Chapter 1

It was our company's IPO ceremony. My husband, Charles Rivers, stood right beside me.

He was dressed to the nines in a sharp suit, the very picture of success.

Just as the cameras were about to turn our way, he suddenly turned, cupped an intern's face, and kissed her.

It wasn't some polite peck. He went all in, tongue and everything.

The crowd gasped. Camera shutters clicked nonstop, almost deafening.

I stood to his left, wearing the champagne dress he'd picked out for me the night before, gripping the ceremonial gavel we were meant to strike together.

He let go of the intern and turned to look at me.

Cold and composed, he stood there with her lipstick glaring at the corner of his mouth.

"Emily, Sophie is pregnant," he said. "It's mine.

"She's young and sensitive. She can't handle the gossip. You need to cover for us. Just say... we hired a surrogate together."

I looked down at the gavel in my hand.

Then I slammed it to the floor. The sharp bang cut through the room like a blade.

The live stream was cut off instantly. Backstage, everything fell into chaos.

Charles's assistant came running over, nearly tripping. "Mr. Rivers! The media..."

Charles loosened his tie like nothing had happened. "Tell them I got carried away and kissed the wrong person."

Then he looked at me, his tone as cold and commanding as if he were barking orders at an employee. "Emily, go along with it."

Sophie Quinn was hiding behind him, one hand resting on her belly, even though there was nothing there yet. Her eyes were red and watery, looking pitiful.

"Charles, don't make things hard for Emily. It's all my fault. I couldn't help myself," she said.

Charles gently patted her shoulder, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I wanted to kiss you at the happiest moment of my life," he said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

My head started ringing. Then it hit me—the condom wrapper on his desk. I'd found it a month ago when I went to the office late one night to pick up some files.

He said his assistant had left it there by accident, but now I knew that was total bullshit.

"Charles, do you even realize what today is? It's our IPO day," I said dryly. My voice was so hoarse it startled even me.

"And it's also our tenth wedding anniversary," I added.

He paused for a second, then frowned. "Emily, it's really not the time for this.

"I know you're hurting, but Sophie... she often reminds me of how you used to be at twenty. Simple. Passionate. Like I was your whole world.

"But after ten years... I don't feel anything anymore. What we have now is just responsibility."

For a moment, his eyes drifted away.

Sophie stepped closer to me, a small cocky smile on her lips. "Want to know what Charles said to me last night?

"He said, 'You are a little clumsy, but your innocence drives me crazier than any experienced woman ever has.'"

Before I could think, I reached out to cover her mouth. She let out a muffled cry, and Charles immediately pulled her behind him, gently patting her back.

"Emily, don't make a scene," he said. "The company's gone public, and you're still so narrow-minded."

I stared at him without saying a word, my eyes cold and hard.

It'd been ten years.

I was twenty-four when I moved into a basement apartment with him. We had no money. We ate whatever we could afford and coded together day and night. That was when my stomach problems started.

I stayed up all night helping him finish his first business proposal.

I worked myself to the bone to land his first client.

He named the company Evermore. He said it meant we would never leave each other.

That was the promise he made when he proposed.

Now, the name felt like a joke.

It was all over.

I went back to the apartment we bought after our first big success.

Charles always wanted to sell it, but I insisted on keeping it for old times' sake. Now, I finally needed it.

At the door, my hands were shaking so badly I couldn't even get the key in.

Then my phone started buzzing like crazy.

It was my bestie, Olivia Bright. Her voice came roaring through the phone the moment I picked up. "Screw Charles! I saw the livestream. Is he insane?"

I slumped against the door and slid down to the floor, too drained to respond.

"Where are you right now? I'm coming over," she said.

I sniffled. "No, just let me be alone for a bit."

After I hung up, a message popped up.

It was from Sophie.

In the photo, she was wearing my silk nightgown, sprawled across my bed in my villa.

Sophie wrote, [Emily, Charles said this color looks way better on me. He said you're getting old, and your figure is too flat to make it work. ]

In the corner of the photo, on the nightstand, there was a used condom.

I stared at the screen, and suddenly, I burst out laughing.

I laughed so hard that my tears dropped onto the floor.

That nightgown was a birthday gift Charles gave me last year; he'd brought it back from Ember Grove.

When I first put it on, he told me the color suited me and that I was glowing in it.

And now... he said I was too flat to make it work.

I wiped my tears and replied, [If you like it, go ahead and keep it.

[ A secondhand dress and a secondhand man. Take them both. They suit you better.]

Less than three minutes later, Charles called. He sounded furious. "Emily, what the hell is that supposed to mean?

"Sophie's only twenty-two. Do you have to be so cruel?"

I let out a small laugh. "Cruel?

"Charles, you bring your side chick to my home. You let her wear my nightgown, sleep in my bed, and you actually expect me to be nice to her?"

"That's our bed!" he argued.

"No," I said. "Not anymore."