I Let Him Have His Moonlight, Now He’s Undone

The anesthesia faded, replaced by a sharp, knifing pain in my abdomen. I was bleeding heavily, nurses rushing around me, but my husband Arthur was gone. My newborn daughter gave a faint cry.

Arthurs assistant rushed in, panicked. Mrs. Ashford, Mr. Ashford sent me to get the young miss. Miss Reed is feeling down, and he thought the baby could cheer her up for a few days.

My voice broke as I grabbed his arm. "Does he know I'm hemorrhaging? That she was premature, in an incubator?"

"He knows. He said you're strongan heiress. You'll pull through. Miss Reeds stream is struggling, and shes fragile."

I asked if theyd bring my daughter back. His silent pity was answer enough.

A final tear fell as I closed my eyes. My child was gone.

The door opened. Jessica, my once-best friend, stood there, makeup perfect but eyes red. "Anna, you were always a fool. Next time, dont fight me for him."

I opened my eyes. It was my engagement day again. This time, I wouldnt fight.

The phantom agony of the C-section was so vivid that a cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

My last conversation with Jessica from my past life echoed in my mind.

As I lay dying, she had come to my bedside, her voice trembling.

"Was it worth it, for Arthur? You'll die, and he'll be glad for it. But your child will grow up without a mother..."

I coughed up blood, a bitter laugh escaping my lips.

"Jess, I'm so sorry. If I hadn't fought you for him back then..."

"Don't," she cut me off. "I never truly blamed you. I just hate that we let a man destroy our friendship."

As my consciousness faded, I heard Arthur's voice from the hallway, dripping with a tenderness he never showed me.

"Sophie, my love, don't be sad. I brought the baby. Look how precious she is."

Sophies voice was cloyingly sweet. "Arthur, you're so good to me. Won't Anna be upset?"

"What does she have to be upset about?" Arthur chuckled, a sound devoid of warmth. "She was just a fixture, a piece of the family merger. You're the one I want to spend my life with."

"Now that she's dead, it's perfect. The child is yours to raise, and no one can ever keep us apart again."

Only in that final moment did I understand. The man I had loved with my entire being never had a place for me in his heart.

I blinked, and the harsh sunlight of my own bedroom assaulted my eyes. I was lying in my own bed.

My phone screen was lit up with a message from Jessica:

"Anna, the Ashfords just called. They want you at the estate to discuss the engagement. With Arthur."

I shot upright. There was no scar, no wound on my abdomen.

The date on my phone was exactly one year before my daughter's birth.

I had been reborn.

I snatched the phone and immediately called Jessica.

"Jess, I'll see you at the estate this afternoon. We need to talk."

Her voice had a hopeful lilt. "You've finally seen the light? I told you Arthur was no good for you..."

"We'll talk in person."

I ended the call, a cold, burning hatred swirling in my chest.

This time, I would not be Arthur Ashfords stepping stone.

And I would never let my child suffer the same fate.

That afternoon, the grand living room of the Ashford estate was filled with the powerful heads of our families.

The Ashford patriarch sat at the head of the room.

Arthur, dressed in an impeccable suit, kept glancing at his phone, obviously texting Sophie.

"Anna. Jessica," the old man began, his voice raspy with age. "You are both fine young women. Whomever the Ashfords join with, it will be an excellent match. Arthur, the choice is yours. Who will it be?"

In my past life, I had stepped forward, eagerly offering myself up.

Jessicas eyes had filled with tears, and our friendship shattered that very day.

I hesitated, wondering if I should tell her the truth.

But then I saw it in her eyesa flicker of hope, a desperate desire. I knew she hadn't given up on Arthur. She wanted to gamble on him one last time.

Before I could speak, Jessica stood up.

"Grandfather, I'd like to try!"

Arthur looked up, startled. He clearly hadn't expected her to be so bold.

My heart tightened, but I remained silent.

If this was her choice, the only thing I could do was be there to catch her when she finally crashed and burned.

The patriarch nodded slowly. "Very well. Since Jessica is willing, then it is settled. The wedding has been in the works for six months. It will take place in three days."

"Wait," I said suddenly.

All eyes turned to me.

"Grandfather, I agree to Jessica's engagement, but on one condition."

