When I was six months pregnant, my husband said he wanted to get me a prenatal Pilates membership.

But when we went into the studio to register, his so-called “brother” Vanessa Lopez gave him a mischievous grin and asked:

“Danny, did you tell the front desk girl that your sex life with your wife is so unsatisfying you need me to ‘help out’?”

I glared at Daniel Miller, thinking he would shut down Vanessa’s crude joke.

Instead, he chuckled, threw an arm around her shoulders, and said:

“What, you planning to help me out again today?”

They joked openly as if I didn’t even exist.

Behind me, the receptionist stifled a laugh and asked me:

“Ma’am, would you like to add some classes on tightening your private muscles?”

Swallowing my fury, I forced a smile.

“Of course, why not? Add a few more for me.”

Maybe she caught the anger in my tone.

Vanessa grabbed a Pilates ball and tossed it at Daniel.

“Danny, stop laughing. Don’t you see your wife’s mad? Go coax her.”

Daniel caught the ball with a grin, squeezing it in his hands.

“She doesn’t get angry that easily.”

He smirked and added, “By the way, is this ball for training that flat chest of yours? Gotta admit, it feels pretty good.”

Vanessa pinched Daniel’s butt playfully.

“Good feel? Not as good as your ass! I could grab both cheeks at once.”

Then she leaned close to me, raising an eyebrow.

“Sis-in-law, we’re just messing around. By ‘helping,’ I meant taking him fishing. I didn’t think you’d take it the wrong way.”

I gave a cold laugh.

“The wrong way? I didn’t take it wrong. Or does your kind of ‘helping’ mean something else?”

Vanessa’s smile froze for a second, a flicker of anger flashing in her eyes.

“Geez, I forgot—you’re still a sensitive girl. Unlike me, a rough tomboy who spends all day talking dirty jokes with Daniel. My bad, my bad.”

Daniel frowned, stepping protectively toward her and scolding me:

“Babe, seriously? You’re mad over something this small?”

That sentence was like a spark igniting my rage.

“Small? My husband flirting with another woman—you call that small?”

Daniel’s face darkened.

“Vanessa’s a shareholder here. She was doing you a favor giving you a discount, and you just had to embarrass her in front of the staff?”

I gave a humorless laugh. Group Pilates classes cost $499, but the membership was $299.

All this fuss over two hundred dollars? And I was supposed to be grateful?

I pulled my Amex Black Card out of my Chanel bag and slapped it on the counter.

“I could hire ten private trainers with this. Don’t tell me you’ve been flirting with her for a week just for a lousy two-hundred-dollar discount. Who’s embarrassing who here?”

I swiped the card smoothly, turned, and walked out.

But Daniel grabbed my wrist so hard the veins bulged in my arm.

“Emily Carter, this isn’t about two hundred bucks! I owe my brother a favor. You apologize to her right now!”

Vanessa played peacemaker, tugging him away and pretending to blow gently on my wrist like she was concerned.

“Danny, you forgot the last time you pressed me down on the yacht deck and bruised my wrist? You never know how to be gentle.”

Then she turned to me with a fake smile.

“Don’t mind him, sis-in-law. He just loves standing up for me.”

I gave a bitter laugh. Wasn’t this a fine performance? Almost like I was the outsider here.

I stormed into the elevator, and the moment the doors closed, the tears I’d been holding back spilled down my cheeks.

I waited on the first floor of the mall for a long time, but Daniel never came after me.

Instead, my eyes caught a yoga studio ad plastered on the wall.

In it, Daniel and Vanessa wore tight workout clothes, their bodies pressed together in provocative partner poses.

So he had no time to accompany me to my prenatal checkups, but he had plenty of time to shoot ads with her.

My heart ached again, this time with a bitter aftertaste.

Daniel and Vanessa had met through deep-sea fishing.

I still clearly remembered how exhilarated Daniel looked the day he came back from that trip.

He told me it was rare to meet such a bold, carefree woman, so he’d sworn brotherhood with her on the spot.

He even brought her along when he proposed to me.

But when Daniel was about to kneel with the ring, Vanessa suddenly collapsed, claiming she fainted from blowing up balloons too hard.

So there I stood, in the middle of a heart made of flower petals, while the man who was supposed to propose to me carried another woman away.

When I looked upset, his group of “brothers” jumped in to cover for him.

“C’mon, sis-in-law, life comes first. Don’t be so petty.”

“If it were Vanessa’s proposal today, she’d never throw a fit like this.”

I hadn’t said a word, but already I was branded as narrow-minded.

From that day on, Vanessa’s name wedged itself firmly between Daniel and me.

At our wedding, she insisted on trying the bed first, and left bloodstains from her period on the sheets.

That night, instead of spending it with me, Daniel and his groomsmen comforted her until morning.

