Chapter 1

"Doctor! I don't want this baby. Please schedule the surgery right now!"

I squeezed my way to the front, shouting in my head, "System! What's going on with the player inside my belly? Can we get rid of him?"

But my mission had ended long ago, and the system remained silent.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my stomach, and I heard a kid's voice screaming inside me.

[What the heck?! This woman's trying to abort me?!]

[Idiot! I have the system's Pregnancy Shield—if she tries to get rid of me, she'll die first!]

[She better not ruin my chance to become the top-ranked baby in the Ultimate Family Mission!]

Ultimate Family Mission?

It was a mission made for underage players, where you were judged on how well you could build a perfect family.

So he wanted to kill me… just so Ethan Kingsley and his real mom could be together again?

A mix of anger and helplessness washed over me.

I glared at the number display, waiting for my turn when a sudden pain shot through my wrist… I hadn't even realized Ethan was standing right behind me.

His face was dark, his jaw clenched. He gripped my wrist so tightly it felt like he wanted to crush it. "Claire," he growled, "What are you doing on the OB floor?"

People around started turning to look. My heart dropped. I never told anyone I was coming here to terminate the pregnancy. So how did he find out?

I remained silent.

Ethan's voice exploded with anger. "You're trying to end the pregnancy? Do you even know how much this baby means to me?!

"How could you do this to me?" His voice cracked at the end, as if he might cry.

Strangers started whispering and looking at me judgmentally. A pregnant woman nearby muttered to her friend, "What a good husband she has, and she still wants an abortion? Some people really don't know how lucky they are."

Except this wasn't my baby.

I forced my head down, my mind racing for an excuse. "Ethan, I had a dream that something was wrong with the baby… I just got scared."

Ethan was stunned for a moment. He sighed and pulled me into his arms. "Claire, I'm the best obgyn in the state. What are you afraid of?

"If you run around like this again, I'll lock you in our room. You won't get to go anywhere."

My whole body flinched.

It sounded like a joke, but it didn't feel like one…not when I had no friends or family in this world. If he really locked me up… no one would ever know!

He knelt down and gently kissed my growing belly. "Since we're already here, let's go for a checkup."

The cold gel on my belly made me shiver. The baby's heartbeat thumped so loud, filling the whole ultrasound room. Ethan's face softened the second he heard it. But to me, that sound felt like a countdown to my own death.

I fought the urge to push him away, clenching my fists so hard that my nails dug deep into my palm.

He took me straight home after confirming the baby was fine. When we got home, a woman stepped toward us and looked at Ethan fondly.

Ethan smiled at her.

"Claire, this is Vanessa," he said, turning to me. "I went through a lot to hire her. She's very experienced. Since I'm busy with work, she can take better care of you and the baby."

Vanessa Quinn gave me a slow, mocking once-over. "Oh, so this is Ms. Everly? No wonder Mr. Kingsley's so taken with you," she said jealously. I frowned, but Ethan just replied with a helpless smile.

And right then, after being quiet for a moment, the voice in my belly exploded with excitement.

[Dad brought my real mom home so fast! Of course she's jealous. Haha!]

[If he didn't think my mom was dead, he would've never let me grow inside this woman!]

[Fine though… she suffers through the pregnancy, and my real mom gets the reward!]