The old man stared at me.

"Speak."

"Until the wedding, Arthur is not to have any contact with Sophie Reed." I fixed my gaze on Arthur. "After all, Jessica is his fiance now. He owes her that basic respect."

Arthurs face darkened instantly. "Anna, Sophie and I are just friends. Don't overstep."

"Besides," he added coolly, "this is between me and Jessica. You have no place interfering."

Jessica, always proud, let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

"Friends? Arthur, can you honestly say she's just a friend?" She took a breath, her chin held high. "But it doesn't matter. I trust you'll know where your priorities lie. Here's to the rest of our lives."

She still wouldn't give up.

Looking at her was like looking at a reflection of my past self. A wave of sorrow washed over me.

Just then, Arthur's phone began vibrating frantically. His assistant burst into the room.

"Mr. Ashford! It's terrible! Miss Reed has been in an accident!"

Arthur shot to his feet. "What happened?"

The assistant's face was ashen. "She was on her way to the estate when a truck rear-ended her car. She's being rushed to the hospital now!"

"What?" Arthur's pupils contracted. He spun around and sprinted for the door. "Send me the address!"

He didn't even make it to the threshold before the patriarch's roar stopped him in his tracks.

"Stop right there! We are not finished discussing your wedding. What could possibly be more important than an Ashford marriage? Arthur, it seems you have forgotten your place!"

Arthur turned back without hesitation, his knees hitting the marble floor with a sickening thud.

"Grandfather, Sophie isn't some outsider. She's... she's carrying my child!"

"She's pregnant. I have to go to her."

The word "friends" now hung in the air, a bitter, mocking lie.

The color drained from Jessica's face. She swayed, and I rushed to steady her.

"Jess," I whispered. "You heard him."

The old man slammed his fist on the table, his face purple with rage. "You insolent boy! This is madness!"

But he was talking to an empty room. Arthur was already gone.

When we arrived at the hospital, Sophie was lying in bed, a bandage wrapped around her forehead, tears streaming down her face like a tragic heroine.

The moment she saw Arthur, she threw herself into his arms.

"Arthur, my love, I was so scared! I thought the baby and I were going to die! I can't believe I'm seeing you again..."

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here now. I won't let anything happen to you." Arthur held her tight, his eyes overflowing with a raw, protective love he had never once shown me.

Then he turned, his gaze falling upon Jessica and me, and his expression turned to ice.

"Which one of you did this!"

Jessica stared at him, stunned. "What are you talking about?"

Sobbing, Sophie pointed a trembling finger at Jessica. "Who else could it be? Before I left, I sent you a message. I told you I was pregnant with Arthur's child and I wanted to talk. You refused, and you threatened me! You said you wouldn't let me get away with it!"

She held up her phone. On the screen was a message sent to Jessica:

"I'm carrying Arthur's child. We're truly in love. Please, Miss Lynn, I'm begging you to let us be together..."

Jessica's reply was three simple words:

"In your dreams."

I had known Jessica for years. That was the response of a proud woman who had been provoked, nothing more. If she had truly wanted to harm Sophie, she would never have wasted time with a text message.

But Arthur wasn't interested in logic.

Jessica's voice rose, desperate and cracking. "I didn't send anyone to hit you! I was angry that you taunted me, but why would I ever hurt you or your child? I didn't even know where you were!"

"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" Arthur's voice was a low, vicious snarl. "Jessica, I never knew you were so vile. To marry into my family, you'd even resort to murder?"

"I didn't!" Tears streamed down Jessicas face. "Arthur, please, just believe me this once. We've known each other for so long. Don't you know the kind of person I am?"

"I thought I did! That was my mistake!" Arthur roared. "You think I don't know how jealous you've always been of Sophie? Now that she's carrying my child, you're desperate to clear the way before the wedding, so you decided to eliminate the 'problem'!"

"Jessica, you disgust me."

A bitter, self-mocking laugh escaped her lips. "I disgust you? Arthur, I have loved you for ten years. For you, I fought with my parents, I gave up my scholarship to study abroad, I even turned my back on my best friend. And all I get in return is that I disgust you?"

