Chapter 1

After ten years together, I found out I was pregnant.

I was just about to share the news with my boyfriend when I came across a local post online.

It wrote: [My girlfriend's been with me since she was eighteen. She stuck with me when I had nothing, even when we were sleeping on the streets, and now I've finally made it.

[I was planning to propose to her.

[But this morning she asked me to hook her bra, and the second I felt that sagging flesh, I was seriously grossed out.

[She can't compare to a younger girl at all.]

In the photo, the man's hand easily covered the girl's slim waist and chest.

I stared at the rose tattoo on his ring finger and unsent the message I'd just sent.

There was no point asking a question I already knew the answer to.

My mind went completely blank.

When I pushed the door open, I didn't even notice Alex Foster standing by the entrance.

It wasn't until an unfamiliar perfume hit my nose that I realized he was there.

Alex smoothly took my bag from me and waved his phone with a grin.

"Work had me tied up, so I didn't see your message right away. What did you unsend, babe?" he asked.

The smile on his face was gentle.

But the faint red mark on his jaw gave away the fact that he'd cheated.

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest, and I forced myself to look away like I didn't care.

A shrill ringtone shattered the dead silence.

Alex clutched his phone guiltily, but I still heard a sweet female voice spill out from the speaker. "Honey, I don't know how to lace up my wedding dress. Come help me."

My eyes burned as I watched Alex scramble to get dressed. He hung up and rushed for the door.

He said, "Babe, something urgent came up at the studio. I need to go deal with it.

"Go to sleep. Don't wait up for me."

The door slammed shut, and his footsteps faded farther and farther away.

I looked at myself in the mirror and let out a bitter laugh.

Yeah, I wasn't young anymore. No wonder I couldn't compete with some fresh-faced girl.

Not long after, a message popped up from an unknown number.

[Grandview Hotel, Suite 1206. There's a surprise waiting for you.]

My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest.

I hurriedly threw on a coat, and as I rushed downstairs, the corners of my mouth lifted before I could stop them.

Suite 1206 was our anniversary suite, a place that held ten years of our sweetest memories.

He'd sworn there that whether he made it big or not ten years later, he would never let me down.

Maybe I'd gotten Alex all wrong.

I gripped the key card tight and ran upstairs, out of breath.

The second I pushed the door open, a bucket of red paint dumped over my head.

All the air left my lungs, and I froze on the spot.

The room was empty, and through the floor-to-ceiling window, I could clearly see two tangled bodies in the suite across from mine.

Alex crushed his lips harshly against the girl in his arms.

She kissed him back with clumsy innocence, then shot me a smug glance.

Cold swept through me. My mind snapped, and I started pounding on the glass in front of me, screaming myself hoarse. "Alex! How could you do this to me?"

But the man across the way acted like he didn't hear a thing. He dropped to one knee and pulled an elegant velvet box from his pocket.

Inside was a beautiful star-shaped pink diamond ring.

It felt like an invisible hand had clenched around my heart so tight I could barely breathe.

Alex had spent every night after work polishing the design for that ring.

Pink was my favorite color, and stars were my favorite too.

I'd imagined it a thousand times, Alex on one knee, holding out a ring and asking me to marry him.

But I had never imagined the ring wasn't meant for me.

The girl blushed and nodded, and Alex smiled like the happiest man alive.

Every second of it was like a blade carving my heart to pieces.

I cried until I had no tears left.

It wasn't until late into the night that the girl finally called me, her voice full of mockery. "Ma'am, if you have any shame left, leave Alex already.

"He's too softhearted to break up with you himself, but you can't keep dragging this out forever.

"You saw it for yourself. The person he loves now is me."

My mind went blank again, and all I could do was let the tears keep falling.