We had been together for six years. We were weeks away from the altar. And then, Carter told me to wait. He needed to give his childhood best friend and her son a home first, he said. Only then could he marry me. His reasoning? Her son, Toby, was terminally ill and wanted to know what it felt like to have a father before he died. Carter simply couldn’t bear the thought of the boy leaving this world with regrets. So, standing by the hospital bed, with tears welling in his eyes, he had promised the boy that he would be his daddy. Forever. But Carter forgot one thing. Our IVF embryos were already at the clinic, waiting for transfer. My body was still bruised from the hormone injections. I stared at him, the air suddenly too thin to breathe. “And what about our child?” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking at me like I was a difficult employee rather than his fiancée. “Can you have a little empathy, Maddie? You’ve waited six years. You can’t wait six more months? Even if the embryo takes, you’ll just have to get an abortion. It’s not a good time.” I told him my mother’s health was failing, that my parents were desperate to see me married and starting a family. In response, he pulled out his phone right in front of me and booked a courthouse appointment to marry Natalie. “Perfect timing, then,” he said without missing a beat. “I marry Natalie, you become Toby’s godmother. It’s basically the same as your mom getting a grandson. Tell her to get a nice gift ready.” I watched him turn his back on me and walk toward his office. The man I had loved, the man I had fought my family for, reduced to a stranger’s silhouette. My hands were shaking, but my mind was terrifyingly clear. I picked up my phone and dialed my brother’s number. “Harrison,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “The wedding is in ten days. I need you to find me a new groom.” 1 When Harrison heard I wanted to swap out the groom, his shock quickly curdled into a protective rage. “Did that son of a bitch do something to you? Is Carter backing out? Don’t tell Mom and Dad yet, their hearts can’t take this kind of shock.” That was exactly why I went to Harrison first. By some cruel stroke of luck, Carter had managed to avoid meeting my parents for the entirety of our six-year relationship, claiming he was intimidated by our family’s wealth. Aside from Harrison, no one in our social circle actually knew who the groom was supposed to be. “He’s not backing out, Harry,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I am. I don’t want to marry him anymore.” I braced myself for a lecture about treating marriage like a game. Instead, the line went quiet for a long second before Harrison exhaled a breath of profound relief. “Good,” he said fiercely. “I asked him to look out for you years ago, and he ended up taking you to bed and keeping you a secret from our parents. It was a coward’s move. If you’ve finally woken up and seen him for who he is, I couldn’t be happier for you.” He paused, lowering his voice. “Honestly, Mom and Dad were just talking yesterday about how they wished you’d agreed to marry into the Kensington family. Rumor has it Sebastian Kensington is prepping for a wedding, though nobody knows who the bride is…” A second later, Harrison let out a loud curse. “Holy shit. That quiet bastard. He actually did it. Sebastian texted me yesterday asking if your fiancé was a deadbeat, and if you’d mind if he crashed the wedding to steal you away.” Harrison’s shout didn’t startle me. Oddly, it made my shoulders drop. It felt like a release valve. Years ago, when my parents first tried to set me up with Sebastian Kensington to merge our families’ companies, I had already been secretly dating Carter for two years. My entire world revolved around Carter. I had flat-out refused the arrangement. When Carter found out about Sebastian, he had thrown a massive fit of jealousy. He dragged me to his apartment, making me swear on everything I loved. “Maddie, you’re mine. You will never marry another man.” He had gone down on his knees, holding my hands, swearing we would be together forever. He even finally faced Harrison, taking the punches and the yelling, promising he would cherish me more than my own family ever could. Forever. What a remarkably short amount of time that turned out to be. With the ceremony only ten days away, time was a luxury I didn’t have. “Tell Sebastian to be the groom, then,” I said into the receiver. “Walking down the aisle with me is a lot more