Chapter 1 Chapter 1

I had my wedding on the same day as my best friend, Vivienne York. Our husbands were also childhood friends. Because of our close relationship, we bought an apartment in the same building, living on different floors as neighbors. After marriage, both Vivienne and I got pregnant. I was a little ahead of her, already nearing my due date. While we were out for a walk, someone suddenly shoved me from behind. I lost my balance and fell straight into the river. "Help!" My belly was already heavy, and I couldn't swim. Water quickly filled my lungs, and I began sinking. Struggling to get to the shore, I managed to call my husband, Lucas Ford. But as soon as Lucas picked up, he snapped, "Miranda Grant, enough! Don't call me when I'm in the middle of a rescue! Do you even realize Cass is hanging off a cliff right now? This is a life-or-death situation!""Honey, my stomach hurts. Please, help me." I was on the verge of drowning, yet Lucas had no patience for me. "All you ever do is complain about your stomach hurting, huh? You're just pregnant; you're not royalty. Why are you so damn delicate? I'm working. Don't call again unless it's something actually important!" I once believed that marrying my childhood sweetheart would be as romantic as a fairy tale. But he only cared about Cassandra's life, not mine. The river was deep and icy, and my nose and lungs filled with water. The impact was so severe that blood flowed from my body, staining the river red. Just before I went under, I screamed at the top of my lungs, "I'm bleeding!" But on the other end, I heard Cassandra's panicked cries. "Lucas, this slope is too steep! Don't come up!" Lucas ignored my words and soothed Cassandra anxiously, "Don't be afraid, Cass, I will save you!" At that moment, my heart died. I lost my strength. My grip loosened, and I sank into the water once more. "No!" Just before I went under, I still asked him for help, "I'm bleeding!" Suddenly, Cassandra shrieked on the other end of the call. "Lucas, I'm scared! Am I going to die?" Lucas completely lost his patience. "And what do you expect me to do about it? Do you think I can stop the bleeding? I'm in the middle of a rescue! Do you even realize Cass is hanging off a steep cliff, several feet in the air? If you're bleeding, go to a doctor. Get yourself to the hospital!" The moment his words fell, I sank beneath the water again. I couldn't make it to shore this time. The person who had shoved me had used considerable force—it was clearly intentional. At the critical moment, Vivienne appeared. She was already four months pregnant, but she didn't hesitate. Ignoring her own condition, she plunged into the river and pulled me to shore. She carried me up the slope on her back. But the moment she set me down, I saw the blood staining her dress. I was in unbearable pain, and my face was pale. With no other option, Vivienne called her husband, Zachary Flynn, who was a doctor, for help. But Zachary also lashed out at her. "Cass sprained her ankle—it might be a fracture, do you understand? Can you stop calling me? I need to take her to the hospital! Vivi, Lucas and I are really unlucky to be stuck with the two of you! You just don't get it!" With that, he ended the call as well. After waiting endlessly, an ambulance finally arrived and took me away. I gave birth to a stillborn.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Unlike me, Vivienne had to undergo an emergency abortion. We held each other and wept, completely losing hope in our marriages. The pain from postpartum contractions sent tremors through my entire body. Just reaching for my phone and dialing took everything I had. After ten attempts, Lucas finally picked up. "Are you out of your mind, Miranda?" His voice was sharp with irritation. "I told you to stop calling. You just won't quit, huh?" A trace of mockery flickered in my eyes. "Let's get a divorce, Lucas." He froze for a moment, then his anger flared. "I already told you, Cass and I are just friends! She was running a fever and stranded on a cliff. