd left his wife and unborn child to die for his mistress.

But none of that mattered. Right now, all I cared about was saving my baby.

As the anesthesia flooded my system, just before the darkness took me, I looked weakly at Chloe.

"The baby..."

I had barely breathed the word before I was pulled under.

When I next opened my eyes, the sterile scent of disinfectant filled my nostrils.

The anesthesia hadn't fully worn off. I slowly raised a hand, instinctively placing it on my lower abdomen.

"You're awake! How are you feeling? Don't worry, the baby is safe," Chloe said as she entered, her eyes lighting up with relief.

As she tucked the blanket around me, she couldn't stop herself from adding, "Your husband treated you like that, yet on the brink of death, all you cared about was his child. Is it really worth it?"

Wincing against the pain, I managed a faint smile. "The baby is innocent, right?"

Chloe paused, then gave a slight nod. A flicker of sympathy crossed her face, but she said no more, simply reminding me to rest before quietly leaving the room.

A heavy exhaustion settled over me. I was about to drift off when voices carried from the VIP suite next door.

"Julian, it hurts so much..."

"I'm here, Sloane," he soothed.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Julian, I'm so scared..." Sloane whimpered.

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen to you," he comforted her.

His voice held a tenderness I had never, ever heard. It was gentle, patient, and overflowing with love.

"Aren't you going to check on Cora? She looked like she was hurt badly..."

At the mention of my name, his tone iced over, laced with pure disgust.

"Sloane, don't waste your kindness on her," he scoffed. "She was faking it for attention. A manipulative woman like that deserves whatever she gets."

My mind went blank as tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.

The metal shard that pierced my abdomen was nothing compared to the poison in Julian's words. They were a blade twisting in my gut.

I couldn't listen anymore. I forced my eyes shut, willing the world away.

Once my condition stabilized, I was moved to a regular ward. I called our housekeeper, Maria Garcia, to ask for her help.

The phone rang and rang, unanswered.

I hung up. Not long after, Maria herself appeared in the doorway, carrying a green smoothie.

Our eyes met, and she froze, a mix of surprise and guilt on her face. She looked like she'd walked into the wrong room and was trapped between entering and fleeing.

I set my phone aside. "Maria, why didn't you answer my call?" I asked quietly.

She instinctively hid the smoothie behind her back and stammered, "Mr. Sterling sent me..."

I let out a bitter laugh, though I wasn't surprised.

First the rescue, now the recovery. Of course, our housekeeper would be sent to tend to his mistress first.

I cleared my throat and gave Maria a small, tight smile. "Since you're here, why don't you take me for a walk?"

Maria looked reluctant but didn't dare refuse. She simply nodded and pushed my wheelchair out of the room.

I had her stop right in front of Sloane's VIP suite.

The girl in the hospital bed was undeniably striking.

Her skin was smooth and radiant, her delicate features looking fragile and lovely under the soft lighting. When she saw me, there was no surprise on her face.

Instead, she spoke with the entitlement of a queen in her castle. "Maria, who is she?"

I said nothing, merely meeting her gaze.

Maria wrung her hands. After a long, awkward moment, she mumbled, "She... she is Mr. Sterling's wife."

At this, Sloane's expression immediately melted into one of pity. "Oh," she murmured softly. "So you're Cora."

Her gaze swept over me dismissively.

"Cora, don't blame Julian. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so frightened, he wouldn't have left you to be with me."

Listening to her saccharine apology, I couldn't help but scoff. "It seems Julian's taste isn't all that great. If he likes you so much, you can have him. A secondhand man... I don't want him anymore."

I motioned for Maria to push me away.

Just as we were about to turn, Sloane called out, "Wait!" She grabbed a cup of steaming herbal tea and hurried toward me. She feigned a stumble, her hand "slipping" as she got close.

Scalding tea splashed across my arm, and I cried out, recoiling from the searing pain. In the same motion, her leg shot out, deliberately kicking the wheel of my chair.

With a loud crash, the wheelchair tipped, and I was thrown heavily to the floor.

A gut-wrenching agony tore through me. Maria screamed and rushed to help me up.

Sloane covered her mouth, feigning horror. "Oh my God, Cora, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I was just trying to stop you, and my hand slipped, and then I tried to catch you..."

I felt a warm wetness spread beneath me and instinctively looked down. To my horror, my white hospital gown was blooming with fresh, red blood.

"Ah, Cora, you're bleeding! Someone, help!"

Sloane shrieked, but just for a second, I saw it in her eyes: a flash of pure triumph.

I was rushed back into the operating room.

This time, however, luck was not on my side.

My baby was gone.

When I regained consciousness, Julian was sitting by my bed, his expression grim.

I thought he knew about the baby. But to my shock, the first thing he did was blame me.

"You shouldn't have gone to see Sloane," he said, not even looking at me.