Chapter 1

On our ninth wedding anniversary, I found my husband kneeling at the feet of his pregnant student.

In front of an entire room full of guests, he was tying her loose shoelace.

And inside my purse was the pregnancy report I had just received.

"Don't move."

Daniel held her calf with practiced care.

"The doctor said you shouldn't bend over right now."

Sophie looked down at him, one hand resting protectively over the swell of her belly.

"Professor Reed, I can do it myself."

That was what she said, but she made no move to pull away.

People nearby laughed and praised Daniel for being so thoughtful. Another female student brought Sophie a cushion and urged her to sit down and rest.

No one noticed me standing at the entrance to the ballroom.

Inside my purse was an eight-week ultrasound report and a pair of white baby socks embroidered with tiny gold stars.

An hour earlier, Dr. Price had handed me the test results.

"Congratulations, Rachel. You're pregnant."

I had stared at the report for a long time.

"Are you sure there hasn't been a mistake?"

"I checked twice."

In seven years, I had gone through four rounds of ovulation induction, two cycles of IVF, and two early miscarriages.

The Bennett family's money could buy me the best doctors and the most expensive treatments. It could not guarantee that a baby would choose to stay inside me.

I was thirty-eight now. I had even stopped daring to walk into baby stores.

But after leaving the clinic, I had bought those socks anyway.

I had planned to give them to Daniel over dinner and tell him that, at last, we were going to have a baby.

Dr. Price had warned me that the first trimester would still be dangerous.

"Avoid stress as much as possible. If you have any pain or bleeding, come to the hospital immediately."

Now, as I watched my husband half-kneeling at another pregnant woman's feet, my heart pounded so hard it hurt.

Daniel finally saw me.

He stood. There was no joy on his face. Instead, panic flickered across it.

"Rachel, what are you doing here?"

"We were supposed to have dinner tonight."

He checked the time, as though he had only just remembered the date.

"The reception isn't over yet."

"So I came to wait for you."

Daniel approached, his gaze dropping to my purse.

"Where were you this afternoon? I called you."

"I had a test done."

His brows drew together slightly.

"More fertility treatment?"

His voice was not loud, but it carried far enough for several people nearby to hear.

The way they looked at me immediately softened into pity.

The woman who had been married for years but could not get pregnant had gone through yet another treatment that would probably fail.

I could have pulled out the report right then.

But Daniel had already turned back to Sophie.

"You don't look well."

"The baby moved a minute ago."

His expression softened instantly.

It was the expression I had waited seven years to see on his face.

My hand drifted toward my lower belly before I quickly dropped it.

He did not know.

By the time the reception ended, rain was pouring outside.

Daniel took off his jacket and draped it over Sophie's shoulders, then tilted the umbrella toward her. Half his body was soon soaked.

It had rained on our wedding day nine years ago, too.

Back then, he had shielded me in exactly the same way and promised he would never let me get wet.

"What about our dinner?" I asked.

Daniel did not look at me.

"Sophie has nowhere to stay tonight. I need to get her settled first."

"What about her family?"

Sophie's face went pale.

"They refused to see me after they found out I was pregnant."

"And the baby's father?"

She lowered her head without answering.

Daniel immediately stepped between us.

"Rachel, don't interrogate her here."

"I'm only asking why a pregnant student needs her professor to arrange a place for her to live."

Several people were still lingering nearby.

Daniel lowered his voice.

"She's vulnerable right now. Could you show a little compassion?"

Somehow, it was my fault again.

He canceled our anniversary dinner in public to take care of another pregnant woman, but the moment I questioned it, I became the heartless one.

When I got home, a pink suitcase was already sitting in the foyer.

Daniel had arranged everything in advance.

Sophie's clothes hung in the guest room. A new set of toiletries stood in the bathroom. Even her prenatal vitamins had been placed in the kitchen.

She had not come in to escape the rain.

She had come to stay.

"For how long?" I asked.

"A few days. Maybe a few weeks."

"Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't throw a pregnant woman out."

Daniel sounded utterly certain.

As though my kindness were something he could use whenever it suited him.

Sophie bent to lift her suitcase. Daniel immediately caught her arm.

"Don't lift anything heavy."

His hand lingered on her arm.

The gesture was too natural. Too practiced.

"Daniel." I looked directly at him. "Where is the baby's father?"

All the color drained from Sophie's face.

Daniel did not release her.

"It's complicated."

"Then make it simple. Does the baby's father know she's moving into her married professor's home?"

Neither of them answered.

Sophie lowered her head and slowly curled her fingers around Daniel's sleeve.

He did not pull away.

Instead, he shifted half a step in front of her, shielding her with his body.

"The baby's father will take care of her."