dignified than crashing the ceremony, don’t you think?” “Crashing the ceremony?” I froze. Carter had walked back into the living room, his posture stiffening as he caught the tail end of my conversation. He stared at me like I was a threat to national security. “Let me warn you, Maddie,” Carter sneered, his tone dropping an octave. “Even if you pull some crazy stunt and try to ruin my wedding to Natalie, I won’t leave with you. Stop playing these pathetic games. If you do anything to ruin my image as a father to Toby, don’t blame me for turning ugly.” I hadn’t even said a word to him, yet in his mind, I had already morphed into the vindictive, hysterical ex-girlfriend. Turning ugly? Hadn’t he already done that the moment he decided to marry Natalie to play daddy? For six years, during every holiday and family gathering, he had promised me we would get married “next year.” But next year became the year after, and he always had an excuse. Every excuse was masterfully spun as being “for my own good.” He bought me expensive jewelry to placate me, and because I loved him, I blindly believed he was building our future. I spent hours talking Harrison down from beating him to a pulp. It took him six years—and relentless mocking from his own tech bros about his commitment issues—to finally propose. And now, days before the wedding, he still refused to fly to New York to meet my parents, claiming he wanted to give them a “massive surprise” at the ceremony. Oh, it was a massive surprise, alright. Natalie returned from Europe with a sick child, and in the blink of an eye, I was discarded. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I reached into my purse, pulled out his ID, and tossed it onto the coffee table. “You’re overthinking it, Carter. I have zero interest in being the other woman.” The phrase seemed to physically sting him. His brow furrowed deeply. “Are you deaf? I told you, I have to swap the bride for Toby’s sake. I already promised I’ll marry you afterward. Why are you being so passive-aggressive?” 2 “I’m not being passive-aggressive,” I said, my voice shockingly steady. “Go. Get your marriage license. Be the loving father. Your son is waiting for you.” The absolute sincerity on my face made Carter’s hand twitch as he reached for his ID. A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes. “I’ll divorce her and marry you right after,” he rushed to explain, sounding defensive. “Just be patient, Maddie. I promise—” Promises. The currency he’d been paying me in for six years, completely bankrupt. “Okay,” I said. My sudden compliance seemed to choke him. The rest of his words died in his throat. He took a step forward, reaching out to pull me into a hug. “Carter!” Natalie’s frantic voice shattered the quiet. “The nurse just called. Toby isn’t feeling well. Can you take me to the hospital, right now?” She came sprinting over the threshold, but her foot supposedly caught on the rug. She stumbled, falling directly toward me. Instinctively, I reached out to grab Carter for balance. But he forcefully swatted my hand away, diving to catch Natalie securely in his arms. Already off-balance, the force of his shove sent me crashing hard onto the hardwood floor. A sharp, white-hot pain shot up my tailbone, bringing instant tears to my eyes. Natalie curled into Carter’s chest, her cheeks flushed. In a voice dripping with coy vulnerability—just loud enough for me to hear—she whispered, “Your reflexes are still so good, Carter…” Carter glanced down at Natalie’s slipped camisole strap, coughing awkwardly to mask his flushed face. Gently, intimately, he pulled the strap back up her shoulder, then scooped her up bridal-style, carrying her to the sofa to inspect her ankle. “Oh, Maddie, I’m so sorry,” Natalie gasped, looking at me with wide, doe-like eyes. “I was just in such a panic, I didn’t mean to make you fall.” The sight of them, so deeply entwined in their little domestic drama, turned my stomach. I planted my hands on the cold floor, forcing myself to stand, ignoring the throbbing in my spine. “I’ll give you two some space,” I said, grabbing my coat. “Please, don’t rush on my account.” Carter’s face darkened, a mix of misplaced embarrassment and sudden rage. “Maddie! Why does your mind always go to the gutter?” My mind? She practically purred against his chest, but I was the one in the gutter? I didn’t answer. I just walked out and quietly pulled the door shut behind me. While I was waiting for the elevator, the door down the hall clicked open. Natalie