Chapter 1

My best friend and I gave birth at the same time. I joke about setting the two kids up together. My husband's face darkens instantly.

He looks at me, dead serious.

"They're siblings. They can't get married."

I freeze. I must've heard him wrong.

Ethan smiles, light and easy, like he's talking about the weather.

"On our wedding night, after we were done, I drugged you. She covered your face with her bra, and we did it right next to you. All night long."

"That's the night you both got pregnant."

"Funny how you two ended up in labor at the same time. Must be fate."

My mind goes blank. I slowly turn toward the next bed — Sienna, my best friend, fast asleep.

When I was twenty, I took fifteen stab wounds to save her life. She told me she'd owe me forever.

Ethan shifts, blocking my view. His tone is casual, almost bored.

"Relax. Sienna won't fight you for anything. We'll all just live together. To the public, you'll still be Mrs. Foster."

Every drop of blood in my body turns to ice.

The System's voice cuts through my head, flat and mechanical:

**[Do you wish to abandon the mission to redeem the Villain and exit this world immediately?]**

......

My eyes land on Sienna's wrist.

She's wearing a rosary bracelet.

The same one I got for Ethan when he was in that car accident, barely clinging to life. I spent hours on my knees at the chapel, praying he'd pull through.

He never took it off. Not once.

But when Sienna and I went into labor at the same time, he gave it to her without a second thought.

Ethan quietly tucks her hand under the blanket, then turns to me. He wipes the tears off my cheek with his thumb.

"You're a mom now. Why are you still such a crybaby?"

I slap his hand away.

"Why? Why her? She had a boyfriend! And you just threw yourself at her like some desperate side piece — are you that pathetic?"

Ethan shakes his hand out, then looks up at me, genuinely surprised.

"You still think her so-called boyfriend is someone else?"

Something amuses him. He actually laughs.

"There were times you called me — and we were right in the middle of it."

"She'd be shaking all over, biting her lip, trying so hard not to make a sound. So damn hot."

He sighs, almost wistful. "Probably won't get that thrill again."

I bite down on my lip so hard I taste blood.

My throat closes up. I can't get a word out.

It takes forever before I manage to speak, my voice cracking.

"You could've just told me the truth. I would've walked away!"

If I'd known sooner, I could've left before it destroyed me.

Ethan lets out a soft sigh. Something like pity flickers in his eyes.

"Well — we did feel guilty about you."

"Remember when you got attacked trying to save Sienna? Beaten, violated until you lost the baby? I was hooking up with her in the car, right around the corner."

"She was freaking out. I had to calm her down. We got so caught up we forgot to call 911."

Something inside my skull snaps.

That night. Sienna and I were walking home from a movie. We ran into those guys in the parking garage.

I fought them off with everything I had so she could run. I was dead sure she'd get help for me. I held on, gritting my teeth, waiting.

When I came to, I was in the hospital.

Ethan was holding me, shaking, swearing he'd make them pay. And he did.

But now, looking at how calm he is, how unbothered — I realize every bit of that was an act.

If it weren't for some random stranger passing by, I'd be dead.

I grab the soup bowl from the nightstand and hurl it at him.

It smashes on the floor. Soup splatters everywhere.

He made that soup himself last night.

He put peanuts in it — Sienna's favorite. He forgot I'm allergic.

The signs were always there.

I just never wanted to see them.

Ethan stands there, not moving. Soup drips from his hair. He looks pathetic.

But he's not angry. He actually lets out a long breath, like he's relieved.

"Hate me. Resent me. That's fine. Just don't blame Sienna. She cares about you so much. She just had a baby — she could get postpartum depression. Cut her some slack."

I dig my nails into my palms until I feel blood. It's the only thing keeping me from falling apart.

The stitches down below are screaming — a constant reminder that he knows damn well a new mother needs rest, needs peace.

He just doesn't give a damn. Not about me.

The System's voice returns, cold and flat:

**[Do you wish to abandon the mission to redeem the Villain and exit this world immediately?]**

**[If no choice is made within 24 hours, you forfeit and will remain in this world permanently.]**

**[Countdown begins...]**