Her Double Pregnancy Was the End of Us

To leave something for her dying first love, my wife, Elara Wynn, decides to carry two babies at once, implanting his previously frozen embryo while she's already pregnant with our child. On the day of the procedure, she even stations 50 bodyguards outside, convinced I'll show up and try to stop her. But I never come. Once the embryo is successfully implanted, she finally relaxes. She doesn't understand why I'm making such a big deal out of it. All she wants is to leave something that belongs to her first love. She doesn't see anything wrong with that. Afterward, she comes to find me and says, as if she's doing me a favor, "Callum, aren't you happy I'm carrying twins now? Try to be the bigger person. What kind of example are you setting for the kids?" What she doesn't know is that while her first love's embryo survives the procedure, our baby doesn't. And I've already filed my immigration papers. In ten days, Callum Vane will cease to exist. I'll leave the country under a new identity, and she'll never see me again. Chapter 1 I was at home packing away things I'd bought for my baby when someone suddenly snatched the tiny onesie from my hands. "Callum, what are you doing in here? I've knocked three times. Why didn't you answer the door?" I looked up. It was my wife, Elara Wynn. And standing beside her was Soren Ashby, her first love. I'd been so consumed by the loss of our child that I hadn't even heard them come home. Before I could gather my thoughts, Soren reached over and rested a hand on Elara's pregnant belly. "Come on, Callum," he said, his concern so obviously feigned that it was almost insulting. "Elara's pregnant with twins, and you're her husband. You should be taking better care of her. Try not to be so careless next time." That was all it took. Elara's expression immediately hardened. "You're my husband, Callum, but somehow Soren pays more attention to me than you do. You're not much of a husband at all." I said nothing. I simply took the onesie back from her and continued folding it, my expression blank even as pain twisted inside me. Twins. So Soren's frozen embryo transfer had worked after all. His child would get a chance at life, while mine wouldn't. The moment Elara learned that Soren's embryo could be cloned, she'd made up her mind. She wanted to carry both babies at once, convinced that this would let some part of Soren live on in the world. I'd refused, of course. The doctor had warned me that the embryo transfer came with serious risks. If Elara went through with it, there was no chance our own baby would survive. I'd begged her more than once to reconsider. If not for me, then at least for our child. But Elara wouldn't listen. She was convinced I was only against the procedure because I had something against Soren. Eventually, she even accused the doctor of taking my side and helping me scare her out of it. "Soren works in this field. If he says it's safe, then it's safe! "Besides, I'm the baby's mother. Do you seriously think I'd do anything to hurt my own child? I never knew you could be this petty, Callum. You're actually jealous of a man with terminal cancer?" She would rather trust Soren than believe the doctor or me. And once Elara made up her mind, there was no stopping her. On the day of the procedure, she even stationed 50 bodyguards outside the hospital to make sure I couldn't interfere. The moment she disappeared behind the operating room doors, I knew. Our baby wasn't going to make it. After the procedure, I clung to one last shred of hope and contacted the doctor. Then he sent me the death certificate. That was when the last of that hope disappeared. My poor baby never even got the chance to see the world before Elara's decision took that chance away. Still, I didn't confront her or make a scene. I stayed home, quietly packing away all the toys and clothes I'd bought for the baby, tears slipping down my face as I worked. I was only halfway through when Elara and Soren came home. Soren's eyes fell on the little outfit in my hands. "Is that for the baby, Callum?" he asked. Then, as if he'd only just noticed something strange, he added, "Wait, there's only one? What about the twins? Don't tell me you already resent Elara's babies just because they're mine." He turned to Elara with a wounded expression. "I knew Callum was upset about this. He can't accept the babies or me at all. Maybe I should just leave. I don't want to be the reason your marriage falls apart..." And there they were again. Whenever Soren wanted Elara's attention all to himself, he pulled the same childish little act. Chapter 2 Soren said he was leaving, yet somehow his feet never moved an inch. I was already barely holding myself together after losing my baby, and his little performance was the last thing I needed. "What, you can't even afford a baby outfit?" I snapped. "You're so broke that you have to beg other people for one?" Elara immediately stepped in front of him. "That's enough, Callum! Soren is sick. Why are you picking a fight with him? He saved my life once. Of course I'm going to help him. If it weren't for Soren, I wouldn't even be alive today." I almost laughed. Saved her life? All Soren had done was pull her back when she'd been staring at her phone while crossing the street and nearly walked straight into a cyclist. Apparently, that made him her savior. But me? I'd given her my blood. I'd even donated a kidney to her. Somehow, none of that counted for anything. To Elara, those were simply