Nydia's POV
Hadden said he would personally deliver my baby, but the moment I gave birth, he injected our newborn with a lethal dose right in front of me.
The baby didn’t even get the chance to cry. Its tiny body stiffened in his arms, breathless and lifeless.
He then laughed—a sound so cold it froze me in place.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” he said, his voice sharp with malice. “Nydia, did you know? Cynthia died in my arms just like this. This baby looks just like her... No, Cynthia had it worse. Much worse.”
Glaring at me, he continued, “Tell me, why did she have to die because of you? She begged me not to blame you, even while she was suffering. It should be you who died then, not her! You don’t deserve to live. You don’t deserve anything!”
And so, I gave him what he wanted—I died on the delivery table, my lifeless baby by my side.
But fate was cruel. Even after being given a second chance, I couldn’t escape Hadden’s cold-heartedness.
“Hadden, you should go check on Nydia,” I heard Cynthia plead softly. “What if she’s not pretending? I’d feel guilty.”
“Don’t worry, Cynthia,” he replied, his tone as gentle as ever when speaking to her. “Nydia is the head nurse. She knows her own condition better than anyone. Besides, you’re already weak from your hospital stay, and now you’ve inhaled the virus. Even with the antidote, it won’t work immediately. Stop worrying about her—have you forgotten how she treated you?”
It wasn’t just Hadden who defended her. Even my coworkers, the people I worked with every day, took her side.
In my previous life, Cynthia sent me a taunting text. She accused me of monopolizing Hadden’s time, saying he spent all his hours outside of work with me. She told me she was going to take him back, the man who had been by her side since childhood.
A few days later, she claimed she wasn’t feeling well and requested to be hospitalized—not just anywhere, but in our department. As such, Hadden pulled every string he could to make it happen, and before long, she was settled in.
But no matter how many tests I ran, I couldn’t find any real illness. However, her performance was flawless. She stirred up misunderstanding after misunderstanding, painting herself as the victim.
With that, everyone believed her. With just a few words from her, everyone accused me of hiding her condition. And Hadden? He stopped coming home at night, staying by her bedside instead.
At first, my coworkers whispered about it behind my back. But soon, they didn’t bother hiding it. They told me to my face that Hadden and Cynthia were a perfect match. They criticized me, saying I was not only unprofessional but also petty, interfering with Hadden’s work as her attending physician.
I couldn’t bear the pain anymore. The contractions were relentless, and I was desperate to get out of that contaminated ward. “Please,” I begged, “take me out of here.”
But no one listened. Just outside the ward, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.
“Nydia, you weren’t even at the nurse’s station when we arrived. So how come you'll be infected by the virus? Drop the act now! Do you think we’re stupid?”
In their eyes, I was nothing but a jealous, vindictive woman.
But soon, Hadden approached me in his hazmat suit. I thought, foolishly, that he might offer me some kindness. But I was wrong.
As I reached out to grab the hem of his pants, he coldly pulled back his foot and kicked me over. I fell backward and warm fluid quickly pooled beneath me as I lay there helplessly.
But despite that, he didn’t care. Not about me, not about our baby.
“Weren’t you always so good at scheming?” he mocked. “What happened? You tried to release the virus to harm someone and ended up taking yourself down instead?”
He laughed cruelly. “You’re an idiot. Next time you try to hurt someone, use your brain.”
He thought I was the one who opened the vial. Did he think so highly of himself that he believed I’d ruin lives for his sake?
“As the head nurse, you should know better. Leaking an experimental virus is a serious medical offense,” he continued. “Do you have any idea of the consequences? Do you know how much of our research you’ve just destroyed because of your carelessness?”
