Chapter 2

I stood up and desperately tried to break open the bedroom door. However, it was to no avail.

A sharp pain in my abdomen was what ultimately brought me back to my senses. When I looked down, my pale blue nightgown was stained with fresh blood.

The baby!

I clutched my stomach and immediately dialed the emergency services.

"Ma'am, the hurricane is too strong at the moment. We aren't able to dispatch an ambulance. We'll do our best. Please hold on for us."

A pang of despair washed over me.

If the ambulance couldn't get here, I'd just have to bring myself there.

I quickly gave Calvin a call. It took me eight tries before he picked up.

"Calvin, can you take me to the hospital? My stomach..."

Before I could finish, he cut me short, "Really? Are you still putting up an act at a time like this? I am a rescue team leader. What's wrong with me saving someone? Must you keep finding things to bother me with while I'm at work?"

He continued coldly, "Don't forget that I chose you back then. It's Lottie's turn now."

From the other end of the line, a delicate, sweet voice sounded. "Cal, you're finally here."

I wanted to plead with him further, but the call ended before I could say another word.

He was being so self-righteous, all in the name of "work".

Calvin and I had known each other since we were kids. Charlotte was a dance student he met in high school.

I watched as they grew closer. They were practically a couple.

When we graduated from high school, Calvin invited us both to go on a countryside trip.

On the road, we got into an accident.

Without thinking, I shielded Calvin, taking the impact for him.

Amid the chaos, our car flipped, and everyone passed out—except for Calvin.

He kicked open the windshield and freed himself. The first thing he did was pull me out of the wreck.

Because of the delay, Charlotte sustained a crush injury to her trapped leg. She then went abroad for treatment and lost all contact with Calvin.

Thanks to my act of saving grace coupled with Charlotte's departure, Calvin eventually accepted me.

Considering our many years of friendship, I thought that if I treated him well enough, he would come to feel the same for me.

In the beginning of our relationship, it did seem to feel that way.

But then, Charlotte returned to the country, and Calvin started staying out later and later.

On his mother's birthday, I went over early and cooked a whole spread.

At the dinner table, he received a call out of the blue.

"Yup, okay. I'll be right there. Wait for me."

After he hung up, he turned to us and said, "There's a bit of an emergency at the rescue team. I need to head off to handle it."

I was sitting right next to him, so it was no secret to me that it was a woman he was speaking to.

I didn't want to embarrass him on such an occasion, so I only suggested gently, "We're all here eating as a family. Can't it wait until after dinner?"

That one comment made him blow his top.

Right in front of his family, he glared at me and snapped, "This is work. Can you stop obsessing over nonsense day in and day out? Without my income, you'll be live on air!"

He slammed his utensils down and left.

His parents tried to comfort me and told me not to take it to heart. Nevertheless, there was no denying that he utterly ruined the atmosphere.

Later on, I stumbled across a suggested video on my social media account.

In the footage, Calvin was crouched with his back against the camera, working on repairing a washing machine.

A woman's soft voice asked, "Is it done yet?"

Calvin looked toward the camera with such tenderness—one that was foreign to me.

"Almost. It's nearly finished."

At that moment, I knew that Charlotte had returned and that Calvin's heart had flown to her.

When he came home that night, I showed him the video, hoping he'd offer an explanation.

"Are you crazy? Why are you stalking other people's accounts? Are you a rat in the sewers?"

He swiped my phone from me and smashed it hard against the floor. "I married you, yet you don't have the slightest sliver of trust in me. I've really misjudged you, haven't I?"

His gaslighting made me start to question if the problem truly lay with me.