things I was supposed to do. Even our baby had been disposable. It was almost laughable how obvious the difference was between loving someone and merely tolerating them. And somehow, I'd spent all this time pretending I couldn't see it. I didn't answer. I just stared at Elara, any warmth I'd once had for her long gone. Soren, of course, couldn't resist making things worse. "Callum, I'm dying anyway. I won't be around much longer to get in the way of your life with Elara. Please don't fight because of me..." Right on cue, Elara turned on me. "Do you really have to upset him like this, Callum? My patience has limits. Keep this up, and I won't be so nice about it next time. Well? Apologize to Soren." The whole thing suddenly felt exhausting. I muttered a halfhearted apology, wanting nothing more than to get it over with. Soren looked positively smug. Elara's expression softened as well, apparently satisfied that I'd finally fallen in line. "See? Was that so hard?" she said. "This is a win for everyone. Soren gets to live on through the babies, and you get a child without having to do anything. You should be happy." I gave her a cold smile. Happy? She still had no idea only one baby was growing inside her. Ours had died during the embryo transfer. Mistaking my smile for a sign that I'd finally come around, Elara reached over and gave my hand a reassuring pat. Her voice softened. "Alright. I know I haven't exactly been fair to you this time. But I'll make it up to you once the baby is born. "I still owe you a birthday present, and we never took that honeymoon. We'll do both. I'll make sure you're happy. How does that sound?" She spoke as though we still had a future together. We didn't. The moment she'd gone into that operating room, I'd filed my immigration papers. And just minutes ago, I'd received the approval. In ten days, I'd be leaving the country for good. I'd cut every remaining tie I had here, disappear from Elara's life, and make sure we never saw each other again. With that thought, I started packing faster. Before I left, I wanted to take my baby's things somewhere quiet and say a proper goodbye. It was the only funeral I could give the child I'd never gotten to meet. When I kept my head down and ignored her, irritation flickered across Elara's face. Still, she managed to keep her temper in check. "Callum, I'm hungry. Make some pasta for Soren and me. We've been so busy with the embryo transfer these past few days that we've barely eaten. We're exhausted." I knew exactly what she was doing. This was Elara's idea of extending an olive branch. She'd always been too proud to apologize properly. Even when she offered me a way out of an argument, she somehow managed to make it sound like an order. In the past, I would have taken whatever peace offering she gave me without hesitation. I would've gone straight to the kitchen and made her whatever she wanted. But not anymore. I didn't move. I simply kept packing away my baby's things as though she hadn't spoken at all. Elara's patience finally snapped. With one furious sweep of her arm, she knocked the box from my hands, sending everything I'd carefully packed scattering across the floor. "Are you done with this little tantrum yet? You've been sulking since the moment we walked in. I've tried being nice, I've tried talking to you, and you're still acting like this. Enough is enough!" Anger surged through me as I stared at my baby's belongings strewn across the floor. "What, do you not have arms?" I shot back. "If you want pasta that badly, make it yourself." I crouched down and started gathering everything up. But before I could, Soren stepped forward and started trampling all over them. Dirty footprints covered the picture books, and toys cracked beneath his shoes. Then his foot came down on the small guardian angel charm I'd bought to watch over my baby. It shattered beneath his heel. Chapter 3 My chest tightened at the sight. I'd chosen every one of those things for my baby. They were all I had left of the future I'd once imagined for us. And now Soren was destroying them right in front of me. Anger finally overwhelmed me. "Soren, get your damn feet off those! They're for my baby!" "Oh, sorry, Callum. I didn't notice." There wasn't a trace of remorse in his voice. If anything, he pressed down harder, grinding another toy beneath his shoe as he stared straight at me, the challenge in his eyes unmistakable. I lunged forward, desperate to get my baby's things out from under his feet. I hadn't even touched Soren when he suddenly stumbled backward. With a startled cry, he hit the floor hard. Of course. Elara rushed to him immediately and helped him up before turning a cold glare on me. "If you're angry, take it out on me! Soren is seriously ill. How could you hurt him?" Soren sagged against her, clutching lightly at her sleeve. His eyes reddened as he spoke. "Elara, don't blame Callum. He has every right to be angry. "If I hadn't gotten cancer, you never would've gone through with the procedure so that my cloned embryo could give me a second chance at life… "Maybe it'd be better if I just died. At least then I wouldn't be here ruining your marriage and making Callum hate me." Soren pulled away from Elara and rushed toward the window, making a dramatic show of trying to climb out. Elara immediately grabbed him and pulled him back, holding him tightly as she turned on me with pure hatred in her eyes. "If anything happens to Soren because of you, I'll get rid of your baby! "Why should I even have a