Chapter 1
After seven years of a long-distance marriage with Rowan Mercer, I finally got pregnant.
I quit my job on purpose, carrying the test report as I traveled thousands of miles, hiding downstairs outside his company building, preparing to give him a surprise.
“Honey, where are you?”
The moment I saw him come out, I excitedly started a video call.
On the other end, there was the same gentle voice as always.
“I just finished working overtime. What’s wrong, babe? "
"Nothing. I just miss you a little. Do you miss me?”
“Of course I do.”
An unconscious smile of sweetness spread across my face. The thought of seeing his surprised expression made me unable to resist stepping toward him.
“Really? Then turn around right n....”. My voice stopped abruptly. My steps froze in place as if nailed to the ground.
I watched as he wrapped his arms around a heavily pregnant woman, pressing a kiss to the corner of her lips while casually and vaguely replying to me.
“If it’s nothing urgent, call me again when I’m free. I have something very important to do right now.” The call was hung up without hesitation.
I stood in the cold wind and heard the woman’s soft, blissful voice.
“Honey, what’s this very important thing?”
The man who had accompanied me throughout my entire college life and spent seven years of marriage with me replied, “Of course it’s spending time with you.”
Tears burst from my eyes. They crashed heavily onto the pregnancy report in my hands.
I looked at the blurred words
“ Pregnant” on the page and let out a mocking laugh.
Then what about me?
So in your heart, I was the only someone to deal with “when you’re free.”
...
My blood rushed violently through my body. My vision darkened, and my exhausted body drifted down like a falling leaf.
Before I completely lost consciousness, I thought I heard the woman cry out in alarm, and vaguely saw Rowan's shocked and panicked expression.
When I woke up again, I was in the hospital. Rowan sat on a sofa far away from me, concentrating on the report in his hands.
Dressed in an immaculate tailored suit, he looked refined and expensive. There was no way to connect him with the ordinary office worker he usually pretended to be.
When she saw me open my eyes, the woman approached enthusiastically.
“You’re awake! My name is Chloe Hale. You fainted from low blood sugar last night. The doctor said you just got pregnant, and your condition is very unstable right now. You shouldn’t be running around alone. Where’s your husband? Why isn’t he here with you?”
Her voice was sweet, carrying an unconscious hint of alluring charm.
Even though she was already pregnant, she still possessed the innocent aura of a sheltered young girl.
It was obvious she had been taken care of very well. Completely different from me, who bargained hoarsely with street vendors at the farmer’s market for over a few cents.
“He’s dead.”
Dead in my heart.
Dead the moment I learned the truth.
The instant I finished speaking, I felt a burning gaze from the distance.
I stubbornly turned my head away in silence. Even though I didn’t want myself to look too pitiful, my eyes still reddened uncontrollably.
“Oh no, don’t cry! You just got pregnant, so you have to take good care of yourself! Rowan once said that when you’re pregnant, you can’t cry, can’t get angry, can’t do housework, and also can’t…”
Chloe Hale bit her rosy lips, trying hard to remember. In the end, she could only turn to Rowan for help.
“Honey, I forgot… what else can’t I do?”
That form of address made my chest tighten painfully.
A flicker of emotion seemed to flash through Rowan's eyes, but he quickly adjusted his expression and looked at Chloe with gentle indulgence.
“Silly girl. You also can’t eat crab, can’t have cold foods, and definitely can’t drink coffee every day.”
“What? I never drink coffee. I only drink milk tea!” Chloe wrinkled her nose and let out a spoiled little huff, blaming Rowan for forgetting her preferences.
But I understood.
That last sentence was actually meant for me.
After all, I loved drinking cup after cup of coffee while staying up late preparing reports, all so I could get promoted sooner and transfer to the city where he lived.
But now it seemed that all my hard work and desperate efforts were nothing but a joke.
Even this casual concern for my well-being was only something he mentioned in passing while loving another woman.
An unbearable ache swelled in my chest. I only wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
After softly muttering, “Thank you,” I lifted the blanket and got out of bed.
Rowan shifted slightly, but in the end, he still didn’t stand up. Instead, Chloe hurriedly stopped me.
“Where are you going? Don’t tell me you saw this is a VIP room and got worried about the cost? Don’t worry. My husband is the richest man in Seattle. This little bit of money means nothing to him.”
