Chapter 1

The rain was still pouring when I left the parking lot.

A sharp ache tightened across my lower stomach.

By the time I reached the curb, my legs gave out. I grabbed a streetlight pole and stood there for what felt like forever before I finally waved down a taxi.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

"Miss, are you headed to the hospital?"

I nodded.

"Please... as fast as you can."

In the emergency room, a nurse handed me a clean hospital gown. When I peeled off my soaked clothes, I finally saw the dark stain spreading across my jeans.

After all the tests were done, the doctor slid a report across the desk.

"You were pregnant. It was still very early, but the embryo had already stopped developing."

He paused before continuing.

"The fall in the rain made the bleeding worse. We need to keep you overnight for observation."

I froze.

"Pregnant?"

The doctor looked up at me.

"You didn't know?"

I slowly shook my head.

For the past 2 months, I had been buried in a major project. Late nights, endless revisions, barely sleeping. When my period was late, I had blamed my messed‑up schedule.

The nurse spoke gently. "Can a family member come? We need someone to sign the paperwork."

Without thinking, I reached for my phone. The screen was still sitting on the last message James Porter had sent me.

[Baby, just hang in there one more day.]

I gave them James's number.

The first 2 calls went unanswered.

The third connected.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered.

It was Zara Charlton.

The nurse said politely, "Hello, this is the Marlowe City Hospital Emergency Department. Mr. Porter's family member needs a consent signature. Is he available?"

Zara's voice sounded soft and almost lazy. "He's in the shower. He can't answer right now."

The nurse hesitated.

"The patient isn't in good condition. It is best if her family comes as soon as possible."

Zara let out a tiny laugh.

"If it's not life‑or‑death, could it wait a little?

"We're doing our 24‑Hour Boyfriend Challenge today. We can't interrupt it, or we'll have to start the whole thing over."

I heard running water in the background. Then James's voice drifted over. "Who's calling?"

Zara answered naturally. "Just a telemarketer."

"Oh."

That was all.

A second later, the call ended. The nurse looked at me awkwardly.

"Would you like to try contacting someone else?"

I took my phone back.

"No."

In the end, Joyce Cooper came. She rushed into the hospital with her jacket on inside out. The moment she saw me, she stopped cold.

"Yvonne... what happened?"

She knelt beside me and lightly touched the scraped skin on my palm. Her expression darkened instantly. "Where's James?"

I stared at the IV drip hanging beside my bed. "He's busy."

Joyce's lips parted, but she swallowed whatever she wanted to say. Instead, she quietly turned around and went to pay the hospital bill and buy my toiletries.

At 3 in the morning, Zara uploaded a new video.

She wore pajamas while James stood behind her, blow‑drying her hair before tucking the blanket neatly around her.

The comments flew by so fast they blurred together.

[This is basically married life already.]

[The way Mr. Porter looks at her does not seem fake at all.]

[If you two do not get married, this story has a terrible ending.]

I watched for a few seconds, then I closed the app, opened my contacts, and deleted James's number.

The next morning, the doctor told me the bleeding had finally stopped.

"However, you need real rest," he warned. "No more overworking yourself."

Before leaving the hospital, I sat in the lobby and called a rental agency.

"Hi. I'm looking for a short‑term apartment. Preferably somewhere I can move into within the next few days."

Joyce looked over at me. "You're moving out?"

I slipped my medical records into my bag.

"Yeah."

"Did you and James have a fight?"

"It's not a fight." I zipped the bag shut. "I just don't want to live there anymore."

When I got back to the apartment, the living room was overflowing with gift boxes.

James walked over carrying a mug of hot tea.

"Where did you go last night? You weren't answering your phone."

He reached out to feel my forehead. I turned my head away.

"I was at the hospital. My stomach hurt."

He fell silent for 2 seconds, then picked up the conversation as if he had rehearsed it.

"Yvonne, you knew about yesterday's challenge. It was the final day.

"If we stopped halfway, everything we did before would've been wasted. And if Zara got upset, it would only become an even bigger mess."

He said it so smoothly, as if every compromise I had made over the last 5 years had been the obvious thing to do.

He held out a bottle of medicine. "Take this first."

I did not reach for it. Instead, I asked, "What time did you get home yesterday?"

"Six in the morning."

Then he added quickly, "After she fell asleep, I came straight back."

I nodded.

"That's good."

Nothing more.

Maybe he thought I was still angry, because he bent down and pulled a gift box out from beneath the coffee table.

"Our anniversary present. I was supposed to give it to you last night."

Inside was a necklace. Hanging from it was a silver pendant shaped like the number 100.

I held it between my fingers without saying a word.

James sat down beside me.

"The brand gave us two limited‑edition anniversary necklaces. Zara got one, and I brought the other to you."

"The number's pretty meaningful." I almost laughed.

My fifth anniversary gift was the matching extra from his couple set with another woman.

I placed the necklace back into the box. "What if tomorrow she says she missed another challenge?"

James paused. "What?"

"If this round ends and she wants to start over…" I looked him in the eyes. "Will you do it again?"

He did not answer.

My voice stayed calm.

"James, starting today, whatever happens between you and Zara has nothing to do with me."

He looked at me like he did not understand.

However, I did not explain.

Some things only needed to be said once.