My Husband's First Love Killed Our Baby on Livestream

"Don't bother," I say. I press my hand against my stomach. The dress caves inward. "There's no point anymore." Hunter turns around. His breath just stops. Yara claps a hand over her mouth. "Sis! Hunter didn't fall for your little act, so you—you lost the baby out of spite?!" Her eyes go red. She looks at Hunter. "Hunter, how could she do that?!" Hunter's eyes rim red. He grabs my wrist. "Are you insane?! Because I wouldn't give you three grand, you let our baby die?!" "I didn't kill him," I say, voice cracking. "I told you. It was an emergency." "Hunter! Look, she's lying to you again!" Yara marches over, waving my prenatal chart. "Every single checkup was perfect! There's no way she suddenly lost the baby last night!" "You know exactly why I 'suddenly' lost him." I stare her down. "You think I don't know what you slipped into my soup?" "Enough!" Hunter shoves me hard. My lower back slams into the corner of the table. "Stop pinning everything on Yara. Haven't you framed her enough already?" Yara bites her lip, blinking up at me like a kicked puppy. I hold my back. And suddenly I want to laugh. It's always like this. Yara pushed me down the stairs? I made it up. Yara "lost" her own stream script? I set her up. Yara poisoned my soup? I'm making wild accusations. I look at this man. The one I've loved for seven years. I'm just tired. "Fine. I'll never accuse her again." I pull open the drawer. I slide the divorce papers across the table. "I wish you both nothing but happiness." Hunter freezes. His voice shakes. "Willow…" "Ha." Yara scoffs. "Hunter, what did I say? When Plan A fails, they always pull out the divorce papers." Hunter's hand hovers midair. Yara turns to me. " Hunter cares about you, so he gets played." "But I'm a woman." "I see right through you." "Kneel with the bump, then abort and blame the miscarriage on him — make him feel guilty forever." "Then the divorce papers, just in case." "Honestly?" "Most men wouldn't survive that combo." "Even if he did divorce you, you'd milk his guilt for a fortune." The panic in Hunter's face drains away. His eyes turn cold. "Fine. Divorce. But you won't get a dime." He snatches the papers. Flips to the asset section. Stops dead. Every line says the same thing. I walk away with nothing. Zero. Hunter's head snaps up. Even Yara frowns. "Sign it, Hunter," Yara says softly. "She's betting you'll cave. If she offers to walk away with nothing, you'll pity her and hand over a fortune anyway. Then she gets the moral high ground and the money." Her voice sharpens. "But a woman who'd use her own baby as a bargaining chip? She doesn't deserve either." Hunter's grip tightens on the pen. "Sign it. Once she sees the trick didn't work, she'll stop pulling it on other men." Hunter laughs. Bitter. "Willow. I am so disappointed in you." He scrawls his name across both copies. "You wanted to walk away with nothing. Enjoy." He throws my copy at me. He's watching my face. Waiting for something. I just tuck it away. Nothing on my face at all. He frowns. Grabs Yara's hand. Walks out without looking back. That night, Yara's stream blows up again. "Ladies, watch closely. This is a woman weaponizing divorce to guilt a man into paying up. And I called it." Our divorce papers fill the whole screen. ---

"Holy crap, this woman is next level! She actually offered to walk away with nothing?!" "If I were a man, I'd probably fall for it too!" "Yara, you're a lifesaver! Hunter's whole empire would've been picked clean by this snake!" "This is high-tier emotional manipulation," Yara explains, sipping her latte. "But men aren't stupid." "He'll figure it out eventually." "And when he does, every dollar she squeezed out of him will come back to bite her." "My students would never stoop this low." "But we still need to learn to spot it, so we can save our men when they're being played." "That's how you keep a snake out of your relationship." Her "Spot the Snake" course sells out again. Combined with round one, Yara's now cleared close to a million dollars off my life. The chat's a party: "This is SO satisfying! Take that, snake!" "Bet she thought she'd hit the jackpot. What now, Hunter actually signed it, LOL!" "Am I the only one shipping Yara and Hunter?" "OMG YES. He literally built her whole platform! His PR team ran her launch!" "And the two cases that made her famous? Both from Hunter!" "Girl. That's love made visible." Yara giggles behind her hand. "Okay, okay, don't get ahead of yourselves. Hunter and I are strictly business partners." "Business partners become power couples!" "Way better than the fake sob-story wife at home!" "I found the snake's info!! Y'all know what to do!" "Oh no!" Yara gasps like she just noticed. She scrambles to blur my name and address on screen. "Please don't do that! My fault! I got careless!" "Yara is TOO pure for this world." "Nope. Yara can forgive her. We won't. Let's ride for Yara!" Yara looks down. A tiny smile curves her mouth. Then a link pops into her chat. The chat freezes. Then explodes with question marks: "Wait… is that YARA poisoning the woman's soup??" "OH MY GOD. She really did make her lose the baby! The girl wasn't faking!!" "Is this real??" Yara's face goes white. "Sorry, sweeties, someone's spreading fake stuff in my chat!" She scrambles to delete my link. But it's too late. The post already has hundreds of thousands of views. On my end, I smile — sharp and cold. Hunter always told me not to worry about Yara. She was just a lonely old classmate. He was helping her out of pity. But I put cameras in the house anyway. And every second of her dumping something into my soup? Crystal clear on tape. The front door slams open. Hunter marches in, dragging a sobbing Yara behind him. "Did you post that?" ---

