John started to sound nervous as well. "I don't think Quinn can take it much longer, Terrence. She—"

"Spare me the details," Terrence hastily cut him off in a pained voice. "It'll only break my heart."

After a brief pause, he declared heartlessly, "Alright. Let's proceed with the final one."

"What?" John exclaimed. "She's already at her limit. She's—"

"That's enough! I'll still love Quinn no matter what happens to her," Terrence snapped. "Everything has to remain exactly as it is. Otherwise, the original events from the story will eventually play out with Yvonne."

Terrence's tone stayed impassive. To me, he sounded like the devil himself.

Soon, someone returned to the room with dozens of iron nails.

Even though I had already fallen into despair, I still couldn't help but stagger backward in fear.

The man was right—I was pregnant. Before departing on this mission overseas, I had already been three months along. Before this, I had planned to tell Terrence the good news after the mission was completed.

He had always dreamed of having a child with me and leading a happy life together as a family of three. Initially, I believed we would have a home together, too.

Before I could react, someone grabbed my limbs, and a wave of unbearable pain spread through my entire body.

I watched as thick iron nails were driven into my body one after another. I nearly passed out from the agony, but I had been given a stimulant injection beforehand. Hence, I remained conscious throughout the entire process and was forced to endure every second of my hellish torture.

"I think she's actually pregnant… This is incredibly cruel…"

The man holding the forceps stared at my bloodied lower body before turning his face away. He couldn't bear to watch this any longer.

Ultimately, my unborn child couldn't withstand the stress that my body was being put through.

As my mind grew hazy, I heard Terrence speak again. His voice trembled ever so slightly as he said, "Hold on, Quinn. Once I complete the mission, I'll be able to stay in this dimension forever. I promise I'll make it up to you when that time comes."

How was he going to do that? Was he planning to make it up to me with his so-called love?

I let out a broken laugh. To my surprise, I couldn't even cry anymore.

I was dragged up from the ground like a dead animal. Sneering, the men tossed me into a stinking water cell and left me to rot in the cold, filthy water.

I didn't know how much time had passed before the cell door finally opened again.

Terrence's figure appeared. His face was wrecked with concern and heartbreak, and it almost seemed as if he was going to cry.

He rushed forward and pulled me into his arms. In a trembling voice, he cried, "I'm here to save you, Quinn."

I lifted my head numbly and stared at him with a hollow gaze. He used to be the man I loved. But now, his face seemed foreign, and the sight of it made me feel sick.

"You told me you could track my location at all times. You also claimed that you would come for me immediately," I said.

His expression stiffened. Then, he explained remorsefully, "I'm sorry. The situation overseas was too complicated. It took up quite a bit of my time. I'm sorry, Quinn. It's okay—I'll always love you no matter what."

Love me?

I scoffed. What a joke.

Terrence didn't seem to notice my reaction. Perhaps, he simply chose to ignore it.

He took off his coat and wrapped it around my battered body. Then, he picked me up in his arms and rushed outside.

I was taken to the hospital.

After hearing the news, my colleagues rushed over to check on my condition. Even though they were used to all kinds of gruesome injuries, they couldn't help but inhale sharply once they saw me.

I was ushered into the operating room in a horrific state. The tendons in all four of my limbs had been severed, and my lower body was ruined. My body was also covered in severe infections and festering wounds.

The doctor shook his head and sighed as he continued the surgery. The anesthesia wasn't working for me at all, but I no longer had the strength to even groan.

After the operation, I was transferred to a hospital room, and Terrence came to visit me.

He sat by my bed and wept. As his tears fell onto my face, he cried, "I'm sorry, Quinn. I'll never let you suffer again."

In the past, I would've immediately gotten up and tried to comfort him. But now, the sight of his broken expression only made me feel sick.

All of a sudden, the door creaked open.

"Are you hungry, Terrence? I brought you breakfast," a voice said.

Yvonne had dropped by.

Terrence let go of my hand. Without turning around, he rejected her offer.

"I don't have an appetite. You go ahead. In three hours, you should board the return flight and head back to Eulasia. It's not safe here," he instructed.

"I don't want to go alone," Yvonne whined coquettishly. "I'm scared. Can you keep me company on the flight back home?"

"No," he refused immediately. "I need to stay with Quinn."

"But I'm really scared…"

Not to my surprise, Terrence hesitated. In the end, he gave in.

"Fine. I'll go and inform the team."

He claimed that I was the only one he loved, but he could never bring himself to turn down Yvonne's requests.

The moment he left, Yvonne dropped her act.

She walked up to my bed and slapped me hard across the face. "You're awake, aren't you? Cut the crap. We all know you were given a stimulant injection."

She stared at me condescendingly and continued, "How does it feel to be passed around like that? I heard that your limbs are practically ruined now. How pitiful."

I forced my eyes open and shot her a cold glare. "It doesn't matter what condition I'm in. You'll never become Mrs. Lawson."

Yvonne had been madly in love with Terrence for years. But unfortunately for her, the latter had never reciprocated her love.

