[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":9},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260311FB68BF-1":3},{"id":4,"number":4,"name":5,"content":6,"isLocked":7,"price":8,"hasRead":7},1,"Chapter 1: The Ring, The Lie, The Rebirth","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Six years of crushing hard, and after all my hustle, he finally put a ring on it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I thought we were endgame.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But on our third anniversary, the same day I found out I was pregnant, he bumped into his ex.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Next thing I know, he's buying her a crib, and they're inseparable.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He ghosted me and our baby.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Turns out, I was just a placeholder all along.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Whatever. I got the abortion and bounced.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I'm loaded now, anyway.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Love? Not my vibe anymore.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">---\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My marriage imploded the day I discovered I was pregnant.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">That morning, I hid the pregnancy test – two faint lines mocking me – and asked Benjamin to tag along to the hospital for a check-up.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was supposed to be a surprise.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">We'd been trying for a baby for three years, zero luck.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">So many nights, lost in the moment, I'd whisper-scream, \"I'm dying to have your baby.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He'd kiss away the tears and murmur, \"We will. And if not, it's okay.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I ate that up, thought he was head-over-heels.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Thought I, the ultimate loner since childhood, had finally found my person.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But when I finished my exam and hurried back to the waiting room with my report, Benjamin was MIA.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I searched high and low, until I spotted his familiar silhouette next to a woman.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She was rocking a floral sundress, her hair a cascade of soft waves.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">As I got closer, I saw her face – delicate, fair, with subtle, elegant makeup that hinted at a secret allure.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She was a whole mood, a stark contrast to the other women there for prenatal check-ups, most of them looking decidedly bare-faced.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Even from afar, I swear I could catch her perfume.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Clutching the report, I stared, dumbfounded, my feet feeling like lead as I finally moved.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She looked up at Benjamin with eyes full of adoration and dropped the bombshell.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Benjamin… I’m pregnant…\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Her words were a direct hit. My body started shaking uncontrollably.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin stood beside her, his hand hovering near her hair, then pulling back.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He asked, his voice gentle, \"Are you going to keep it?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Her voice wavered, thick with unshed tears. \"I… I don't know. The father is a total jerk, but the baby… it's innocent…\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She then stood up and took Benjamin's hand.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Benjamin, please help me!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The baby wasn't Benjamin's!\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Hearing that, the hurricane raging inside me finally calmed, just a fraction.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But the report in my hand was now a crumpled ball of paper.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maybe my stare was too intense, because Benjamin turned and saw the shock plastered all over my face.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He dropped the woman's hand and walked over to me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Nora, you're back. How was the check-up? Everything okay?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He said it so casually, as if the intimate moment I’d just witnessed with another woman was just a hallucination.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Honey, who is this lady? She seems to know you pretty well.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I never really called him \"honey.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But this time, I felt the need to stake my claim.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin went silent, looking like he was miles away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was the woman who jumped in, flustered. \"Mrs. Stewart… you're mistaken. My name is Sophia Morgan. I'm… a friend of Benjamin's. We just… bumped into each other and were catching up.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Sophia Morgan?!\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Her name shared a character with mine.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My ears were ringing, and my mind went completely blank.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272933047]