Chapter 1
Before I turned thirty, I'd already been kicked out twice.
The first time was by my arranged husband, Richard Howard, a wealthy businessman from Harbority.
Right on the day I found out I was pregnant, I caught him cheating with some college girl.
He called me unreasonable and threw me out.
My dad said, "No rich man stays faithful."
To prove myself, I married Chester Foster, my childhood friend who'd chased me for ten years.
He was sweet and patient.
He didn't mind that my ex sent apology gifts every year, or that even after three years of marriage, we still hadn't had a baby.
Every time things got heated, he'd nibble my ear and coax me, "We don't have to have kids if you don't want to. I only need you."
But on our anniversary, he brought home a strange woman and told the butler to toss my bags out of the master bedroom.
I clutched the pregnancy test I hadn't had a chance to give him, my voice shaking, "What are you doing?"
He lit a cigarette, like I'd told a ridiculous joke.
"Elsie, drop the act," he sneered. "Didn't you learn your lesson when Richard threw you out?"
The pregnancy test in my hand felt like it was burning me, again and again.
I stared at him, but I didn't beg for answers like I did the first time.
The woman's triumphant gaze and swollen belly said everything.
I picked up my purse and tried to leave.
Chester crushed out his cigarette and blocked my way, a vengeful glint flashing in his eyes.
He said, "You were still tangled up with Richard and refused to have my baby because of him. I never gave you a hard time.
"Now I'm having a baby with someone else. Why are you acting like I'm the bad guy here?"
His smile widened, more self-righteous by the second. "We might be childhood sweethearts, but we gotta stick to the rules in our circle.
"I'll keep my mistress, but our heir will still be born by you. Your place as my wife is secure."
A familiar dull pain shot through my chest.
He was right.
I'd been through this before. I knew the drill.
I didn't argue. Instead, I slapped him across the face. "Chester, you make me sick."
A gasp went through the room.
Chester's smile faded. He grabbed my wrist, his eyes turning cold.
"You have the nerve to call me sick? You've been married twice. Why should I be faithful to you?" he scoffed.
The pregnancy test cracked under the strain, snapping in half and digging into my palm.
I didn't feel the pain, but the tears came anyway.
Chester's eyes flickered. He panicked and softened his voice. "Alright, I'll send her away after the baby's born."
Looking at the face I'd seen for years, I felt like he was a stranger.
Just then, his fingers brushed against the test stick in my palm. He paused, a bit puzzled. "What's that?"
I pulled away and threw the broken stick in the trash.
I lowered my eyes, my voice barely a whisper. "It's worthless. Just unwanted trash."
I meant the baby. And I meant myself too, abandoned for the second time.
Chester frowned, about to ask more. But a cry of pain from behind him pulled his attention away.
The woman rubbed her belly and slowly pulled off her mask.
One look, and I froze.
It was Sophie Lane, the college girl who'd pressed against the floor-to-ceiling window that day, and the poor student I'd sponsored for years.
Three years had passed, and she was still young and fresh, her skin smooth as silk.
Richard used to talk about her like that.
He said he couldn't get enough of her.
He said even in bed with me, he dreamed of her.
I'd left and let them be.
Yet in return, she went after my second husband.
She even got pregnant before I did.
Judging by the curve of her belly, they'd been messing around for ages.
I bit my lip, my nails digging into my palm as I slowly walked over.
"Elsie!" Sophie exclaimed, acting like she'd just recognized me.
She grabbed my hands in fake surprise. "It's been years since I saw you back in Harbority. Didn't expect you to come back to Petrico. What a coincidence; we have the same taste in men."
I didn't say a word, raised my hand, and slapped her.
But it was Chester who took the blow, stepping in front of her.
He covered his cheek, his face darkening.
"Elsie, enough with the drama," he snapped. "A slap is more than enough.
"Sophie's delicate and pregnant. Don't take it out on her. You don't want to go through the same humiliation as three years ago, do you?"
My body shuddered.
Memories of that snowy night came flooding back.
After catching Richard cheating, he dropped all pretense.
"Women only stay interesting for three months, but you lasted a year. I already made an exception. What more do you want?
"I may love you, but I could never give up the whole forest for you," he said shamelessly.
To force me to give in, he used every dirty business trick on me: froze my bank cards, took all my cash, and kicked me out of the house.
It was the dead of winter, snow falling hard.
I was pinned to the ground by a group of homeless men.
Blood ran between my legs, my face ghostly pale.
Chester suddenly appeared, chased them off, and held me close, his eyes burning red.
"Elsie, don't be afraid. I'll protect you with my life."