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? She's so fragile—what if something happened to her? "Stop jumping to conclusions the moment you hear Cass' name! And don't think that just because you're pregnant, I won't divorce you!" With that, he hung up. Tears streamed down my face, dripping onto my phone. "Mandy, it hurts—my stomach hurts so much." She lay in the hospital bed beside mine, her once slightly round belly now flattened. Her face was deathly pale, her lips trembling. "But my heart hurts even more—" I was devastated. I wished I could take her pain away. But my own body—and my heart—was already shattered beyond repair. Earlier, when I called Lucas, I heard Vivienne's husband, Zachary, in the background. His voice sounded anxious and gentle as he comforted Cassandra. How ridiculous! Our childhood sweethearts—or husbands—abandoned us to be by another woman's side. Just then, Vivienne's phone rang. It was Zachary. The moment she picked up, he started cursing. "I swear, you're hopeless! I've told you countless times to stay away from Miranda—she's nothing but a petty woman! I've hated her since we were kids, but you never listened to me! "Do you even realize what's happening? Cass was hanging off a steep cliff, several feet above the ground! Lucas was trying to save her, and yet Miranda chose that exact moment to call him! "She obviously has bad intentions! And you're always with her. Aren't you afraid of karma? What if it all comes back to our baby?" Then, just like Lucas, he hung up. Vivienne closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek. Her number had been blocked as well. "Mandy, we've known them for so many years. How did things turn out like this? He even cursed our baby, saying we'd face retribution. Well, now the baby is gone. Maybe that's his retribution. He doesn't care about me or the baby. I haven't seen him in almost half a month." Vivienne broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Her hand rested on her now-flat belly, mourning the baby she had once eagerly awaited. "I'm sorry, Vivi. This is all my fault." I covered my face in despair, crying so hard I could barely breathe.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

I was a year older than Vivienne, but she had always been the one protecting me. We were inseparable, like real sisters. After I started dating Lucas, I went out of my way to set her up with Zachary. I was blind, and I dragged my best friend down with me. In the end, we got married and even got pregnant. Yet, we were nothing but fools, played by those two men. They never truly loved us. Vivienne suddenly let out a bitter laugh, curling up in pain. I looked up and saw her holding her phone. It was a photo. Lucas was covered in dirt. He had a rope tied around his waist and held Cassandra tightly in his arms. Zachary, wearing his white coat and carrying a medical kit, was rushing toward them. For a fleeting moment, if the men in the photo weren't our husbands, I might have even envied the scene. They shielded Cassandra like a treasure, like knights risking their lives to protect their princess. The photo was posted on Cassandra's social media, along with a suggestive caption, "One risked his life to save me, and the other treated my wounds. Right now, I'm the happiest person in the world." The comments section had already exploded. "Oh my god, this is straight out of a fairy tale!""They love her so much! I'm so jealous!""Petition for the heroine to just keep both of them!" I shook my head with a bitter smile. A sharp, stabbing pain spread through my chest when I realized the necklace around Cassandra's neck in the photo was the same one Vivienne and I had once set our eyes on. "The salesperson told us it was a limited edition, and only one piece was available. They wouldn't let us buy it, but somehow it ended up on Cassandra's neck. "Mandy, look at this. They give the best of everything to Cassandra. We're just fools." Vivienne's voice was thick with tears as they rolled down her cheeks once more. I took her phone and struggled to sit up, pressing my forehead against hers. "Vivi, none of this matters anymore. We need to focus on recovering. They don't care about us, so why should we care about them?" The more I spoke, the more suffocated I felt. Tears streamed down my face as we held each other tightly. We were wronged so badly. Growing up together, we thought we knew them inside out. But Cassandra—someone we never even heard of before our marriages—turned our lives into a joke. And the most ridiculous part? Lucas had blocked me too. "Mandy, we're such failures. We can't even contact our own husbands." "They probably can't wait for us to die so they can make room for Cassandra." … After a few days of rest, we had somewhat recovered physically, but the wounds in our hearts refused to heal. "Vivi, let's leave them. What's the point of staying with these heartless men? We don't need them, and we don't need children either." She nodded expressionlessly, completely dead inside. In the end, we decided to find a lawyer to handle the divorce. If we asked those men directly, they would just think we were being unreasonable. But the lawyer came back