The Fake Bride by Sallie Woods

A single video call shatters Natalia's perfect world, plunging her into a nightmare where love and loss collide. Heavy with child on a warm June day in Melfort, Natalia's life implodes when her sister Kendra reveals a devastating secret: Natalia's husband, Magnus, is having an affair. The shock triggers a premature labor, and Natalia is rushed to the hospital, her dreams of motherhood hanging precariously in the balance. Tragedy strikes with unrelenting force. Natalia awakens to the unbearable news that her baby did not survive. Consumed by grief and disbelief, she refuses to accept the grim reality. Ripping out her IV, she frantically searches for her child, desperate to hold the baby she never got to know. Dr. Austen and Linden, the ever-watchful butler, attempt to calm her, but their words are empty comfort against the crushing weight of her loss. Driven by a mother’s desperate love and fueled by unimaginable pain, Natalia makes a daring escape from the hospital. Seizing Magnus's car, she embarks on a perilous journey, her mind fixated on a single, impossible goal: to reunite with her baby. Meanwhile, Magnus, realizing the gravity of Natalia's disappearance, begins a frantic pursuit, his guilt and fear escalating with each passing moment. Natalia, lost in a haze of grief, races towards a bridge, a symbolic gateway to what she believes is the only place where she can find solace. As Magnus's desperate pleas echo in the distance, she embraces the idea of joining her child in the afterlife, a sanctuary from the unbearable cruelty of the world. Closing her eyes, she prepares to surrender to the darkness, her car hurtling toward the bridge's center. Will Magnus reach her in time, or will Natalia's grief lead her to a point of no return? This **romance** story takes a dark turn, exploring themes of **love, loss, and betrayal**. Readers who enjoy **emotional dramas with suspenseful twists** will be captivated by Natalia's journey. Can she find peace, or is her fate sealed in the depths of despair?