Chapter 3

At the birthday party, Marvin's friends crowded around me in the private room and pushed the biggest slice of cake right in front of me. "Marvin says you love cake. Have some."

Marvin looked away, pretending not to notice.

The moment the cake touched my lips, a sharp bitterness rose in my throat, and nausea hit me hard.

But Shirley pressed me down while shoving the unfinished cake back into my mouth. "It's my birthday today. It'd be rude for you to spit out my cake. Come on. Finish it!"

Suddenly, my lower stomach clenched with pain, unbearable and sharp.

Marvin's friends started teasing and laughing, treating me like part of some cruel joke.

After finishing the cake, I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting until I felt the world spin around me. From the private room came satisfied laughter—clearly, it was another prank of theirs.

"Is your stomach still bothering you?" Marvin handed me warm water with mint leaves floating inside, an old remedy for nausea he taught me when we first met.

I couldn't respond as my body was wracked with sharp, stabbing pain, like needles piercing through me.

I looked down and froze. Blood was trickling from between my legs, running down my thighs. It was terrifying.

I grabbed Marvin's arm, trembling. "Take me to the hospital…"

But Shirley stood blocking the door, grinning. "Marvin, it's just irregular bleeding. Girls get that all the time. Don't worry about it."

"Move!" Marvin snapped, his voice sharp.

That was the first time he'd ever gone against Shirley.

When I woke up, I overheard Shirley teasing Marvin's friends outside the exam room, "Did you put too much of the drug? Didn't we agree just to embarrass her in public?"

One of them chuckled. "Marvin should be thanking me for helping him get rid of a burden."

"Yeah, it's been three years. If Serena had a baby, how would he get away from her?"

Marvin stayed silent for a long moment, then said, "Pranks are one thing, but you shouldn't mess with her health."

Shirley looked surprised, then angry. "You said you wanted to 'make the bookworm fall from her high horse' to avenge me, remember?

"You suggested humiliating Serena in public for my birthday. What, are you in love with her now?"

Marvin shook his head like he wanted to run from the question. "No way! You're the one I love."

Outside, laughter and cheers started again.

They celebrated the 98th prank's success and immediately began planning the 99th.

I touched my flat belly, the dull ache there a painful reminder.

The baby and I were just part of their game, wrapped up in a bow as Shirley's birthday present.

I wiped my tears and, with shaking fingers, canceled the surgery. It turned out I didn't need to do that because the baby's father had already sentenced it to death.

Just as I was about to call my father, Marvin came in. I shut my eyes tight and pretended to be asleep.

I heard him whisper in a guilty, hoarse voice, "I'm sorry…"

I knew exactly what he was sorry for.

After I recovered and was discharged, Marvin told me his friends and Shirley wanted to apologize and invited me to climb Mount Chessier with them.

He said they wanted to pray for our lost child at a monastery on top.

I knew it might be another prank, but thinking about the baby made my heart ache.

This would be my last goodbye before I left for Frontania.

All the way up, they clustered around Shirley, laughing and flattering her while ignoring me completely.

When we passed by a tree adorned with ribbons on which people had written their wishes, Marvin bought a ribbon strip, and we wrote a prayer for the baby together.

Shirley stood nearby, smiling sweetly at me. "You're such a good mom."

I ignored her false kindness.

There wasn't much space left on the tree. To hang mine, I had to lean over the fence a bit.

Suddenly, someone shoved me hard from behind.

"Ah!"

I fell forward without any chance to brace myself and tumbled down the steep slope. A sharp, unbearable pain shot through me, deep into my insides. My right leg was so badly injured that I could barely move it. Then everything went black.

Half-conscious, I felt Marvin pick me up, his eyes red.

"Selene, don't worry. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Why…" I whispered, tears blurring my sight. "Why do this to me?"

Though my body was wounded, it felt like my heart was breaking into pieces.

Marvin's eyes were full of guilt and fear. His voice shook as he explained, "I didn't know they'd go this far. I really didn't know…"

Then my world faded into darkness.