hurried out, her cheeks still flushed, blocking my path. “Maddie, please, I’m so sorry. There is absolutely nothing going on between Carter and me. If Toby wasn’t so obsessed with him, if he didn’t insist on calling him Daddy, I would never impose like this. Please, have a heart. Can’t you just let my baby have his dream?” She grabbed my sleeve, her eyes brimming with calculated tears. “I swear to you, in six months, I will divorce Carter and give him right back to you!” She actually made a move to sink to her knees. Right on cue, Carter burst out of the apartment, looking perfectly composed again. He sprinted over, wrapping his arms around Natalie and glaring at me like I was a monster. “Maddie, you’re going to be a mother yourself soon,” he snapped. “Can’t you build up some good karma for your own child?” Without waiting for my answer, he pulled out his phone and called Davis, his executive assistant, barking at him to come over and “keep an eye” on me so I wouldn’t cause a scene. Then, checking his Rolex, he practically carried Natalie into the elevator to go see Toby. As the steel doors slid shut, I didn’t miss the triumphant, mocking smirk that ghosted across Natalie’s lips. Nor did I miss Carter’s gentle reassurance to her. “Don’t worry, Nat. The clinical trials for the new biologic are finishing up. Once Toby is cured, I’ll be his dad for the rest of his life.” Davis arrived quickly. Finding me calmly putting on my shoes to head out, he couldn’t hide his sneer. “Miss Maddie, you couldn’t keep your man, so what’s the point of going to pick up the wedding bands?” I ignored him. I had spent months working with a boutique jeweler in San Francisco to custom-design those rings. They meant something to me. But when I arrived at the jeweler, the manager looked at me in utter confusion. “Your fiancé came and picked them up a few days ago,” he said. “Weren’t you two together? The woman with him was trying them on, and he proposed right here in the store…” Seeing the blood drain from my face, the manager hurriedly pulled up the security footage. 3 On the tablet screen, the grainy video played out my worst nightmare in high definition. Natalie and Carter stood by the display case. She was wearing the ring I had designed. They were staring deeply into each other’s eyes. Carter’s face held a look of profound, tender devotion—a look he had never, not once, given me. “I regret it, Carter,” Natalie whispered in the video, tears slipping down her cheeks. “If only I had married you back then… how different things could be.” Carter’s face twisted in anguish. He leaned in, gently kissing the tears off her cheeks. Then, he turned to the manager, bought the most expensive diamond necklace in the case on the spot, and dropped to one knee. “Nat. Will you marry me?” Off to the side, little Toby clapped his hands, jumping up and down, yelling for “Mommy and Daddy” to kiss. The manager watched the screen, his face burning red with secondary embarrassment. He looked at me, horrified. “Miss Maddie… I am so, so sorry. We assumed she was… I’ll call him right now and demand the rings back!” The manager had clearly never seen a cheating fiancé act with such brazen audacity. He dialed Carter’s number immediately. Carter, likely already tipped off by Davis, answered with a roar. “Maddie! It’s just a pair of rings! Do you have to be this petty?” I wouldn’t let those two keep my rings even if I threw them into the San Francisco Bay. Before I could speak, my phone buzzed. A wire transfer notification from Carter. “That’s enough to buy rings for all ten of your fingers,” his text read. “Take the money and stop throwing tantrums.” The sheer shamelessness of it took my breath away. He knew exactly what those rings symbolized, the hours I put into them, yet he used them to propose to Natalie just to humiliate me. Six years together, and I realized I was looking at a complete stranger. I scrolled through my feed and saw his latest post—a picture of his and Natalie’s marriage certificates, posted out of sheer spite. I thought my chest would cave in, but… nothing. I just felt numb. Mutual friends flooded my DMs, offering awkward condolences or telling me to “hang in there.” I didn’t bother replying. I went to my office, finalized my resignation and project handovers, and went back to the apartment. When I unlocked the door, the sound of bright, happy laughter echoed through the hallway. Natalie was sitting on the couch, drinking tea with the distinct air of the lady of the