Chapter 1

The moment I found out I was pregnant, I dashed straight to the office, bursting with excitement to tell Elliot Fisher.

But just as I reached his door, I caught his voice while he was on the phone with his private doctor.

Elliot's voice was icy. "Pregnant? Seriously? I never let her stop her birth control. With her frail body, how is she even worthy to have my child? Just imagine if she gives birth to some disabled kid—spare me that nightmare!"

"Next time she goes for her check-up, tell her the embryo isn't developing right—make her terminate it. Also, send me the date for Libby's prenatal exam. I want to be there for her," Elliot ordered.

The cold from the doorknob crept through my fingers, sending a chill straight into my heart—it hurt more than any wound ever could.

But when I finally went through with the abortion and escaped overseas, thinking I'd left it all behind, Elliot actually tracked me down in a foreign country.

He went down on his knees, begging for another chance at my heart.

I drove home in a daze, my mind replaying Elliot's cold words over and over.

He was nothing like the man who used to complain every night, resting his head on my belly and asking why I hadn't gotten pregnant yet.

Honestly, Elliot wanted a baby right after we got married, but I hesitated.

I'd always been weak since I was a kid, and I worried any child I had wouldn't be healthy. So I thought it was better to wait until I was healthier.

When Elliot found out how I felt, he pulled me into a tight hug and said, "Honey, it's fine. We can wait until you're feeling better. There's no rush."

I spent two years getting my health back on track, and once I finally started feeling better, Elliot just stopped mentioning having kids.

Whenever we got intimate, we never bothered with any protection. I figured we'd just let nature take its course.

But after all those times with him, I never once got pregnant.

I started wondering if there was something wrong with me, but Elliot would just comfort me, saying, "Don't worry; it'll happen when it's supposed to."

Back then, I was so busy feeling guilty that I totally missed the tiny smirk in Elliot's eyes.

As I lost myself in my thoughts, my vision blurred as tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.

Suddenly, a thunderous bang shattered the silence.

My first instinct was that I'd just been rear-ended.

Before I could even open the door, a strikingly glamorous woman—her makeup flawless, with an alluring edge—flew out of the car behind me. She stormed over to my window, rage etched all over her face.

She pounded furiously on the glass, demanding that I get out.

"Are you blind or what? The light was green! This car is brand new—my husband just bought it for me! Of all days, why did I have to run into such a bringer of bad luck like you?" she yelled.

I was already having a rough day, and those words just pissed me off even more. I was going to get out and talk calmly, but instead I just frowned and rolled down the window.

"Ma'am, you're the one who ran into me. Sure, I didn't go on green, but that doesn't mean you can just slam into my car, does it?" I replied.

"Please! If you hadn't been zoning out, I wouldn't have crashed into you! And let me tell you, my husband is the CEO of the Fisher Group. If you know what's good for you, you'd better cough up the repair money now, unless you want a world of trouble!" she threatened.

The moment she mentioned the Fisher Group, my eyelid twitched. I jerked my head up to look at her, suddenly on high alert.

She let out a mocking laugh at my reaction. "Oh? You know my husband? Since you know who he is, you'd better get out of the car and beg for forgiveness. Otherwise, when my husband arrives, things are going to get ugly for you."

'So this is Libby Poole, the one Elliot was talking about,' I realized, studying her carefully.

Her body curves in all the right places, and those bold, dazzling features were so different from plain old me.

If I read Elliot's words right, she should also be expecting his baby.

The way Elliot acted towards my child versus hers—just thinking about it made my chest ache.

I shot back coldly, "Go ahead and call him. I'm dying to see what he'll actually do to me when he gets here."

Libby looked taken aback, clearly thrown off by how quickly my attitude had changed.

"Fine! Just you wait!" she snapped, spinning around and pulling out her phone to make the call.

Honestly, I was kind of looking forward to it. I wanted to see how Elliot would explain Libby's identity to me when he showed up.

In the end, Elliot never showed—turns out the cops arrived first, since our mess had turned the street into a giant parking lot.

The cops said it was a tie, both of us to blame, so we each had to fix our own ride.

Before driving off, Libby glared daggers at me. "Just you wait—I won't let you get away with this!"

I shot her a mocking smile and drove off, leaving her fuming in my rearview mirror.

When I got home, completely exhausted, I just collapsed onto the couch. I rested my hands on my stomach, feeling the little life inside me, and before I realized it, tears were already streaming down my face.

Just then, Elliot walked in and caught sight of the tears on my face.