Upon hearing my statement, her expression shifted, and she let out a disdainful scoff. "Don't get too cocky. Terrence only brought me here to take credit for what you did. I'm about to be rewarded for capturing the fugitive."

"How dare you!"

My eyes widened with fury as I forced my words out through gritted teeth.

Initially, only my team had been dispatched on this mission. But later, Terrence claimed he was concerned about me and insisted on joining the operation. As it turned out, he didn't tag along to protect me—he was there to put me through hell.

My colleagues and I had lost two of our closest friends to capture this fugitive. Now, the credit for our efforts was going to be handed to Yvonne instead.

Yvonne picked up a syringe and injected it into my vein without any hesitation.

"You should just die," she snarled. "Look at you. At this point, staying alive will bring you nothing but pain."

Flashing me a vicious smile, she added, "This is a sepsis-inducing injection. Terrence was afraid you'd get in our way, so he told me to give this to you.

"Goodbye, Quinn. In your next life, don't bother competing with me over a man."

She cackled before she strode outside. Less than five minutes later, the monitor alarms began to blare.

Doctors and nurses rushed in, and the room was thrown into chaos.

"The patient's vitals are dropping fast! Her coagulation abilities are failing. If this continues, she'll die from an infection! There are coagulation agents back in Eulasia. We need to have her transferred immediately!"

"There are no flights available right now!" someone shouted frantically.

My colleagues were panicking. Then, all of a sudden, one of them seemed to have remembered something.

"Wait—Terrence applied for a helicopter transfer! He can send Quinn back to the country!"

A flicker of hope stirred within me. I wanted to live.

I was rushed to the airport. At the terminal, we ran into Terrence and Yvonne, who were just about to leave.

My colleague, Susan Quinton, charged forward and grabbed Terrence by the arm. "Hurry! Let Quinn go first. She's in a critical condition. If she doesn't return to Eulasia soon, she'll die!"

Terrence immediately refused.

"That's not possible," he declared firmly. The helicopter can only take two passengers. I need to take Yvonne back now. It's too dangerous here."

"Quinn is dying!" Susan shouted in anger. "She's your wife—doesn't her life matter more than getting Yvonne out of here?"

Upon hearing this, Yvonne immediately tried to look weak and helpless.

"I'll be okay, Terrence. I think Quinn might just be jealous or upset. You should go with her. I'll be fine here on my own," she said timidly.

Initially, Susan's claims had made Terrence hesitant. But after hearing what Yvonne said, his resolve hardened.

"Quinn will be fine. Her condition had already stabilized earlier. Stop trying to help her trick me."

As his words fell, he took Yvonne's hand and moved toward the helicopter.

"Quinn is actually dying," Susan sobbed as she clung to his arm. "Are you really going to abandon her?"

He flung her hand away and shot me a cold glance. In a solemn and heavy voice, he said, "You need to be more mature, Quinn. I'll come back for you once I drop Yvonne off. Stop getting jealous over nothing."

Little did he know, I wasn't jealous. I was actually dying.

I lay on the stretcher and didn't say a word. The pain made it impossible for me to speak. I could feel my body slowly shutting down. On top of that, my consciousness had begun to slip away too.

Terrence removed his goggles and walked over to me. Then, he gently lifted my oxygen mask before leaning in toward my ear.

"Wait for me. I'll be back in six hours," he said softly.

His fingers grazed the decaying corner of my lips. There was a faint scar at the base of his thumb. He had gotten that from a burn he suffered while checking the temperature of my soup.

"When this is over, I'll take you to see the cherry blossoms you had always wanted to see."

I didn't want to see the cherry blossoms, and I didn't want to wait for him either.

I couldn't do anything while Terrence boarded the helicopter with Yvonne. I watched the rotating blades spin before the aircraft rose into the sky. Then, the helicopter eventually disappeared from my view.

I'd never imagined that Terrence could be so cruel. I couldn't believe that he would choose another woman over my life.

With great effort, I fished out my phone and a prenatal test report from my pockets. Handing the items to Susan, I instructed, "Hand the audio recording on my phone to headquarters. Don't let Yvonne take credit for what we did. And this…"

I paused. My breathing was growing more and more labored.

"Give this to Terrence," I continued. "Tell him I'll never forgive him."

Susan froze before she started to tear up. "Hang on, Quinn. We'll find you another aircraft. This is all our fault. I'm sorry we couldn't stop them from leaving—"

"It's too late…" I flashed them a weak smile as I felt my life slip away.

"I'd like to be cremated," I said. "Don't give Terrance my ashes. I don't want to see him ever again."

After my final words, my eyelids gradually fell shut.

My colleagues, who were standing around me, removed their hats and saluted me. The air fell silent as they wordlessly bade me farewell.

…

Far away, Terrence's interdimensional communication device suddenly emitted a piercing alarm.

"The female protagonist has perished. A new female protagonist will now be selected," a voice declared. "The Narrative has designated Yvonne Lynn as the new female protagonist of this world."

Terrence froze immediately. Before receiving the message, he had been eagerly trying to transfer our team's credit to Yvonne before his superiors.