Chapter 1

I'd been secretly married to my boss, Richard Bennett, for eight years. He was the father of my son, Leo.

But at today's annual company gala, his young and beautiful new secretary walked over to me with a glass of wine and said, "Helen, did you hear? Mr. Bennett's wife just had a baby girl yesterday."

My hand shook as I held the wine glass, and the red wine spilled across the floor. I was floored. "But... I gave birth to a son!"

*****

Richard and I had been married in secret for eight years. He was my son Leo's biological father, my direct supervisor, and the company's vice president.

Today was the company's annual party. His young and beautiful new secretary walked over to me with a glass of wine, beaming. "Helen, why are you sitting here all by yourself?"

Her name was Emily Young. She was a fresh grad—full of beans, bubbly, and always knew how to butter people up.

I gave her a polite smile. "It's a bit loud in there. I just wanted some peace and quiet."

She sat down next to me, her eyes shimmering with naive admiration. "You're honestly incredible, Helen. I don't know how you managed to climb the corporate ladder to become a director while being a single mom."

My hand tightened around my glass. "I get by."

She leaned in closer, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial and gossipy whisper. "Helen, did you know? Turns out Mr. Bennett's been married all along."

My heart skipped a beat. Richard wasn't here tonight. He'd called me last night saying an urgent business meeting had cropped up and he wouldn't make the gala.

I looked at Emily's excited face and played it cool. "Really? That's news to me."

Emily was practically bursting to spill the beans. "I just found out myself! Mr. Bennett's wife gave birth to a baby girl yesterday. Both mother and daughter are doing great."

She raised her glass, smiling. "I just have to toast to Mrs. Bennett and catch some of that lucky vibe."

My hand shook violently. The crimson wine splashed onto the floor and stained my pale gown, blooming like a fresh wound.

I was completely blindsided. "But... I gave birth to a son!"

Emily's smile froze. She blinked, as if she hadn't heard me right. "Helen... what did you just say?"

The music was blaring, completely drowning out what I said.

I stared at her, forcing myself to keep it together, and repeated my words carefully, "I said—I gave birth to a son."

Emily's expression shifted from confusion to shock, finally settling into a messy mix of pity and awkwardness.

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but eventually, she just grabbed a napkin and knelt to wipe the hem of my dress. "Helen, you must've had a bit too much to drink."

But I wasn't drunk. I was stone-cold sober.

Richard was my husband, and we had a seven-year-old son together. Yet, his new secretary just informed me that his "wife" gave birth to a daughter yesterday.

What was this? Bigamy? Or was it that, in Richard's world, I was never the "wife" to begin with?

I pushed Emily's hand away and stood up. "I'm fine. I'm going to the restroom."

I splashed ice-cold water on my face and stared at the ghost-pale woman in the mirror.

The marriage certificate was real. Our son was biologically his. For eight years, I thought we were just waiting for the right moment to go public.

I took out my phone, my hands trembling as I called Richard. It rang for an eternity. Just when I thought he wasn't going to pick up, the call finally connected.

The background was pin-drop silent. Then, a woman's voice, soft and laced with the weakness of someone who had just given birth, drifted through the line. "Richard, is the baby crying?"

My blood ran cold.

On the other end, Richard's voice was as steady as ever, even with a hint of tenderness. "Helen? What's up?"

He paused, likely covering the receiver to speak to the other woman. "It's nothing. Just a subordinate from the office with a work emergency."

A subordinate. A work emergency.

I gripped the phone hard. A wave of humiliation and fury erupted in my chest like a volcano.

I heard myself ask, my voice eerily calm and chillingly cold, "Richard, where are you?"

He sounded like he was losing his patience. "I'm at a business dinner, Helen. Didn't I tell you that already? If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"Is that so?" I looked at my reflection in the mirror and suddenly laughed. "Congratulations, then, Mr. Bennett. I heard you're the proud father of a baby girl."

Dead silence fell over the other end of the line.