"Yes." "Go live. Apologize." Hunter grips my hand. I stare at him. "Hunter. Did you not read the post?" "I read it." "Did you see her dump poison in my soup?" "I saw it." "Then why the hell am I apologizing?!" "Videos can be faked." I freeze. "The hospital chart literally says I lost the baby from ingesting a toxic substance." "Sis, you'd use your own baby to guilt-trip Hunter. Who's to say you didn't swallow the pills yourself and pin it on me?" "Yara, not everyone is a psycho like — " I march at her. Hunter yanks me back. "Apologize." His fingers dig into my wrist. I wince. "And if I don't?" His eyes narrow. "This is your last chance." "No." Hunter laughs, cold. That night, he leaves with Yara. The next morning, a subpoena hits my door. I walk into court alone. Across the aisle sits Vaughn Corp's entire legal team — seven years of firepower, all pointed at me. That night, Yara flashes the verdict on her livestream. "Babies! Verdict's in! The little liar is going to jail!" She fake-sniffles. "But since she just lost a child, I want to give her one more chance." "Yara, you're an ANGEL." "Don't forgive her! Snakes always come back for more!" "Right?! That baby was probably an abortion so she could play victim!" Yara ducks her head, shy. "Well… technically she and Hunter aren't officially divorced yet. I'd hate for him to be hurt…" The chat loses its mind. My phone rings. Lulu. "Willow, don't go home. Yara's fans are calling you the mistress. They're planning to jump you in real life." I'm sitting in a coffee shop. The loss-verdict sits by my elbow. So does a stack of fresh evidence. "Got it, Lulu. I'm sending you some files. Help me organize?" "You're… you're not gonna sue her again, are you?" "Damn right I am." My fist tightens. Vaughn's lawyers knocked out my home footage. Fine. I'll build a bigger case. Independent lab tests. Yara's credit card records. Her travel history. I'm putting the woman who caused my baby's death behind bars if it's the last thing I do. "Okay. I'm with you. But Willow — what are you doing right now?" I stand. "Going to move Noah's grave." Because those rabid fans have my address. If they find my baby's grave… I can't even finish the thought. The fans aren't there yet. Thank God. But when I reach Noah's little grave, it's already destroyed. Yara stands over it, pinching her nose, waving at her guards. "Throw it all. Every scrap. Leave nothing." "YARA!" I sprint. Two guards catch me before I can reach her. "Oh, sis." Yara smirks. "Hunter's letting me crash at your marital penthouse for streaming. But this ugly little grave is ruining my outdoor shots. Just doing you a favor. Xoxo." The grave is two miles from the penthouse. "Bullshit it's ruining anything!" She smirks and turns away. "Keep going." "STOP!" I don't know where the strength comes from, but I break loose. I tackle her. But I just had a miscarriage. She's stronger. She flips me off, grabs a shovel — "You bitch — " "WILLOW!" Hunter's voice. Yara freezes. Next second, she jams the shovel into my hands. Wraps both of hers over mine. "Sis! I know Hunter cutting you off was my fault! But you can't dig up your own baby's grave just because you didn't get the money!" Hunter runs up, panting. Sees us. Sees the shovel in my grip. Yara's cheek is already red from where I hit her. The next second—CRACK. Her palm slams across my face. I hit the dirt. Hunter's chest heaves. "I came out here worried those fans would find you. And you — Willow Sanders, you're this low?!" Yara sobs. "Hunter! Take her away! She's going after her own baby's grave!" "Hunter! Yara's the one digging it up!" "ENOUGH!" He grinds his teeth. "How long are you gonna keep pretending?!" I go still. Right. Even with security footage in his face, this man wouldn't believe me. My word alone? Please. As long as Yara's standing there, she's the truth. "Guys." Hunter softly strokes Yara's red cheek. "Ninety-nine slaps for my wife." "What — Hunter — AH!" They shove me to my knees. The guard's calloused hand cracks across my face. Blood fills my mouth. "Hunter — cough — " SLAP. SLAP. SLAP. I can't speak. Everything blurs. When they let go, I collapse. Yara's phone is on me. "Sis, don't take this the wrong way. I'm a relationship guru. You're kind of my star case study. Gotta document this. For the girls at home." She zooms in on my swollen face. "Ladies, THIS is what happens when you choose the snake life — " "AH!" I rip the phone from her hand. I grab her collar. "You really got this close to me?" Then I slam the phone into her nose. Blood sprays. "MY NOSE! MY NOSE!" "WILLOW!" Something hits me, and I go flying. My head cracks against the ground. As I black out, I see Hunter tearing across the grass toward *her*. I smile. I hurt her. ---