child with someone like you? If the baby takes after you, it'll only grow up to hurt people too. "Besides, it's not like this is my only chance to have a child. If I lose yours, I'll still have Soren's." Ever since she'd gotten pregnant, Elara had learned exactly how much our baby meant to me. And she'd been using that against me ever since. All Soren had to do was say he was afraid of being alone at night, and Elara would abandon me, even when I was burning up with a fever, to stay with him. Whenever I tried to stop her, she'd threaten to do something that could endanger the pregnancy. She'd done the same thing when she decided to go through with the cloning procedure. Every time I objected, she would use our baby to force me into backing down. So I'd played along, hoping I could still change her mind. I kept reminding her of the risks, explaining what the doctors had told us, praying that eventually she'd realize what she was putting our child through. But I'd underestimated how far she was willing to go for Soren. Nothing I said mattered. She went through with the embryo transfer anyway. And now she was using our baby against me again. She still thought I'd give in, just like I always had before. This time, I only looked at her coldly. "You don't get to use our baby against me anymore. Because our baby is already dead." Elara froze, her eyes widening. "What did you just say? The baby... is dead?" Soren immediately jumped in. "Callum, I know you're angry, but don't say something like that just to hurt Elara. The baby hasn't done anything wrong." His words seemed to snap Elara out of her shock. Disbelief quickly gave way to anger. "Callum, have you seriously sunk this low? You're wishing our own baby dead just because you're upset with me? That's disgusting. You don't deserve to call yourself that baby's father!" I had no interest in arguing with her. Without saying a single word, I pulled out my phone and opened the medical report the doctor had sent me. "Here. The baby didn't survive. It happened the day you had the embryo transfer." Elara stared at the report. The anger vanished from her face. For several seconds, she didn't move at all. Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something. But before she could, Soren cut in. "Callum, come on. With technology these days, faking a medical report isn't exactly difficult. I know you hate me, but do you really have to take it this far?" It was a pathetic performance. Yet, Elara believed him. Of course she did. It didn't matter what I said or how much proof I put in front of her. The moment Soren opened his mouth, his words mattered more than mine. It always had. When it came down to the two of us, Elara had never truly been on my side. Her expression darkened as she stared at me, her brows drawn tight. Chapter 4 Elara snapped, "Callum, do you really hate Soren and his baby that much? First you bribed the doctor to exaggerate the risks, and now you've gone as far as faking a death certificate just to get rid of them?" Her voice turned icy. "Keep this up, and I'll divorce you." Elara was certain I'd back down. After all, everyone knew how hopelessly devoted I'd always been to her. I'd given her everything. There was a time when I would have given my life for her without a second thought. So naturally, she assumed the threat of divorce would be enough to put me back in my place. What she didn't expect was for me to nod in agreement. "Fine. Let's get a divorce." I looked her straight in the eye. She didn't know that our marriage had already ended for me the moment our baby died. Elara stared at me, clearly caught off guard. Soren, on the other hand, could barely hide his satisfaction. "Callum, Elara only said that because she's angry. Don't make a decision you'll regret. Do you really want the baby to grow up without a father?" A humorless smile tugged at my lips. "Why would the baby be without a father? They have you. Once we're divorced, you can finally have my place." Then I pulled out the divorce papers I'd already prepared and tossed them onto the table in front of Elara. "Sign them. It's better this way." Elara looked ready to argue before she saw the papers. Whatever she'd been about to say died on her lips, and fury took its place. "Fine. You asked for this," she snapped. "Just don't come crawling back to me when you regret it." Still angry, she signed the papers without saying another word. I took them and headed upstairs to pack. There wasn't much I wanted to keep. I took my documents, a few changes of clothes, and nothing else. The 99 love letters Elara had written me by hand. The scarf she'd knitted for me. The matching bracelets she'd bought us. Even the photo booth strips from all those dates we'd once thought we'd remember forever. One by one, I threw them in the trash. I should've gotten rid of them a long time ago. The memories, the keepsakes… and her. When I was done, I zipped up my suitcase and carried it downstairs. Elara's expression turned even colder, her lips pressing into a thin line. "You're actually serious about this?" I didn't even look at her. "When have I ever said I wasn't?" That only made her angrier. She grabbed a vase and hurled it at the floor near my feet. "Then get out! Get the hell out! If you walk through that door, don't expect me to come begging for you to come back. You'll regret this!" Regret it? Not a chance. Without taking another glance in her direction, I quickened my pace and walked out the door. I checked into a hotel after leaving the house. I