I traveled back two years, pregnant with the child of my past life. In the penthouse suite, Hailey, the university's charity case, was on her knees, nibbling on the buckle of Liam Sterling's belt. As if she didn't see me, she stuck her tongue out playfully. "Uh oh, Liam. I think I left a mark." I pretended I didn't hear a thing. I walked straight for Liam’s identical twin brother. One of our friends called out, "Chloe, hey, Liam's over there." Liam’s expression soured. "Chloe, come here." I didn’t break my stride. I stopped directly in front of Julian Sterling. The man, who’d been lounging with a lazy sort of grace, suddenly looked up. His eyebrows arched, a playful glint in his eyes that hinted at the devil hiding beneath his polished, Ivy League exterior. "Looking for me?" he purred. I nodded, handing him a folded piece of paper from my clutch. An ultrasound report. "I'm pregnant with your child," I stated, my voice even. "Do you want to raise it with me?" Julian: "?" The air in the room evaporated. Every breath was held hostage. Liam smashed his whiskey glass on the marble floor and shot to his feet. "Chloe," he seethed, "say that again. *Whose* baby is it?" 1. The silence was so absolute you could hear a heart break. Everyone in our circle knew Liam and I were a package deal. The golden couple of the Sterling empire. What they didn't know was that two hours ago, I was done with him. Forever. Julian’s long, pale fingers took the report from my hand. He studied it carefully before his eyes lifted to meet mine. They were a stunning, complicated mix of light and shadow. A single, questioning syllable escaped his throat. "Hm?" "It's yours," I said. "Are you going to take responsibility?" I leaned in a little. "Or should we discuss this somewhere more private?" I held his gaze, my expression dead serious. He stared back, trying to decipher if this was some elaborate, cruel joke. That's when someone in the room finally spoke, their voice strained. "Chloe… you're kidding, right?" A chorus followed. "Yeah, this isn't funny. Not at all." "We were just playing a game. Hailey just bit his belt for a dare. We were all watching. Liam didn't even touch her." "Chloe, you can't be doing this just to scare him, can you? You know he can't take a joke like that." "We all know how crazy Liam is about you. You can't mess with him like this." "Hailey, say something! Help him out here." The aforementioned Hailey, the arts department's "sweetheart," stood beside Liam, looking fragile and small. "But… the look on Chloe's face," she whispered. "She doesn't look like she's joking." Her one sentence plunged the room back into an icy silence. Liam stalked toward me, his brow furrowed in a thunderous line. He snatched the ultrasound from Julian's hand. After reading it, he let out a laugh that was pure, strangled fury. "Chloe, is this because I'm sponsoring Hailey's tuition?" he asked, his voice dripping with disbelief. "Just because I felt sorry for her, you're going to pull this insane stunt with my own brother?" A stunt? Oh, I was just getting started. 2. I have a condition. I need the energy of love to survive. If no one in the world loves me, I die. Instantly. In my last life, after my grandfather passed, I thought Liam's love was what was keeping me alive. That’s why I never really worried about Hailey. Hailey was the scholarship kid who posted a tear-jerking story on a crowdfunding site, begging for a "sponsor." *【I'm about to drop out and give up on my dreams. Is there anyone out there willing to sponsor a poor college girl?】* *【I'm just not smart enough to make it on my own, I need a big brother or a father figure to help guide me.】* *【Note: This is for sponsorship, not a sugar daddy arrangement! Please be respectful.】* She included a doe-eyed selfie. Someone from campus recognized her and posted the link to the university's gossip forum. She became infamous overnight. Guys sent her vile messages; girls called her out for being manipulative. Liam found her crying in a corner of the library one day, overwhelmed by the backlash. He felt sorry for her, helped her, and took on her "sponsorship." After that, she became his shadow, a little puppy trailing at his heels. At first, I told him I wasn't comfortable with it. He accused me of being cold-hearted, and we didn't speak for a week. Then, Hailey started trying to win me over. She was sweet, respectful, and played the sympathy card perfectly. Being a girl myself, my heart softened. I figured, what's the harm? It's a sponsorship, not an affair. As long as Liam loved me, it would be fine. I never once doubted his love for me. Not even at the very end. But I died right after Julian did. 3. In my last life, someone slipped something into my drink at a party. I stumbled into the wrong bedroom and spent a chaotic, hazy night with a drunk Julian. When I woke up, the shock was immense. I couldn't face anyone, so I fled to our family's estate in the Hamptons for a month. During that time, Hailey was in a minor car accident, and Liam was by her side constantly, playing the hero. Julian, however, followed me to the Hamptons. He asked me a question that had been haunting him for years. He asked why, when they had both been in love with me since we were kids, I had chosen Liam over