Chapter 1

"The patient is bleeding out! She needs a C-section, stat!"

"Get her family! We need them to sign the consent form!"

"Her family isn't here, and we can't get through to them!"

The coppery tang of blood filled the air of the VIP delivery room of City Hospital, Briarwood.

Doctors and nurses rushed in and out of the doors while Claudia Lowell lay in bed with her legs on stirrups. Blood and other fluids had seeped into the sheets beneath her while the nurses' frantic voices rang out around her.

"Ms. Lowell, stay with us! Where's your husband? We need him to sign off on the C-section. How can we reach him?"

"You're losing too much blood, Ms. Lowell! Your blood type is rare. At this rate, the baby will suffocate in the womb, and your life will be in danger too!"

Claudia's hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, making her face look paler. She vaguely recalled that today was Emilia Lowell's birthday. Her family, including her husband and five-year-old son, were probably over at the Lowell residence celebrating Emilia's birthday.

When Claudia woke up earlier that morning and made breakfast for her husband, Shawn Faulkner, and their son, Samson Faulkner, she tried talking to them about showing up for her delivery.

"Shawn, the baby's due today, and I'll likely head to the hospital to prep for labor. Do you think you could go over after you get off work today?" she asked.

Shawn finished the warm milk in his glass, seemingly nonchalant. He gave Claudia's belly, swollen under her nightclothes, a cursory glance. His gaze darkened as he said, "I can't make it today. I promised Emilia I'd celebrate her birthday with her at the Lowell residence."

He looked away and stood up. Picking up the Patek Philippe watch on the table and clasping it over his wrist, he added icily, "It's bad enough for you to skip out on your sister's birthday, but to schedule the delivery on the same day? That's petty, even for you."

Shawn didn't try to change Claudia's mind, though his derisive snort said enough. The black suit jacket he wore accentuated his chiseled features.

"You won't have to pick up Samson this afternoon. I'll pick him up on my way to the Lowell residence," he said.

At that point, the driver pulled up outside the house.

Shawn didn't spare Claudia a second look before leaving the dining room. The hazy morning light played over the hard lines of his silhouette. He looked as cold and indifferent as he had when Claudia met him six years ago.

Next to her, Samson, who looked like he was cast in the same mold as his father, set his utensils down just as Shawn had.

"I'm done!" He let out an irritable snort. "Why would you give me milk when you know I hate it? Why can't you be like Aunt Emmy? She makes the best banana muffins!"

To make a point, he tossed the remaining milk in his glass into the trash. Grabbing the gift box next to him, he slid off his chair and trailed out of the dining room after Shawn.

Despite being pregnant, Claudia woke up at four o'clock that morning just to make breakfast for them. She was looking forward to a cozy family moment, but what she got in return was disappointment. Shawn and Samson might as well have thrown her into an icy abyss.

Her heart tightened to the point of pain. She was sure it had to be bleeding. Even her belly was starting to weigh her down, and she struggled to stay on her feet.

She knew Shawn hated her for what she did to Emilia. She pretty much stole the latter's rightful place. So even though his family forced him to marry her and have a child with her, their five years of marriage were cold, loveless, and, for Claudia, extremely lonely.

In the past two years, even Samson picked up on Shawn's habitual denigration of Claudia. She was only human, and eventually, the sidelining and insults wore her down.

Claudia loved Shawn and Samson unconditionally for five years. She gave up everything for them in hopes that, after her daughter's birth, their family would one day become the happiest unit in the world.

But Claudia was wrong. She never expected to find herself lying alone in the hospital bed, bleeding out due to labor complications, while her daughter's life was hanging by a thread.

Shawn was nowhere to be found and couldn't be reached. He was her husband and the father of her unborn child, but he acted as if he had nothing to do with her. In fact, he was off celebrating another woman's birthday.

How could Shawn and Samson be so cruel to her?

Bitter resentment filled Claudia. She forced her tears back, though her eyes were rimmed red as she clutched the nurse's sleeve. "Please give me your phone!" she croaked.

If she couldn't get to Shawn, she would have to call her parents and her brother. But nobody picked up.

In the end, she gritted her teeth and video-called Emilia.

The call went through quickly, and the first thing she heard was Emilia's honeyed voice.

"Claudia? Why aren't you here at my birthday party?" she asked sweetly, her words stabbing through Claudia's heart. "Look, Shawn and Samson surprised me with fireworks! I love it."

Emilia showed off the brilliant fireworks blooming across the night sky. Shawn stood behind her with Samson in his arms, his eyes filled with the tenderness and love Claudia never received.

Samson was clapping as he exclaimed in awe over the fireworks show, his little face lighting up. He pecked Emilia on the cheek and said, "Happy birthday, Aunt Emmy! You're my favorite person in the whole world!"

Even Claudia's birth parents, Peter Atwood and Lorraine Oliveira, and her older brother, Benedict Atwood, were gathered around Emilia to wish her a happy birthday. It seemed Emilia was the favorite in the family despite being adopted.

As it turned out, Claudia wasn't a part of their family. If she were, she wouldn't be bleeding to death in a hospital bed, all alone.

Devastated, she closed her eyes and bit her lower lip. "I want to speak to Shawn. Pass him the phone!" she snapped at Emilia.

She heard Benedict growl in the background, "Is that Claudia again? She's like a debt collector, calling everyone to spoil their fun! What the hell does she want now? She just has to steal the limelight and ruin Emilia's birthday party!

"Benedict, don't say that!" Emilia defended Claudia. "Sorry, Claudia. Don't be mad. I'll pass the phone to Shawn right now."

Claudia let out a bitter, humorless laugh. Her family could throw sticks and stones at her if they wanted; she was already used to it.

The video shook, and a second later, Shawn showed up on the screen. His handsome features seemed more chiseled in the dark, and up close, his eyes were as dark as inky whirlpools. Claudia thought she might drown in them and freeze.

She ignored the tightening sensation in her chest, her voice breaking with the pain of labor as she demanded, "Can you come over and sign off on the C-section, Shawn? I'm losing a lot of blood due to labor complications."

Shawn frowned as he assessed her pale, sweaty face but snorted when old memories flittered through his mind. "Come on, Claudia, it's just childbirth! Don't you know any new tricks? I'm growing tired of your theatrics."

Bleeding out from labor complications? She spun him the same lie when she gave birth to Samson five years ago.

The epidural wore off, and the full magnitude of the pain kicked in. Claudia gritted her teeth; she wanted to scream and roar at Shawn.

The IV needle in the back of her hand snapped when she gripped the sides of the bed a little too forcefully. Tears pricked her eyes, and she was in so much agony that she nearly dropped the phone.

Resignation and disappointment filled her as she choked out, "I'll ask you again—are you coming or not?"

Shawn couldn't help his annoyance, and his face darkened as he snapped, "No, I'm not. If you want me to, you'll have to wait until after we wrap up Emilia's birthday party."

He hated it when Claudia blackmailed him. The one thing he couldn't get over in this lifetime was how he was forced to marry her.

Claudia lost her grip on the phone. It fell on the bed with a thud, and a bitter smile curled her lips as the tears she tried so hard to hold back finally spilled down her cheeks. "If you don't show up, we'll get a divorce!"