had barely unpacked when my phone buzzed with a message from Soren. It was a photo. He was in my bed with Elara in his arms. The accompanying message said it all. "Looks like I got the house and the girl. What do you have left, Callum?" I'd lost count of how many messages like this he'd sent me over the years. For nearly a decade, he'd taken every opportunity to remind me that he could get closer to Elara than I ever could. They used to hurt. But not anymore. I looked at the photo for a moment, then closed the message. He could have her. If the two of them wanted each other so badly, I wasn't going to stand in their way. When I didn't reply, Soren flooded my phone with more photos of him and Elara together. He was obviously waiting for me to lose my temper. I couldn't even bring myself to care. I replied, "You want her that bad? She's all yours. Hope you two are very happy together." I sent the message, locked my phone, and left him on read after that. Ten days passed before I knew it. My flight was at seven that evening, so I got up early, showered, dressed, and made sure I had everything ready to go. Just as I finished, my phone rang. "Mr. Vane? I'm sorry, but we've run into an issue with your paperwork. One of the required documents was left out when we processed your application. If you can come by today, we'll have it corrected and expedited for you." It was annoying, but I had plenty of time before my flight. "Sure, I'll be there." I grabbed my things and headed out. On the way there, I ran straight into the last two people I wanted to see—Elara and Soren. They looked just as surprised to see me. Soren recovered first. "Well, this is a coincidence." His mouth curled into a knowing smile. "Any more of these and I might start thinking you're following us, Callum." Elara gave me a once-over, then scoffed. "So much for being done with me. You want me back so badly that you've resorted to following me around now?" Chapter 5 Elara said, "Too bad. I'm not interested in taking you back. Soren is the twins' father now. Although… if you're willing to get down on your knees and apologize to us, maybe I'll let the kids call you Dad. One of them is yours, after all." I stared at her. Had she always been this full of herself? "Don't flatter yourself. I wasn't following you. We happened to run into each other. I'm in a hurry, so if you don't mind, get out of my way." I stepped around them, but Soren moved in front of me before I could leave. "A hurry? Surely you're not meeting someone? I saw you the other morning when I was picking up breakfast for Elara. You came out of your hotel with some woman. The two of you looked pretty cozy..." He deliberately left the rest unsaid. How typical of Soren. He'd give Elara just enough to work with, then let her imagination do the rest. Soren hadn't offered a shred of proof, but Elara believed him anyway. Her face changed instantly. "So that's why you've been ignoring me. That's why you were suddenly so desperate for a divorce. You've been seeing someone else this whole time! How could you do this to me? To your own child?" Before I could answer, she started hitting me, shouting over anything I tried to say. Then my phone rang. It was the immigration office calling. I had barely answered when Elara snatched the phone out of my hand. "So you're the woman he's been sleeping with?" she snapped into the phone. "Calling him in broad daylight now? Have you no shame?" There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line. "Ma'am, I think there's been a misunderstanding. I'm calling from the immigration office regarding Mr. Vane's application. "He needs to come in and provide an additional document today. Please let him know there's a deadline. If he misses it, we won't be able to process his application in time." Elara froze. "What immigration?" The person on the phone sounded even more confused. "You weren't aware? Mr. Vane submitted his application to move abroad ten days ago." The call ended. Elara turned to me, stunned. "You're leaving the country? And you didn't think to tell me?" A bitter laugh escaped me. "Since when have you ever believed anything I told you? Now move. I have paperwork to file." Instead, Elara grabbed my wrist. "No. You're not leaving. You lied to me, Callum. You said I was the only woman you'd ever love. You promised! And now you're just going to leave me behind and disappear?" That was rich. "You really want to talk about broken promises? You broke yours first. Now let me go." Elara didn't let go. If anything, her grip tightened. Then her face suddenly went pale. "My stomach… something's wrong." A moment later, she started bleeding. Soren panicked. He shoved me aside, swept Elara into his arms, and headed for the exit. "Elara, stay with me. I'm taking you to the hospital." But Elara reached for me again, catching hold of my sleeve and refusing to let go. "Callum, you're coming too. If you leave now, I swear I'm not going anywhere. I don't care what happens to me." I wasn't about to risk a medical emergency just to prove a point. So, against my better judgment, I went with them to the hospital. Elara was rushed in for treatment at the hospital. The moment she came around, she grabbed the doctor's arm. "My babies… Are they okay? Both of them?" Soren visibly tensed. "Elara, don't worry about that right now. You're in good hands. I'm sure the babies are fine." The doctor frowned. "Babies? There's only one fetus." Elara went completely still. "What? No. That can't be right. I'm carrying twins."