Chapter 4

The day my prenatal report came out, I sat on the hospital corridor bench, lost in thought.

The doctor said everything was perfect. The baby was healthy. I just needed to eat well and get plenty of rest.

*The baby is healthy.* I repeated those words in my head three times.

"Iris?"

I looked up. Chloe was standing at the end of the hallway, holding a bag of fruit.

She smiled and walked over. "What a coincidence. You’re at this hospital too?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly.

"Visiting a friend." She sat down next to me, her eyes casually scanning my hands.

I quickly flipped my medical report over, but her sharp eyes had already caught the header.

"OB-GYN department?" Chloe’s tone instantly shifted. The sweet, fake warmth vanished.

She stared intently at my face.

"Iris, don't tell me you're..."

"It’s none of your business."

"You're pregnant?"

I stood up. "Chloe, this is none of your concern."

"Of course it's my concern," she sneered, standing up to face me. "If that's Ethan’s baby, it is absolutely my business."

People were walking past us in the hallway. She leaned in closer, dropping her voice to a harsh whisper.

"Iris, were you planning on hiding this and raising the kid secretly? And then what? Use the child to blackmail Ethan?"

"I don't need to blackmail anyone."

"But Ethan won't want this baby anyway," Chloe said, her voice dripping with malice. "He told me himself—he wants his child to be born into a complete, loving family. And the family he chose has no room for you."

"He told you that?"

"He tells me everything." Chloe pulled out her phone and played a voice memo.

Ethan's voice came through the speaker: *Chloe, once this busy season is over, we'll have a beautiful wedding. Don't worry about anything else right now. Just focus on settling into our home.*

"Hear that? He’s already planning our wedding. If you crawl back now with a baby bump, everyone will just see you as a desperate ex-wife who refuses to let go."

I took a deep, steady breath.

Chloe watched my reaction, seemingly confirming her suspicions.

"Iris, let me give you some advice. Get an abortion and let’s go our separate ways. I won't tell Ethan, and no one else has to know."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I’ll tell him myself. How do you think he’ll react?"

She reached into her designer bag and handed me a white envelope.

"What's this?"

"Open it and see."

Inside the envelope was an ultrasound scan. The name printed at the top was Chloe Brooks. The date was from two weeks ago.

It clearly stated: *Intrauterine pregnancy, 7 weeks.*

"I’m pregnant too," Chloe said, her fake smile completely gone, replaced by a cold, arrogant stare. "Ethan already knows. He’s ecstatic. He already bought a ton of baby gear."

"So, do you get it now? His firstborn can only be mine."

I stared at the ultrasound.

Seven weeks. But Chloe only returned to the country yesterday. Seven weeks ago, she was still in Europe. Yet, the stamp on this ultrasound was from our local city hospital.

The timeline was physically impossible.

But I kept my mouth shut. Now wasn't the time to expose her.

"Think about it," Chloe said, patting my shoulder patronizingly. "Before things get messy."

She turned and sauntered away.

I clutched the fake ultrasound in my hand.

*You claim you're pregnant too. Seven weeks ago, you were across the ocean, but your scan is stamped by our local clinic.*

"Chloe Brooks, what kind of game are you playing?"