The sterile white walls of the physician's office felt like a cage. "I'm afraid you have very few viable eggs remaining," the doctor said gently, her words a hammer blow to Ella's dreams.

Thirty years old, and her future as a mother was already slipping away. The revelation spurred a desperate urgency, a need to confront her boyfriend, Mike, with the news.

Bursting through her apartment door, the scent of a foreign perfume hit her first. Then, the sight of high heels and a handbag that weren't hers. A sickening realization washed over her as muffled moans and the rhythmic thump of a bed against a wall emanated from the bedroom. It wasn't just Mike, it was Kate, her best friend.

"Fuck, Ella is so stupid," Mike's voice, laced with cruel laughter, cut through the sounds of betrayal. "Can you believe she actually expects me to have a baby with her?"

Kate's snort followed. "She's delusional. I don't know how you put up with her for so long in the first place."

Then came the words that twisted the knife deeper: "Thankfully daily doses of plan B kept her from ever conceiving."

Ella's vision blurred red. The smoke alarm, a silent sentinel on the wall, became her weapon. She ripped it down, unleashing a deafening siren and a cascade of water. As Mike and Kate stumbled out, half-naked and dripping, their horrified faces were the only small victory she could claim.