Chapter 1

My best friend and I married into the powerful Sterling family together. I got the eldest son, Julian. She got Damon, the younger.

We got pregnant in the same month. We went into labor on the same day.

I gave birth to a boy with a failing heart. The Sterlings treated him, and me, like a stain on their legacy.

My best friend, Seraphina, delivered a healthy, robust boy. He became the family's golden child.

To save my son, Julian and I sacrificed our inheritance, willingly cut off from the family.

Later, the child recovered, but he recognized Seraphina as his mother.

Julian and I froze to death by the roadside.

Only after I died did I learn the child with the failing heart was Seraphina's. She swept them.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the very day we were due to give birth...

"Rory," her voice drifted gently from the next bed, "do you think our babies will be boys or girls?"

I slowly opened my eyes and looked over.

My best friend, Seraphina, was gently caressing her baby bump, a soft, maternal glow on her face.

I stared at her, my mind reeling. My hand, hidden beneath the blankets, savagely pinched my skin.

The pain was sharp. Real.

It was true. I was back, trapped once more in the sterile limbo of the delivery room.

She'd asked me the same question in our last life. Back then, I'd been blind, answering with a laugh, "Boy or girl, as long as it's mine, I'll love it."

"And what if the baby isn't healthy? Will you still love it?" Her voice floated over again. The words were a perfect echo of the past.

Last time, I'd been blind. This time, I knew. She had already known her baby would have problems.

The swap had been her plan all along.

In my previous life, I'd laughed it off. "Relax, Sera! We're on the Sterling estate, with doctors on call. Our babies are going to be perfect. Don't scare yourself, and definitely don't scare me. You know I'm a big softie."

But Seraphina pressed, needing a firm answer. I gave her one. "If it's my child, I'll love it and care for it."

"You better mean that, Rory!" she beamed, a flicker of triumph in her eyes I'd been too naive to recognize.

I never knew, then, that every word was a step in her design.

Now, the same question hung in the air between us.

I immediately turned my head and pressed the nurse call button.

Kim, my assigned nurse, was at my side in an instant. "Mrs.Rory Sterling, what can I do for you?" she asked softly.

"I need to be moved to a private delivery room. I don't want to stay in here with her."

Kim blinked, but nodded.

As the elder Sterling daughter-in-law in active labor, a sudden odd request wasn't unheard of.

"One moment, please. I'll arrange it immediately."

Seraphina anxiously called out, "Kim, wait!"

"Ma'am, shall I call your nurse for you?" Kim asked politely.

Seraphina snapped, ignoring the courtesy. "Don't you dare move her."

Kim's eyes sought mine. "Mrs. Sterling?"

"Proceed. Now." I calmly instructed. Kim nodded and left the room.

Seraphina glared at me, her face darkening. "Rory, what is this? Are we not best friends anymore?"

We used to be. In my past life, we were. But not anymore.

This time, I wouldn't let her wicked schemes succeed.

That ungrateful, cold-hearted brat? They could have him.