manor. I didn’t have the energy for her. I walked straight to my bedroom to pack my things. When I opened the closet, my bags were already packed. Neatly zipped up and waiting for me. Carter, a man who had never so much as boiled water in the six years we lived together, was currently in the kitchen wearing an apron, making a heart-shaped omelet for Toby. “Maddie,” Carter said, stepping out with a spatula. “The doctor said Toby can come home today. Do you mind staying somewhere else for a bit?” I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and started rolling it toward the door without a backward glance. As I reached the entryway, a sudden panic seemed to hit Carter. He rushed over, grabbing my wrist, his face a mask of awkward placation. “Hey, why don’t you stay for dinner before you go?” I glanced at the dining table. It was perfectly set. Two adult plates, one child’s plate. I let out a dry, hollow laugh. “No thanks. Enjoy your family dinner.” He couldn’t wait to erase me from this apartment. Why would I stay and beg for scraps? Seeing Carter hesitate, Natalie immediately scooped Toby into her arms and started toward the door. “Carter, I’ll take Toby to a hotel. This is supposed to be your home with Maddie. It’s not right for us to intrude…” Carter glared at me, then immediately turned to coddle Natalie. “Don’t be silly, Nat. I make the rules in this house. You can stay as long as you want. A family shouldn’t be separated.” Toby ran up and pushed my leg. “You’re a bad lady! This is my house with my mommy and daddy! Get out!” Natalie raised a hand, pretending she was going to scold him, but Carter caught her wrist. “Toby is right. This is our home.” Natalie shot me a triumphant smirk over Carter’s shoulder. I felt absolutely nothing. I opened the door and walked out. I checked into a hotel, slept for twelve hours straight, and went to the fertility clinic the next morning to sign the paperwork to destroy the embryos. As fate would have it, I walked out of the elevator and saw Carter. He was holding Toby in his left arm and holding Natalie’s hand with his right. To anyone watching, they were the picture-perfect American family. The doctor had asked me if I was absolutely sure about my decision. Looking at them, I knew I had made the right choice. Not long after I left the clinic, my phone rang. It was a coordinator. My bone marrow had matched with a critically ill pediatric patient. The doctor asked if I would be willing to donate. Before I could even process the question, a heavy hand clamped over my mouth and nose. A foul-smelling rag pressed into my skin. I was dragged backward into a van. Just before the darkness took me, I caught a glimpse of the man’s face. He looked terrifyingly like an older version of Toby. “I don’t care if you’re willing,” the man hissed. “You’re going to save my son.” 4 When I woke up, the pain in my lower spine was agonizing, a deep, throbbing ache that radiated down my legs. Remembering the man’s final words, a sickening realization hit me. I had been forcefully harvested for my bone marrow. I turned my heavy head. Across the dim, concrete-walled room, little Toby was tied to a chair, his face pale and tear-stained. The anesthesia was still thick in my blood. I forced myself to crawl toward Toby, my fingers scraping against the floor. Before I could reach him, the heavy metal door was kicked open. Carter stormed in, flanked by two security guards. Natalie shrieked when she saw Toby. “Toby! Oh my god, baby, are you okay? Don’t scare Mommy…” She frantically untied the ropes binding her son, then whipped her head toward me, her face contorted in rage. “Maddie, why would you kidnap my baby?! What did you do to him? People said you took him, but I couldn’t believe it…” Carter didn’t ask a single question. He marched over and delivered a brutal kick squarely to my ribs. I gasped, all the air leaving my lungs. “How can you be this evil, Maddie?” he roared. “I didn’t,” I choked out, clutching my chest. “His father… his father dragged me here…” Carter’s eyes blazed with a manic fury. He dropped to his knees and slapped me hard across the face, twice. “Toby’s father has been dead for two years! You’re still lying? Save it for the cops!” As Carter pulled out his phone to call the police, Natalie threw herself at him, sobbing hysterically. “Carter, no, wait! It’s my fault. I never should have asked you to help Toby. I just want my baby to be safe…” Carter’s eyes softened instantly. He stroked her hair. “Nat, I’m here. Toby