Chapter 6
“You can’t give him a child, Isla. Someone else can.”
The words sliced straight through me.
I didn’t even look at Rachel. I couldn’t. My eyes locked on Julian instead, standing there like he’d been carved from ice, jaw clenched so tight it could shatter.
“Rachel,” he growled. “I told you to stay in your lane.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, those same fucking crocodile tears she always used when she wanted something.
“I just can’t bear to lose our baby, Julian…”
Julian didn’t even blink. He reached for the divorce papers on the side table, ripped them in half, and tossed the pieces into the trash like yesterday’s mail.
“I already told you—I don’t want kids. That’s my decision. Not hers.”
His voice was a warning shot.
Mrs. Carter was shouting behind us, but Julian didn’t stop. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of that room, away from them, from all of it.
We stopped somewhere quiet. His eyes searched mine, frantic and lost.
“Isla, the baby… it was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
I let out a breath that was more of a laugh than anything. Dry. Bitter. Empty.
“If it weren’t for today, I’d never have found out, right? I’d still be here, playing the good wife while you played house with your secretary.”
His face dropped. He didn’t even try to deny it.
My eyes stung. My voice broke.
“Your mom’s right, Julian. I don’t belong here. Let’s just get the divorce over with.”
His jaw tightened, his whole energy shifting.
“No. I meant what I said. There’s only one woman for me, and it’s you. I’ll handle it.”
He shoved me into the back of a car like I was something fragile and dangerous all at once.
“Don’t let her leave,” he ordered the driver.
He came home late that night.
The second he saw me, his whole face changed. He smiled like nothing had happened, like we weren’t crumbling under the weight of lies and time.
He pulled me into his arms, nuzzled his face into my neck.
“It’s done, baby. Everything’s okay. We can go back to how things used to be.”
I didn’t answer. Just let him hold me.
The red numbers floated above him, clear as blood.
[Death Countdown: 1 Day, 16 Hours, 32 Minutes.]
Julian kissed my temple.
“It’s all fixed. My mom’s not pushing anymore, and I won’t see Rachel again. We’re good now, Isla. No one’s breaking us apart.”
He looked at me like he expected relief.
But love isn’t a promise. And it sure as hell isn’t enough.
Still, I let my head rest against his chest. Let my tears soak through his shirt.
“If you lie to me again, Julian… you’ll never find me.”
“I won’t. I swear.”
But my chest ached so badly it felt like it might cave in.
What he didn’t know—what he’d never guess—was that The System had shown me everything.
Every appointment. Every ultrasound. Every goddamn lie.
He said it was over. That he wasn’t leaving me.
But the truth was, he agreed to keep Rachel’s baby.
And he’d spent the last two days at the hospital with her.
I didn’t call him on it. Didn’t scream or cry.
I just curled into him and whispered, “Spend the whole day with me tomorrow?”
He smiled, relief washing over him. “Anything you want.”
That night, he fell asleep fast. Like he had nothing left to worry about.
I stayed awake, watching him under the soft bedside lamp.
It had been so long since I really looked at him.
In our first year, he was obsessed with me—couldn’t stand to be apart.
Now I had to book him like a dentist appointment just to see his face.
I reached for him, almost touched his cheek… and then I saw it.
[Death Countdown: 23 Hours, 54 Minutes, 47 Seconds.]
My hand froze midair. Then I let it drop.
The low hum of static filled my brain.
[Reminder: This is your final day, Host.]
