Chapter 3

It felt like being cut to pieces, slowly, by a blunt blade.

I loved them both so much.

I wanted to hate them. I wanted to burn everything down.

But I couldn't bring myself to fully hate her. The pain just drowned out the anger.

Friendship wasn't secondary to romance.

Wendy held half of my youth, half of my memories.

She was the other half of my shadow, present through every laugh and every heartbreak.

And David... he was my husband. We had shared so many intimate years together.

So, I would step back. A clean break for everyone.

---

I didn't leave the hospital early after all.

David wouldn't allow it.

Instead, he started spending far more time in my room, acting like a devoted husband.

"Tell me if you need to move," he said softly, sitting beside my bed. "Call me if you feel off. I’m right here."

Wendy pulled back, too.

In front of me, they kept a careful, unnatural distance from one another.

It reeked of guilt.

---

That fragile peace lasted only a few days.

David rushed into my hospital room, breathless and tense.

I had been planning to bring up divorce, but he beat me to it.

"Nora, we need to get a divorce."

My fingers dug into the bedsheets.

It wasn't that I wanted to stay with him.

It was the sudden wave of humiliation and injustice. I hadn't done anything wrong, yet I was the one being discarded so easily.

Seeing my expression darken, David hurried to explain.

"It’s not real. I mean, we have to get legally divorced, but we’ll remarry right away. Wendy’s in trouble.

“Her family is trying to strip her inheritance, and she needs a legal spouse on paper to protect her assets."

I stared at him, stunned into silence.

Before I could process his words, David snapped, his voice sharp with anger.

"Don't be so cold-hearted, Nora! It’s just a paper favor. After everything Wendy has done for you!"

His raised voice echoed in the room.

A nurse rushed in to intervene.

"Doctor Klaus, please calm down! Stressing out a pregnant patient is dangerous."

David was usually so collected, so controlled. I had never seen him fly into a rage like this.

---

Once the nurse left, his tone turned dark.

Threatening.

He told me that if I didn't agree to the fake divorce, he would file for a real one immediately.

He didn't care if people judged him for suing his pregnant wife.

He didn't care if the judge threw the case out.

He was ready to ruin us both.

He knew what people would say.

If a man sued for divorce while his wife was lying in a hospital bed, everyone would assume she had committed some unforgivable sin.

Looking into his eyes, I didn't see my husband anymore.

I saw an enemy.

A bitter laugh escaped my throat, tears spilling down my cheeks.

"Fine. I agree."

---

David’s shoulders slouched as his composure returned. He seemed to realize how far he had crossed the line.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, looking away. "I got overly emotional. Don't worry. We'll re-register our marriage as soon as her legal mess is sorted."

No. We won't.

I thought to myself.

He pulled out the paperwork.

To entice me, he had granted me ninety percent of our assets.

That worked for me. It was a very comfortable final settlement.

He tried to say something else, but I signed my name swiftly and handed the pen back.

"Leave. I need to rest."

---

Once David left, the quiet returned.

The only thing left weighing on me was the pregnancy.

I still hadn't found the heart to make a final decision about the abortion.

I had wanted this child for so long.

The universe decided for me the next morning.

I woke up to a cold, wet sensation.

I pulled back the blanket. The sheets were soaked in dark crimson blood.

Tears streamed down my face in the quiet room.

It felt as if the baby was being thoughtful, making the painful choice so that I wouldn't have to.