Chapter 3

That night, I ordered takeout and downed ice-cold beer after beer in my apartment.

My best friend, Mia, unlocked the door and walked in.

Seeing me drinking myself into a stupor, she hesitated.

She watched me for a moment before finally snatching the beer can right out of my hand.

"Look, I don't know what kind of drama is making you drown your sorrows alone, but as your best friend, I have to remind you: your period is over two weeks late."

Her words made my alcohol-fogged brain short-circuit.

"What did you say?"

"I said your period is two weeks late. Our cycles have always synced up. Mine ended ages ago, and you haven't even started. Didn't you notice something was off?"

I jumped to my feet so fast that I knocked a beer bottle off the table. It shattered across the floor.

I yanked at my hair in a panic. "No way... Carter and I are always so careful. There's no way it's that coincidental!"

Mia gave me a dry look. "And what if it is? We've been friends for years. You're regular as clockwork. For it to be delayed this long..."

Her warning sent a chill down my spine. Without even changing out of my slippers, I dashed down to the 24-hour pharmacy to buy pregnancy tests.

Staring at the two dark red lines, I wanted to burst into tears.

Mia let out a low whistle. "See? Told you. Well, the baby is here. When are you and Carter going to lock in the wedding date? You've been dating for six years. It's high time to make it official, right?"

I looked at her miserably. "If I told you I wanted to raise this baby on my own, would you kill me?"

Seeing Mia's jaw drop in anger, I spilled everything about Carter's stunt earlier today.

Mia gritted her teeth in rage, but she still managed to speak gently: "Carter is spineless and easily swayed. What he did was completely messed up, and I don't blame you for being furious. But this baby belongs to both of you. You need to talk to him. If he cuts Chloe out of his life for good, get married. If he can't, you need to seriously think about your options. You know better than anyone how hard it is to grow up in a single-parent household."

I sat on my bed all night, agonizing over it. For the sake of the baby in my belly, I decided to give Carter one last chance.

If he could remove Chloe from our lives completely, I would pretend yesterday never happened.

If he couldn't, it simply meant this child and I were not meant to be.

A week later, Carter brought me over to his parents' place for dinner.

His mother was as cold as ever, and his father didn't crack a single smile.

Carter patted the back of my hand reassuringly, then formally announced to his parents that he wanted to marry me.

A mocking smile crept onto his mother's face. "Look at you, all grown up and ignoring everything your parents say. Fine. If you've made up your mind, get married. Just don't come crying to me when you regret it later."

"I won't regret it."

Carter held my hand tightly, his voice firm—as if trying to convince his parents, or maybe just convince himself.

Right in the middle of our standoff, the doorbell rang.

His mother opened the door, and her cold scowl instantly melted into pure delight.

"Chloe, sweetheart! Come on in! When did you get back? I was just talking about you with your mom yesterday!"

"Auntie, I've been back for a few days! I had some free time today, so I came over to steal some dinner. You won't get tired of me, will you?"

Carter's mom playfully tapped her on the arm. "What nonsense! I wish you could come over every single day."

"Honestly, when you were little, you followed Carter everywhere and kept saying you'd grow up to be his wife. Back then, I thought, if Carter could marry you, I'd be the happiest mom in the world."

"You're staying for good this time, right? Well, since you can't be my daughter-in-law, I'll get together with your parents soon. Let's make you my goddaughter! Either way, we're family."

Carter's mother kept glancing at me while saying all of this.

I knew every single word was aimed directly at me, designed to make me feel small and back out.

And to be honest, I really was done.

His parents hated me, and there was always Chloe lingering between us like an unshakeable ghost. No matter how much I tried to rationalize it, these toxic dynamics would only poison our future.

Worst of all, Carter's heart was already wandering. I was just a sensible calculation to him, not an irreplaceable love.

I refused to swallow this half-baked life.

Amidst their warm laughter and chatter, I grabbed my bag and walked toward the door.

"Carter, stay right there!" his mother barked, stopping him before he could chase after me. "If she wants to leave, let her! Let me make one thing crystal clear: as long as I'm alive, a rude girl like that will never step foot into this family!"

Her words froze Carter in his tracks.

Hearing that, I turned around, pulled out my phone, and blocked Carter across every platform right in front of them. Then I flashed the screen at his mother. "Don't worry, Mrs. Hayes. I officially declare that your son and I are over. I wouldn't step into your family if you paid me. Happy now?"

She did, in fact, look quite pleased.

Carter's face, however, turned utterly livid. He was visibly outraged by my defiance.

I didn't give a damn about his feelings. I had already given him his chance.

If he had stood up to his mother for even a single second while she was humiliating me, I wouldn't have walked away so cleanly.