empty-handed. "Ms. Grant, I'm sorry. I think this might be the hardest case I've ever taken. Your husband is too volatile. The moment I brought it up, he shoved me out the door and started cursing. As soon as he heard your name, he smashed a glass. "What kind of so-called elite is this? He's just a thug! I've already refunded your fee. You should find someone else." The lawyer angrily hung up. Seconds later, my phone rang again. "Miranda! Are you out of your mind? I blocked you because you were interfering with my work! I didn't expect you to be this petty. You even went so far as to send a lawyer to both my workplace and Zachary's to cause trouble! What the hell do you want? We must've been blind to marry you two!" I clenched my teeth in anger. "Lucas, you—""Shut up!" Before I could finish, he cut me off. "Enough already! Listen, Miranda, don't think that just because you're pregnant, I won't divorce you!""I know that. That's why I sent a lawyer to you." I forced myself to sound calm. "Lucas, I sincerely want a divorce. You just think I can't live without you. Oh, and pass a message to Zachary—tomorrow, the four of us will meet at the courthouse." There was a long silence on the other end of the line. It didn't matter. I had said everything I needed to say. Just as I was about to hang up, Lucas suddenly roared, "Miranda Grant! Are you insane? I've told you so many times—rescue work is my job! Cass is a delicate woman, and she was terrified. She has nightmares every night now! As a friend, what's wrong with me staying by her side?" Then, I heard Cassandra's soft sobs in the background.

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

"Lucas, I'm fine. You should go home. This is all my fault—I shouldn't have clung to you so much. Miranda and Vivienne are both pregnant. I was just overreacting. A little scare is nothing. They're more important than me—" Lucas immediately softened his tone. "Don't say that. She's just petty and unreasonable. Cass, you're too weak. You need to rest. Just look at how pale you are. "Having a baby is her affair. It's not like I can help her give birth. She's just doing this on purpose. If it's not stomach pain, then it's bleeding. It's all fake." Hearing this, I let out a laugh, one filled with nothing but sorrow. Vivienne, who was listening the whole time, clenched her fists. "Mandy, don't cry. A man like him isn't worth our tears! Once we get discharged, let's go shopping, travel, and enjoy life!" "Alright." We leaned against each other, smiling bitterly through the pain. Not long after, Cassandra updated her social media again. It was another photo. Lucas was shirtless, cooking in the kitchen. Zachary, wearing nothing but underwear, was clearing the table. One look, and it was obvious what had just happened between them. "Mandy! They're—" Vivienne's expression twisted in shock and disgust before she started dry-heaving. A wave of nausea hit me as well. After knowing them for so many years, I finally realized—we weren't even the same species. No human would do something like this. Just then, Vivienne's phone rang. "Vivienne York, go find a new place and move out immediately. I'm busy, but you need to cut ties with Miranda as soon as possible!" Zachary's voice was cold and commanding. "You've been spending too much time with her, and she's been a bad influence on you! From now on, you're to break off all contact with her. Do you hear me? If it weren't for the baby, I wouldn't even want you anymore!" Vivienne trembled with anger, gripping her phone as if she wanted to smash it. On the other end of the line, Zachary, frustrated by her silence, grew even more impatient. "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?" "Shut up!" I snatched the phone from her and finally let loose. "Aren't you Cassandra's lapdog? Then be a good one—go kneel by the bed and lick her feet! Just divorce Vivi!" Before he could respond, I hung up and immediately blocked his number. Vivienne stared at me with wide eyes. "Mandy, I didn't know you could curse people out like that." "I wasn't cursing a person—I was cursing a dog. A bloody fool!" She nodded repeatedly. "You're right! Absolutely right!" After we had recovered enough, Vivienne and I held hands and went to complete our discharge procedures. We had already decided—once we left the hospital, we would go shopping for new clothes, get makeovers, buy new makeup, and embrace our new single lives in style. But just as we reached the nurse's station, we were shoved aside. "Doctor! Nurse!" "Quick, help her! She slit her wrists!" It was Zachary. He was holding Cassandra in his arms. Her eyes were tightly shut.