Chapter 1

It was the third time. Evan Glenn had walked out on our wedding for his depressed female friend.

This time, I didn't cry or cause a scene. I asked, "What about our wedding?"

He leaned in and whispered urgently, "Once Willa stops trying to kill herself, I'll give you an even bigger wedding. I promise."

I nodded, saying nothing.

An hour later, Willa posted on Instagram.

In the photo, she was wearing a diamond ring, fingers laced with a man's.

The caption read: [Can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you.]

I watched it without a flicker of emotion. Then I opened WhatsApp, blocked Evan, and deleted him.

Three days later, Evan showed up downstairs, out of breath. "Babe, good news. Willa is finally cool with us. I moved the wedding up to two weeks from now. Come back with—"

He cut himself off mid-sentence when he saw me walking out the door with a man he didn't recognize.

He asked in a trembling voice, "Who is he?"

"Does it matter?" I said calmly. "You're not the groom anymore."

Evan glared at me, eyes bloodshot, while I held Hayden Sherman's hand. He said, "Kaitlyn, you're kidding, right? You've known him for only a few days. I know you're doing this to spite me."

He took a step forward and tried to grab my wrist. "That post from Willa was a misunderstanding. She's just... she's insecure."

I took a small step back, drawing closer to Hayden.

Hayden understood immediately and said gently, "Mr. Glenn, please don't touch her."

Evan kept his eyes locked on me. "We've been together for five years. How can you just walk away?"

A cool breeze brushed past, and I ran my hand through my hair, feeling suddenly drained.

I said, "You said you were working late last Wednesday. You were actually in the ER with Willa, right?"

Evan's face went pale. "How did you know?"

"She had acute gastritis. You stayed with her until three in the morning. The next day, I had a bad fever, and all you said was 'take care'." I smiled bitterly. "Want me to keep going?"

He stood there, lips moving but nothing coming out.

Without another glance at him, I took Hayden's hand and walked right past.

Evan shouted after me, "Kaitlyn, I'm not giving up on you. I'll win you back. I'll come again until you agree to the wedding in two weeks."

When I got home, I felt sick and threw up, then took a pregnancy test.

The test showed I was pregnant. I recalled last week's relentless nausea. I had thought it was a stomach issue.

Now I knew. My child came at the wrong time, quietly.

I calmly made an appointment at the hospital, and when I lay down on the operating table, I was surprisingly clear-headed.

The cold instruments worked within me, sending dull waves of pain. My eyes were open, fixed on the harsh lights above, tears refusing to fall.

The anesthesia hadn't fully numbed my nerves. I could feel the baby being taken from my body.

Finally, I cried.

I grabbed my phone and deleted every photo that had anything to do with Evan.

The next afternoon, Evan showed up outside my office building, clutching a huge bouquet of red roses.

He was dressed in a sharp suit, clearly put together with care, standing in the lobby's most visible spot, drawing the gaze of everyone passing by.

"Wow, those are for Kaitlyn, right? Mr. Glenn is so romantic."

"Yeah, that's a huge bunch of roses. I recognize the brand. That must have been expensive."

"Kaitlyn is so lucky. Her boyfriend is handsome and spoils her rotten."

The comments from all around pressed in on me.

In the midst of all those envious glances, Evan walked right up to me, holding out the bouquet.

He said gently, "Kaitlyn, I'm sorry for what happened yesterday. Don't be mad, okay?"

The cheering from my coworkers grew louder. "Say yes. Kaitlyn, hurry up and take the flowers. Don't keep Mr. Glenn waiting."

In the past, I might have been moved to tears, soaking up all that attention and happiness.

Yet now, looking at his familiar but distant face and those bright red roses, I felt nothing but numbness.

I stared at him, making no move, my eyes betraying no reaction, as if I were watching a poorly acted scene that had nothing to do with me.

Evan's smile slowly froze, his hand holding the flowers shaking a little.

I turned to the receptionist, who looked equally stunned, and said in a steady voice, "Could you call security? This gentleman is everyone."

Just then, Willa came rushing out and said, "Evan, I'm pregnant with your child."

Evan's expression froze, and he snapped his head toward her.

Willa stood a short distance away, pale and tearful, one hand resting gently on her stomach, looking at him with fragile vulnerability.

"Willa, what did you just say?" Evan's voice trembled, and the fancy flowers in his hands almost slipped to the ground.

"I said I'm pregnant with your child," Willa cried, tears streaming down her face, her words echoing clearly through the entire lobby.

She said, "It happened the night before your wedding, when you came to me drunk. Evan, it's yours."

Everything went quiet. The colleagues who were teasing before had gone completely silent.

Evan's eyes went wide with excitement. "Really? Willa, is it true?"

He murmured as he stepped toward her, his voice brimming with astonishment, completely ignoring me, the person he had just begged to get back together with.