I Was the Backup Plan, Until I Left

Nydia's POV

All because I warned my manager about the breakfast shop of my boyfriend’s first love, my boyfriend decided to punish me by sending me, a five-month pregnant woman, on a hiking trip through Death Valley.

We’d been together for eight years. In that time, he always made me feel like I was his top priority.

But that changed the moment he took me to his beloved first love’s breakfast place.

His first love was well aware of my allergies. Still, she added something to my food on purpose. As a result, my face nearly broke out in blisters, and I was slapped with a massive breach-of-contract fine from my beauty endorsement deal.

Luckily, my manager saved me just in time and blacklisted that breakfast shop from any future brand collabs.

I thought that was the end of it. But I never expected my boyfriend to drop me off in the middle of nowhere in Death Valley.

With heaven's grace, I barely made it out alive. Just when I thought I could collapse and rest, I heard his voice laughing with his friends.

“It’s just a little lesson. Who does she think she is? Pregnant and unwed? Who else would even want her but me?

——

Also, her face hasn't healed yet, and her grandfather dumped her for some younger gold digger. And now she thinks she can go against Polly? Please. She messed up with the wrong girl and paid the price. Now, her face is ruined, and she has lost some cash.”

I stood outside the door, frozen. Every inch of my body trembled.

I survived that nightmare alone, dragging my battered body through hell for ten days. The only thing that kept me conscious was my love for Blake Briggs, an anchor that kept me from slipping away completely.

How ridiculous. Turned out, the man I loved for eight years was the one who pushed me off the cliff in the first place.

“What if she breaks up with you?” one of them asked.

Through the crack in the door, I saw Blake disdainfully smirk.

“She won’t leave,” he said, scoffing. “No one loves her. No one’s waiting for her. And come on. She’s five months pregnant. Who’s going to want her now?”

He looked so smug, like he’d already won.

“Besides,” he added with a sneer, “I’m her everything. She can’t survive without me. Pathetic, right?”

His words felt like a knife, pushing me off a cliff and shattering me into pieces.

He was so confident I wouldn’t leave.

I stumbled toward the security booth and begged to use a phone. The moment the call connected, I couldn’t hold back.

“Grandpa, it’s me. Nydia.”

Before I could say anything else, his voice cut in, cold and angry.

“Why are you calling? We have nothing to do with each other anymore. I’ve already thrown out all your things. Soon, I’ll be mailing you the contract to officially sever ties. So, don’t call again. You’re a disgrace!”

Blake was right.

Even my family didn’t love me anymore.

Eight years ago, he pulled me from the ocean and gave me a new life. He said I had the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen.

Later, I found out it was because they reminded him of Polly Currey’s.

The rain then poured down, soaking my wounds and making them sting. With something on my mind, I walked into the OB-GYN clinic, blood blending with water as I stepped inside.

After the check-up, the doctor sighed. “Your previous allergic reaction has affected your body. You’re also malnourished, and the pregnancy is too far along. If you try to terminate now, it might put your own life at risk.”

Even after hearing the sad news, I didn’t flinch. While my body was shaking from the pain, my expression stayed blank.

“Do it,” I said.

The doctor nodded and replied, “I’ll schedule the operation for seven days from now. You need to rest and build up your strength in the meantime.”

When I got home, Blake was laughing and drinking with his friends, enjoying himself like nothing ever happened.

“Nydia, what’s with the zombie look?” he mocked. “You’ve got a baby in your belly, act like it.”

His face beamed with pride, like he’d just pulled off some grand performance.

For eight years, he’d acted like he loved me. And I believed every second of it.

Despite his taunt, I just turned around and walked back into the room.

There, our photo was still on display. But now, it just looked like one big joke.