is going to be fine.” Under Carter’s gentle coaxing, Toby finally seemed to snap out of his shock. He pointed a trembling finger at me and wailed. “Mommy! Daddy! I’m scared! She said if I die, no one will steal her husband anymore…” I tasted copper in my mouth. I spat a wad of blood onto the floor and glared at the boy. “Learning to lie at such a young age. No wonder karma caught up with you.” Natalie wailed as if I had stabbed her. She hugged Toby tighter. “What did we do to deserve this? Oh, Toby, you might not even make it to the clinical trials now…” Carter wrapped his arms around the trembling mother and son, shielding them from me. “You did nothing wrong, Nat. Maddie is just a sick, vindictive bitch. But I’ll make sure she atones for what she’s done to you.” He pulled out his phone again, dialing Davis. “Bring the prototype compound,” he ordered coldly. “I’ve found our human trial subject.” Davis arrived within twenty minutes. Carter took the small, unmarked vial and walked slowly toward me. “Maddie. This is the new biologic my company developed. It hasn’t passed FDA safety trials yet. So, you’re going to test it for Toby.” It was phrased as a statement, not a request. His eyes were completely devoid of emotion as he looked down at me. A violent shiver ripped through my body. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but the lingering anesthesia and the brutal pain in my spine made it impossible to stand. “Carter, I didn’t kidnap Toby. His father is alive. He kidnapped me. He took my bone marrow! If you don’t believe me, test my blood—” My pleas meant nothing. He pinned me to the floor, prying my jaw open with ruthless force. “It’s just a clinical trial, Maddie. Consider it your punishment.” The pill hit the back of my throat. Carter clamped his hand tightly over my mouth and pinched my nose, forcing me to swallow. His eyes were bloodshot. He looked like a demon straight out of hell. Yet, a minute later, his voice wavered as he asked, “Are… are you feeling any side effects?” He had just forced an experimental, unapproved drug down my throat. His only concern wasn’t my safety—it was whether the drug was viable for Natalie’s son. Whether I, his lab rat, lived or died was entirely secondary. The line between love and indifference is devastatingly sharp. Years ago, when I accidentally took a double dose of cold medicine, this same man had rushed me to the ER in a blind panic, terrified I would suffer liver failure. Now, he was literally poisoning me to save another woman’s child. If I hadn’t seen Toby’s father with my own eyes, I would have sworn Toby was Carter’s biological son. Under my dead, hollow stare, Carter finally pulled his hand away from my mouth. “Don’t look at me like that, Maddie,” he muttered, defensive. “You brought this on yourself when you went after Toby. If we hadn’t shown up, you could have killed him. I’m doing you a favor, saving you from a murder charge…” Without a shred of proof, he had condemned me. The sound of sirens wailed in the distance. Someone had called an ambulance. Natalie, playing the benevolent saint, weakly suggested Carter go with me to the hospital. Carter’s cold voice echoed in the concrete room. “Leave her. If the trial works, she redeems herself. If it doesn’t, she won’t die from one pill.” Toby clung to Carter’s neck, crying for him not to leave with the “bad lady.” “As long as you’re a good boy and take your medicine, Daddy will never leave you,” Carter murmured, kissing the boy’s forehead. The three of them walked out, a picture of unity. Alone on the floor, the searing chemical pain in my stomach finally overwhelmed me, and I passed out. … The paramedics found me. When I woke up in the ER, with an IV in my arm and a raw throat from getting my stomach pumped, my first request was for a police officer. Carter, who hadn’t shown his face for hours, finally barged into my hospital room. “Are you insane, Maddie?” he hissed, standing at the foot of my bed. “The trial was a success. You got your stomach pumped, you’re fine. Why are you calling the cops? If Natalie wasn’t so forgiving, you’d be in a cell right now. Cancel the police report. I won’t marry a woman with a criminal record.” I didn’t even open my eyes. “Okay.” Satisfied with my submission, he turned on his heel and left without a single word of comfort. The day I was discharged was the day of my wedding. I went straight to the hotel, grabbed my luggage, and headed for the airport.
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