him. Liam and Julian were identical, except for their eyes. That one difference defined them. Liam has classic, earnest almond-shaped eyes that make him look both intense and trustworthy. Julian has stunning, upturned eyes—the kind that could look at a garbage can and make it feel like the most cherished thing in the world. Liam’s personality was reserved, self-possessed. Girls adored him from afar, but he kept a respectable distance from everyone. Julian was wild, a charmer who knew exactly what to say. There was always some beautiful girl claiming to be his girlfriend. So, I told him the truth. I told him I thought he'd had too many girlfriends, while I'd never even had a serious boyfriend. I told him I thought he was a player, that his feelings were fleeting. I told him I thought he was… dirty. And that being with him felt like I was losing something precious. The color drained from his face when he heard that. Something in his eyes seemed to shatter. He tried desperately to explain, but I didn't want to hear it. I cut him off, telling him to pretend that night never happened and to never, ever tell a soul. A month later, I found out I was pregnant. The day I returned from the Hamptons, I walked in on Liam and Hailey locked in a passionate, desperate kiss. I stumbled back out of the house, my world spinning. I didn't see the car that had lost control and was careening toward me on the rain-slicked road. In that last second, Julian shoved me out of the way. His final words to me were, "As long as you're okay…" 4. Two hours ago, I woke up in this timeline, pregnant and all. This was right after Liam had started "sponsoring" Hailey, during the week he was giving me the silent treatment for questioning it. After Julian died in my previous life, my internal "love meter" instantly dropped to zero. It was only in that moment of absolute emptiness that I realized Liam hadn't loved me for a very long time. His affection was a hollow echo. In my past life, I never went to this party. I never saw this boundary-less moment between him and Hailey. Thinking back now, he was probably already cheating on me then, emotionally if not physically. I looked at the furious Liam and the timid Hailey beside him, and a wave of nausea washed over me. "Liam, you're dirty now," I said, my voice flat. "I don't want you anymore." "What did you say?" His eyes were rimmed with red, his voice a low, dangerous growl, each word coated in ice. "You think I'm… *dirty*?" "Yes. You're filthy." I nodded, my gaze dropping to the still-unbuckled belt hanging loosely on his hips. The teeth marks were visible on the fine Italian leather, the surface dark with moisture. Disgusting. "You promised me no one else would ever touch that belt but me," I said. "You said a man's promises were his last line of defense. Now you've let someone else lick it. You're tainted." Liam’s pupils constricted. His face went white. "No, it wasn't… I…" Just then, Julian spoke, his tone casual and utterly cutting. "Wasn't what? You looked like you were enjoying yourself a minute ago." Liam choked on his words, humiliated. I had no desire to stay a second longer. I grabbed Julian’s arm. "Ignore him. Let's go talk somewhere else." 5. I lied to Julian. I told him I was from two years in the future. In that future, I told him, Liam had died in a tragic accident. After his death, Julian had finally made his feelings for me clear, and I had become his fiancée. We got together, I got pregnant, and then I was somehow thrown back in time to this exact moment. Julian listened, his eyes downcast, his expression unreadable. He didn't speak. He just pulled a silver case from his pocket and placed a cigarette between his lips. Just as he was about to light it, I stopped him in a low voice. "Smoking is bad for the baby." "..." He paused. "So, you don't believe me?" I asked. He put the lighter away, the unlit cigarette still pinched between his elegant fingers. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "I'm more inclined to believe," he said slowly, "that you saw him playing games with another girl and this is your dramatic, albeit brilliant, way of punishing him." My hand tightened on my purse chain. He didn't believe me. "Then come with me." I grabbed his wrist and dragged him back into the suite. The atmosphere was still thick with tension. Liam was slumped on a velvet couch, his face dark, staring blankly at the ultrasound report in his hands. I snatched it from him and pointed to the age field on the report. "Look. It says my age is 22. You both know I'm only 20 this year." "And if you still don't believe me," I continued, "we can go to a clinic and get a paternity test—" "Chloe!" Liam roared, cutting me off. "The baby is mine. I will not let you pretend he's the father." Julian looked down at me, a thoughtful, almost dangerous glint in his eyes. "We're identical twins," he said softly. "Our DNA is the same. A paternity test would show that we are both the biological father." I faltered. I honestly hadn't considered that. Then, a slow, cold smile spread across my face. "Fine. If neither of you believes me, then I'll just raise the baby myself. No father necessary." With that, I turned on my heel and walked out.
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