When we bought our house, she supervised the renovations.

The nursery became a “brother’s room.”

And the walls were plastered with photos of her and Daniel, like it was their marital home.

Ever since she appeared, my life had been filled with “You don’t mind, do you?”

But I minded. I minded deeply.

This time, I decided I needed to sit down with Daniel and talk things through.

But I sat on the couch all night, until dawn, before he stumbled in reeking of alcohol.

“Babe? You stayed up all night waiting for me?”

He hugged me, gently touching my belly.

My heart softened again—after all, he was the father of my baby.

“I’ve been thinking about yesterday. If you truly want to apologize, then cut ties with Vanessa. I’m not unreasonable. As long as you—”

I didn’t finish, because Daniel was already grinning at the door, signing for a delivery.

He unboxed a brand-new fishing rod, admiration shining in his eyes.

“Babe, look! Vanessa got me this new carbon-fiber lure rod. Isn’t it awesome? She just gets me.”

It was like a thorn stuck in my throat—I couldn’t say another word.

Daniel didn’t notice, continuing cheerfully:

“Vanessa said yesterday wasn’t your fault. She even invited you to join us for deep-sea fishing today.”

“You should learn from her—stop sulking all the time like some whiny girl.”

The door lock beeped. Vanessa walked right in, shoes on, leapt onto the couch, and wrapped herself around Daniel.

“Danny, like the gift I got you? Call me grandpa and let me hear it!”

His buddies followed in, teasing her indulgently.

“With a gift like that, we’d call you ‘wifey,’ not just grandpa!”

But Daniel’s face turned cold in an instant.

“Back off! My Vanessa isn’t someone you can mess with.”

The others smirked knowingly.

“Yeah, yeah, only you get to mess with Vanessa!”

They walked past the entryway, only then noticing me standing there. They exchanged glances and quickly fell silent.

Daniel scooped Vanessa into his arms, speaking with a leering grin.

“Well, well. Our princess is in a mini skirt today? What’s the occasion?”

Vanessa playfully smacked his chest.

“Please. I only dressed girly ’cause I didn’t want your wife feeling out of place with all you stinky guys. Otherwise, I’d never wear this crap.”

And she was wearing the very outfit Daniel and I had looked at together in the mall just two days earlier.

As if recalling something funny, she turned to the guys, laughing hard.

“Hey, you guys gotta hear this. Daniel and his wife were shopping the other day, and she tried on this dress. Guess what? Her baby bump ripped it wide open! And the clerk thought the dark spots on her thighs were stains and tried to make them pay. Isn’t that hilarious?”

The guys roared with laughter, while I stood there, humiliated, my belly aching.

Daniel smiled along, never once defending me.

In that moment, something inside me cracked.

Later, once we were out on the yacht, nausea churned in my stomach.

I’d always gotten seasick, and with pregnancy on top of it, I was vomiting until I nearly collapsed.

Daniel handed me some water, but annoyance clouded his eyes.

“Should’ve left you home. You’re so dramatic—how am I supposed to fish if I’m stuck taking care of you?”

Suddenly, Vanessa cried out:

“Fish on! Danny, help me!”

Daniel jumped up immediately, spilling the water all over my clothes.

I watched as he stood behind her, guiding her hands, their bodies swaying together with the rocking yacht.

After several minutes, Vanessa triumphantly held up a massive fish.

“This one’s a beast—at least forty pounds!”

The guys exchanged sly grins.

“Not the fish that’s hard, if you ask me.”

They all burst into raucous laughter.

My stomach twisted again—I slapped Daniel across the face.

“If you have no shame, I still do! Turn this boat around now—I want to go back!”

A sharp cramp shot through me, and I felt warm liquid trickle down my legs.

But the “brothers” dismissed my fury.

“Seriously, sis-in-law? We paid $80,000 to charter this boat, and you want to head back already? What a joke.”

Daniel looked embarrassed, whispering:

“Don’t make a scene in front of my friends. Should’ve known better than to bring you.”

Suddenly, Vanessa shrieked, drawing everyone’s attention.

She held up her finger, a smear of blood on the tip.

“Damn fish fin cut me. What if it’s poisonous?”

Tears welled as she looked at Daniel.

“Danny, if something happens to me… in my next life, I won’t be your brother. I’ll be your wife.”

Without hesitation, Daniel took her finger into his mouth.

“Don’t say stupid things! I won’t let anything happen to you!”

His face pale, he stormed to the helm, grabbing the captain’s collar.

“Vanessa’s been cut! Turn this yacht around—now!”

I leaned against the deck rail, blood already staining beneath me.

But I was too numb to feel the pain anymore.

A strange calm washed over me.

No need to wait for another life—this one was enough. I’d let them have each other.

When the yacht docked, Daniel carried Vanessa to the hospital in his arms, never sparing me a glance.