Chapter 1
I hid myself in a giant gift box, excitedly waiting to see my boyfriend Gabriel’s surprised face when he saw me jumped out of the box. It’s his birthday and I prepared a big surprise in my hand: A positive pregnancy report. He must have been so happy when he saw it!
However, before he unwrapped the gift box, I heard him talking with a woman.
“You‘ re not seriously keeping Amanda around now that I’m back, are you?”
I froze, my heart thundering in my chest.
This was supposed to be the moment Gabriel and I celebrated together. But now,
all I could hear was her voice.
Nadia.
Her tone was light, teasing, yet laced with a poison that made my skin crawl. I didn’t
even know she was back.
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I shifted in the confined space, straining to
listen.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gabriel said, his
voice low and intimate. “Amanda was just… convenient.”
Convenient.
My grip tightened on the box‘ s inner lining, the sharp edge of the envelope. biting into my palm.
“Convenient?” Nadia echoed with a laugh. “I know right. It’s always been me, hasn’t it? You just couldn’t dispose of her during college because she always obeyed you–us.”
“You know it has,” he replied smoothly. “She was nothing but a placeholder. That’s always been you and me, Nadia.”
I swallowed back the bile rising in my
throat.
This couldn’t be happening. Gabriel, the man I loved, was standing in our
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“And when are you getting rid of her?” Nadia asked, her voice suddenly sharp.
“Soon,” Gabriel said. “Once everything‘ s in place. She won’t even see it coming.”
They laughed together, the sound hollow
and cruel.
I wanted to burst out of the box, to scream at them, to demand answers. But my body refused to move. Fear, disbelief, and heartbreak pinned me in place.
Their footsteps moved closer. For one horrifying moment, I thought they might. open the box. Instead, they passed by, their laughter trailing into the bedroom. The door clicked shut.
Seconds stretched into eternity, marked only by the muffled sounds I could barely comprehend–sounds that turned my
stomach.
I couldn’t stay. Not for another second.
With shaky hands, I pushed the lid off the
UMH
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box, slipping out as silently as I could. My bare feet padded across the hardwood floor. I grabbed my purse, ignoring the decorations, the balloons, the stupid cake I had spent hours perfecting. He hadn‘ t even noticed it. What a waste!
The apartment blurred around me as I stumbled into the hallway. I didn‘ t even remember taking the elevator down.
The cool night air hit my face. I clutched the strap of my purse, walking aimlessly, my vision clouded with tears.
How could they?
Nadia. Gabriel. Two people I had trusted completely.
The pieces began falling into place. Nadia’s insistence on being involved in my life, her endless questions about Gabriel when we were in college. It had never been about me. It was about him. About what I had, and how she could take
- it.
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I stopped on the corner of a quiet street, my chest heaving. My sobs came quietly at first, then louder, until they wracked my entire body.
The phone in my purse buzzed, pulling me out of my spiral. I fumbled to pull it out, my breath hitching when I saw Gabriel’s
name on the screen.
For a moment, I hesitated. Why was he calling me now? Had they noticed I was there? Was it because of the surprise?
Against my better judgment, I answered. “What do you want?” My voice cracked.
“Amanda.” His voice was clipped, almost frantic. “What’s your blood type?”
I blinked, stunned. “What? Gabriel, what-”
“Just tell me your blood type!” he barked.
“Why do you need-”
“Answer me, Amanda!” he shouted, the
sheer force of his words making me flinch.
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“O,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I’m O–negative.”
“Good,” Gabriel said, his tone shifting into something more focused. “It’s the universal donor blood type. Come to St. James Hospital. Now.”
“What?” I asked, my confusion mounting. “What’s going on? Why do I need to-”
“Just come!” he snapped. “If you‘ re late and something happens to Nadia, it’ll be your fault!”
The line went dead.
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