Luke’s face was ghostly pale as he sprinted toward us. He grabbed Riley just before she tumbled down the staircase. I kept an iron grip on my emotions as I watched the two of them. The worry that Luke harbored for Riley was so palpable that I could nearly see it manifest in a tangible form. 

Riley’s eyes were filled with tears as she stared at me. “Summer, I admit it was my fault. I shouldn’t have kept Mr. Logan by my side, and I’ve already apologized to you. But no matter how angry you are at me, you still shouldn’t push me down the stairs!” 

Luke picked Riley up after hearing her words. His gaze burned with fury when he glared at me. “Why did you try to hurt her, Summer? You know that she was injured recently. She would lose her life if she fell down the stairs! Since when did you turn into such a horrible person?” 

With Riley cradled securely in his arms, Luke shoved past me and hurriedly left the scene. My stomach collided with the railing and the excruciating pain that came after made me break out in a cold sweat all over my body. 

I felt like I was once again on the brink of death. I let out a bloodcurdling scream but Luke didn’t spare me even a single glance. 

Although Riley’s miscarriage did not make Luke angry at me in this life, he still did not choose me. Blood trickled down slowly from between my legs. When the nurses noticed my condition, they rushed me into the operating room. 

With a frown, the doctor said, “It doesn’t look good. It’ll be extremely difficult to save the baby.” 

I handed my abortion appointment to him and told him hoarsely, “Don’t worry about it, doctor.” 

In my past life, I sacrificed everything that I had for Jesse’s sake. But instead of being grateful, Jesse had stabbed me in the back for someone else. Since he didn’t want me to be his mother, he could be born as someone else’s son in this life. 

My heart was too battered to hold any love for him anymore. The anesthesia felt chilly as it was injected into my veins, matching the glacial cold I felt in my heart. 

When I woke up, my body felt hollow, like a letterbox that had a missing door. The wind blew in and rattled the empty space as it pleased. I knew at that moment that my last connection to Jesse had been severed. 

My phone chimed. When I looked at the screen, I noticed it was a notification from a number I didn’t know. In the message was a picture of two intertwined hands. Luke’s and Riley’s matching tattoos on their collarbones were also in full view.