Chapter 1

My husband froze all my bank cards just to force me to apologize to his first love.

Now I'm in a hospital hallway, seven months pregnant, on my knees, begging him over a video call to save our baby before we lose it.

Ten minutes later, a screen recording of me sobbing on the floor is playing on his first love Yara's livestream.

"Look at this, ladies. Textbook sob-story manipulator."

Yara purrs into the camera.

"She'll even use her unborn baby to guilt-trip a man. Rule number one: Ignore her. Don't feed the drama."

Her tip counter explodes.

Ten thousand people buy her "Spot the Snake" masterclass in minutes.

Half a million dollars.

Just like that.

Then Hunter's text lights up my phone.

"Since your little meltdown made Yara money, I'll let the apology slide this time."

I lie back on the freezing gurney.

The doctor's voice comes from somewhere above me.He says they couldn't save him.

I close my eyes and laugh.

It comes out broken.

Meanwhile, Yara's livestream is still going.

The comments flood the screen:

"Yara, you're a QUEEN."

"That girl was obviously faking it. Kneeling with a baby bump? Any normal guy would've fallen for it."

"How do you spot them so fast?"

Yara giggles and twirls her hair.

"Well, it's kind of my whole job. Manipulators always follow patterns. This one's just... extreme."

She lets out a pitying sigh.

"Most women know better than to use a baby like that. This one used her unborn baby. That's a whole new level of sick."

Within an hour, "Yara exposes fake victim" is trending everywhere. Cable news is calling her for a live segment. Prime-time ratings go through the roof.

I shut off my phone.

I wrap Noah's tiny urn in a soft velvet cloth.

I carry his urn down to the creek behind the house. To the little grave I dug myself an hour ago.

I tuck in the outfits I knitted for him. The ones he never got to wear.

"It's cold out there, sweetheart," I whisper. "Bundle up before you go."

I kneel at the little marker.

Then I break.

I cover my face and sob until the sky turns gray.

My phone suddenly rings.

It's Yara.

"Hi. Why aren't you picking up Hunter's calls? You're due in a couple months. This isn't the time to throw a fit, is it?"

I push open my front door.

Yara is standing in my living room, phone in hand.

Her face lights up when she sees me. She tugs on Hunter's sleeve.

"Hunter! She's back!"

Hunter storms toward me, eyes bloodshot.

"I told you I'd fly to Switzerland with you. You couldn't squeeze money out of me, so you ran away?"

His voice cracks with something like panic. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for a pregnant woman to wander off in the middle of the night?"

Yara watches him.

For half a second, her smile freezes.

Then it's back. All sweetness.

"Yeah. Even if you're mad at Hunter, dragging the baby into it? Not okay."

Hunter shoves me toward the bedroom.

"Go pack. We're staying at an airport hotel tonight."

I'm wearing a loose maternity dress.

Everything's hidden.

He hasn't noticed that my stomach is flat.

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