"Yes!" The word was a weapon, sharp and immediate. "Compared to Sophie, you don't even deserve to carry her shoes. Sophie is gentle and kind and never asks for anything. And you? Your mind is a labyrinth of schemes! If it weren't for the Lynn family name, I would never have given you a second glance!"

"Let me be perfectly clear. Even if we get married, I will never see you as my wife! You are just the public face of this merger. The woman I recognize, the only one in my heart, will always be Sophie."

His words were daggers, each one plunging deeper into Jessicas heart.

Her face turned a deathly gray, and her body trembled uncontrollably. The light in her eyes extinguished, flicker by painful flicker.

I held Jessica, my own body trembling with a rage that was both fresh and ancient. "Arthur, you have no proof. How can you accuse her like this? You believe every word Sophie says, but you won't listen to a single thing from Jessica?"

Arthur sneered. "Proof? Sophie's word is all the proof I need. She would never lie to me. But you, Anna... you and Jessica are two of a kind. Don't think I don't know what you're plotting."

"One of you drugs me, the other fakes a kidnapping. All this drama just to climb into my bed. You two really are best friends, aren't you? Even your pathetic methods are the same."

The weight of my past lifes misery crashed down on me. I lifted my chin, my voice raw with fury. "I must have been blind to ever love a man like you, someone who can't tell right from wrong! Arthur Ashford, mark my words. From this day forward, you and I are done."

Sophie, nestled in Arthur's arms, glanced at us, a flicker of triumph in her eyes.

Jessica grabbed my hand, her voice chillingly calm. "It doesn't matter. Let him think what he wants."

"Anna, let's go."

Once we were out of the room, Jessica could no longer hold it in. She collapsed against the hallway wall, sobbing uncontrollably.

I rubbed her back, my own heart aching with the echoes of my past life's pain.

Her words were choked and broken. "I'm such an idiot. I knew he didn't love me, but I just had to throw myself at him. And now... now I'm just some cheap, pathetic woman he thinks he can sleep with and discard."

"It's not your fault," I whispered. "He's the one who's blind."

I took a deep breath. "After all this, do you still want to marry him?"

She shook her head, her body limp with defeat.

"Anna, now I understand why you... in your last life... I regret it. I don't want to marry him."

"But I have no way out. If I call off the wedding, my family offends the entire Ashford dynasty. It's a gamble I can't afford to take..."

I looked down, an idea taking root in my mind.

"I have a plan," I said softly. "Let's get you home first."

When we got back to her house, Jessica's parents met us with grim faces.

"Jessica, the Ashfords just called," her father said, his voice heavy. "They said if we don't issue a public apology, they're pulling all their investments from Lynn Industries."

"The Ashfords hold all the power. One word from them and we'll be ruined in this city. I told you not to chase after that boy, but you wouldn't listen! Now our entire family has to pay for your mistake!" her mother cried, her eyes red and swollen. "What did you do?"

Jessica froze, her face a mask of disbelief.

"Make me apologize? I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize? If he's not happy, he can just call off the wedding!"

As the words left her mouth, her face went pale. Our eyes met.

She understood.

Sophie was, on the surface, just an influencer who had clawed her way up from nothing. To high society, she was a nobody, unsuitable for the role of an Ashford wife.

No matter how much Arthur despised Jessica, he needed the Lynn family name. He would never let her go.

"But we can't afford to offend them!" her mother pleaded. "Lynn Industries is completely dependent on their investments. If they pull out, we're finished! You need to call them and apologize right now. It doesn't matter if it was your fault or not. We have to save the company!"

My own parents arrived then, their expressions just as dark. "Anna, the Ashfords pressured us, too. They said if you keep helping Jessica, our family's projects are finished."

Looking at our desperate parents, Jessica and I exchanged a look of shared defeat.

We could sacrifice our own pride, but we couldn't destroy our families.

In the end, we were the ones who had fallen for Arthur.

It was our mistake, and we had to be the ones to pay for it.

Jessica wiped away her tears, her voice suddenly firm.

"I'm not calling off the engagement."

She paused, then added, "But I'm not marrying him, either."

Our parents stared at us, utterly confused.

I knew exactly what she meant.

"That's right," I said. "We can just swap the bride."