CHAPTER 1

Alice

You know that feeling when your world crashes right in front of you, and you can only watch while the pain sinks deep into your stomach? That was exactly what I felt when those words rained down on me.

“You have nine months to live.”

The wallclock adjacent to me began to tick louder than it already was, each strike sounding like sand slipping through an hourglass.

On the very day I learned I was going to be a mother, the doctor sat across from me, his face blank, quietly handed me a terrifying, nine-month death sentence.

Seven years of marriage. Seven years of suffering, tears, and forced silence. And now, the one miracle my body had finally created was going to kill me.

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying.

​“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I couldn't even draw a full breath, as if invisible hands were squeezing my lungs.

The doctor watched patiently with that sympathetic look on his face. I didn’t blame him, but I hated it.

“Isn't there another way?” I asked, clinging to my last shred of hope.

The doctor sighed and I just knew I wouldn’t like what he had to say next. “Mrs. Reynolds, your heart and lungs are simply too weak to handle a pregnancy. If you terminate now, we can start medications to give your body time to heal. While I strongly advise against carrying a child in the future, we can re-evaluate based on how your body responds—or you and your husband could consider an adoption.”

He added, “If you choose to go on with the pregnancy, I’m afraid you might not live to see your child born.”

That line hit me like a double-edged sword.

I sniffed loudly and wiped my face aggressively with the back of my sleeve. There were too many emotions and I didn’t know which one to feel first. I was angry, yes, but I was also heartbroken—heartbroken that after years of neglect, of wanting a family, and of begging my husband for a child, this was how it had to end.

The doctor’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Mrs. Reynolds, I think it’s best I discuss the rest of the details with your husband present as well. Can you call him over?”

“No, I’m fine on my own, thank you.” I replied with a nervous shift in my chair.

He leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of him on the desk. “This is a major decision. We usually discuss things like this with both parties. Isn’t there a way he can come to the hospital?”

My stomach tightened. “I uhm… he actually is not available right now.”

He didn't understand. Calling my husband here was out of the question because I knew exactly how he would react. Avoiding that scenario was why I bypassed our family clinic and drove two hours to the city’s top medical center just to blend in as a new face in the waiting room. I couldn't risk Charles or our family doctor, Carolyn, finding out and taking away my only chance at being a mother.

I could still hear Charles's voice from that morning, so devoid of any interest in what I wanted. “Alice, just take your pills. There’s no need to go back and forth again. I can’t afford any complications.”

My head had snapped up. “What complications, honey?”

“Nothing.” He said, dismissing me.

Whenever I hoped for a child, my hope would come crashing down when he forced those pills on me, year after year.

“Why can’t you understand how much this means to me?” I had whispered back then, hot tears cascading down my cheeks.

His response was the usual. “I don’t want children yet.”

Yet somehow… despite everything… I was pregnant.

I let my hand linger over my stomach, holding onto the tiny heartbeat inside me, the only real light left in my life.

“I will keep the baby,” I said without hesitation.

The doctor hesitated for a moment before finally handing me a document along with a pen.

“Go through the document and sign here.” He pointed to a spot below where ‘patient’s signature’ was written.

I grabbed the pen and signed the consent form, literally trading my life to give my child a chance. That gave me nine months to outsmart Charles, secure my own care, and ensure this baby survived.

“I’m sending your prescriptions down to the pharmacy,” the doctor said as he took the form. “These medications will be harsh on your system, but don't fret, your body just needs to get used to it and they are necessary to protect the baby. So, you should start them today.”

Down at the pharmacy counter, I pulled out my phone to log into our family health insurance and pay for my prescription, only to see that my own part of the coverage had been flagged: Temporarily Suspended Pending Provider Audit.

I tried it again but the words still looked at me with dark ugly ink.

“Ma’am, the system won't let me release these,” the cashier punched her keyboard repeatedly. “The insurance is locked, and we need your primary physician’s clinical ID to override it.”

Meaning I needed Carolyn’s ID.

‘Did Carolyn lock my access on Charles's orders?’ The thought sent a cold shiver down my spine. She was our family doctor, but she had always been loyal to Charles first.

I almost laughed in bewilderment. The day couldn’t get any worse, could it?

These specialized drugs cost thousands out-of-pocket. If I used our joint credit card to pay, Charles would get an instant alert on his phone and demand answers. I had no choice.

I opened my contacts and looked down at Charles's name on my screen. My chest felt impossibly tight and my fingers shook so badly I could barely tap 'Call.'

As his line began to ring, a cold realisation settled over me. I had already signed the consent form, and there was nothing he could do to stop the pregnancy now.

I put the phone to my ear. It rang twice before he picked up.

“Hey sweetheart? How are you doing?” his voice came through the speaker.

But then, I heard his voice echoing from down the adjacent VIP corridor. There was no mistaking it—I knew Charles’s voice anywhere.

I froze, the phone still pressed to my ear.

My heart slammed against my ribs. Slowly lowering my phone, I stepped away from the pharmacy counter and followed the sound down the carpeted hallway until I reached a nearby door left slightly open.

Peeking through, I spotted Charles and Carolyn, and a doctor speaking to them who I remember was Carolyn’s colleague, a senior OBGYN.

My breath caught right out of my throat in panic.

Did he somehow find out and come here with Carolyn to confront me?

Before I could even process what I was seeing, the senior doctor smiled at them both and spoke the words that shattered me:

“Congratulations, your wife is pregnant.”

Now imagine my shock when I saw their fingers clasped together and realised I wasn't the wife he was celebrating with.

And worst of all was the look on Charles’s face—the man who spent seven years telling me he wasn't ready for a child was wearing the happiest smile I had ever seen.