Chapter 1
After four years of marriage and five miscarriages, my husband took me to a church to pray for a child.
While walking around, I overheard him talking to his friend.
His friend said, "I get that you married Vera to get that letter of forgiveness for Cindy. But why cause Vera's miscarriages? You knew how much she wanted that baby."
My husband was silent for a long time before saying quietly, "I don't love Vera. I could marry her for Cindy's sake but I'll never let her have my child."
My fingers went cold. The cross in my hand fell to the ground.
What I thought was love and redemption had been a carefully crafted lie all along.
*****
The argument kept going, and Xander Warnock, finally spoke up, unable to hold back anymore.
He said, "Let's put the baby aside for now. Four years ago, Cindy tried to kill herself by jumping off a building. Vera's mom rushed over to save her, but Cindy pushed her, and she fell to her death.
"Darius, anyone who saw that video knew it was intentional. Vera suing her was totally justified.
"But you? You married Vera just so you could be her legal family, and then signed that letter of forgiveness behind her back, all to keep Cindy out of jail.
"Cindy walked away without a scratch, but Vera fell into deep depression. If she ever finds out the truth, it would destroy her."
My husband, Darius Rochester's brows furrowed in irritation, but his voice stayed cold and firm.
He said, "Cindy didn't mean for it to happen. She was scared out of her mind, and acted without thinking. She's eaten up with guilt over what happened to Vera's mom.
"I've hidden that letter of forgiveness so well, Vera will never know the truth. I'll treat her right, spend the rest of my life making it up to her, and give her a home. She'll slowly forget the pain and recover."
Xander let out a helpless sigh. "Don't be mad, man. I just can't help but feel for Vera. You showed up when she was at her lowest, made her fall for you, but the one you've always loved is Cindy.
"Whatever. I just hope you can keep this buried forever, and that you won't regret it."
Darius didn't hesitate. He spoke firmly, "I won't regret it."
Those words hit me like a punch to the gut.
I couldn't hold it together anymore. I turned and ran, not caring about anything.
I found a secluded corner and let the tears pour out.
Just this morning, Darius held me close, telling me he loved me over and over as we made love.
But now, all of it had turned into the sharpest blades, stabbing into my heart again and again.
As my love shattered, all those memories I'd locked away came flooding back all at once.
On the day I got engaged to Rafe Blunt, Cindy, who was in love with Rafe, just couldn't handle it.
She left behind a suicide note and was about to jump off the building.
She was my dad's illegitimate daughter, but my mom still chose to save her.
People were filming everything. I saw my mom cautiously walk up to Cindy at the edge of the roof, reach out and grab her hand, trying to bring her back to safety.
But Cindy pretended to stumble and, in that moment, suddenly jerked my mom backward.
My mom went tumbling right off the edge of the building.
When I arrived, Cindy was standing there with tears streaming down her face, looking pitiful. "I just lost it for a second, Vera. Please don't blame me. When Mom tried to save me, she must've wanted me to keep living."
I lost it, demanding to know why she pushed my mom, but she just kept sobbing, insisting it was an accident.
I pressed charges against Cindy for murder.
But then, out of nowhere, Rafe broke off our engagement and married her instead.
He said, "I won't let you hurt Cindy."
Right after that, conspiracy theories started popping up online. People said I was using my mom's death to get sympathy and boost my online popularity.
They called me a fake internet saint, saying I was just jealous of Cindy, and that was why my fiancé dumped me.
The online backlash was suffocating. I couldn't breathe under the weight of it all, and eventually broke down, falling into a deep depression.
But even then, I refused to give up on getting justice for my mom.
That was when Darius, Rafe's cousin, started pursuing me relentlessly.
He said he'd liked me for a long time, but had kept his feelings buried because I was his cousin's fiancée.
He looked out for me in every possible way, treating me like I was his whole world.
I thought he was my lifeline, so I finally agreed to marry him.
After we got married, the court declared Cindy not guilty.
I tried to let go of the past, to get better, and even dreamed of having a baby with Darius, wanting us to finally have a real, happy family together.
But in the end, what I thought was my lifeline was really just another sign that he'd always been in love with Cindy.
Before I knew it, Darius appeared right in front of me.
The moment he saw me, his tense expression softened, and his eyes filled with worry. "Why did you come out here all alone and not say anything to me? What if something happened or you got lost?"