Chapter 1

The day before I was supposed to donate a kidney to my husband, I regretted it.

We'd been married for five years, and he had a three-year-old child.

My childhood sweetheart, the man I grew up loving, had been keeping a mistress somewhere I didn't know about.

Since he gave me such a surprise, it would be rude of me not to return the favor.

*****

Christmas Eve, snowflakes drifted down in soft, endless swirls.

I had cleared my entire schedule just so I could come back and spend the holiday with Andrew Foster.

On the way to the hospital, I thought that Andrew would be overjoyed to see me.

Right before stepping into his ward, I smoothed down my hair, which had gotten messy from rushing over too fast.

Through the window of his hospital room, I finally laid eyes on the man who'd been haunting my thoughts for days.

But he wasn't alone.

Inside the room sat a young, beautiful woman and a little boy.

At that moment, the woman was feeding Andrew, while the boy leaned obediently against Andrew's chest. "Daddy, are you sick? Why do you have to stay in the hospital?"

Andrew gently patted his son's head. "My illness will be gone soon. Once I get better, I will take you and your mom to the amusement park, okay?"

The boy clapped his hands in excitement, kissing Andrew and then planting another kiss on the woman's cheek.

The tender scene blurred my vision with tears.

I stood frozen in the doorway, forcing a bitter smile.

It was my assistant, Sophie Carter.

This Christmas, I hadn't managed to surprise Andrew. Instead, he had blindsided me with a cruel revelation.

I walked toward the stairwell and dialed that familiar number.

After fifteen agonizing seconds, the line finally connected.

"Claire, when are you coming back? I miss you so much." Andrew's gentle voice floated through the phone, as affectionate as always.

I gripped my phone tighter, trying my best to sound no different from usual.

"I miss you, too. I'll be back tomorrow," I said.

"Okay. I'll be waiting," he said.

If I ignored what I had just witnessed, Andrew seemed perfect.

We were childhood sweethearts. Not long after graduation, we married with everyone's blessings.

After marriage, I took charge of my career while he took care of the home. We were the textbook definition of a model couple among our friends.

But now, everything looked like a sham.

We had been married for five years, and yet he and Sophie had already brought a child into the world.

The irony was unbearable. I had been preparing to donate my kidney to save his life.

Three months ago, Andrew suddenly collapsed. The diagnosis was kidney cancer.

Luckily, it wasn't yet at the terminal stage. He just needed a suitable kidney match.

As fate would have it, I was a perfect match for him.

Back then, I believed it was God's way of granting me a chance to save the man I loved.

I thought I was lucky.

But he had been too weak at the time, so the doctors suggested postponing the transplant until after the New Year.

Soon, it was the scheduled surgery. Yet suddenly, I no longer wanted to save him.

My name was Claire Evans. I was a powerful businesswoman worth billions, and yet I had been made a fool by one man.

How ridiculous.

I let out a laugh, and hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

As I stepped out of the hospital, fireworks lit up the night sky above me.

I remembered vividly how, on Christmas Eve five years ago, Andrew had knelt on one knee under those same dazzling fireworks, holding out a ring. "Claire, marry me. I want to give you a home.

"Let the fireworks bear witness to my eternal love. I swear I will only ever love you. I'm willing to stake my life on it."

But now, five years later, that home was gone.

Exhausted, I went back to my house. Andrew's mother, Evelyn Foster, was sitting in the kitchen having dinner.

When she saw me, her body stiffened slightly, guilt flashing across her face as she asked nervously, "Claire, why are you back? Did you go see Andrew at the hospital?"

I immediately caught the tension in her tone.

A bold thought came to me, though I didn't dare believe it.

I tested her with a smile. "I haven't been to the hospital yet. I came back to cook some soup for Andrew first."

Relief softened Evelyn's expression. "You've just gotten home. You should rest. It's Christmas Eve, and I already brought him food earlier. He's probably asleep by now. Tomorrow, I'll go with you."

In that instant, a cold chill spread through me.

So I had been the only one kept in the dark all along.

Since my marriage, Evelyn had treated me well.

Whenever Andrew and I fought, she always sided with me.

Even when I said I didn't want children, she never pressured me. "If Claire doesn't want kids, then you won't have them. No one should force her."

I had been touched.

I had heard countless stories of women being hounded about having babies.

Sometimes I even felt guilty, because I truly hadn't wanted kids so soon.

But now, I realized Evelyn wasn't against grandchildren. She already had one.

Whenever she saw the guilt in my eyes, had she been mocking me all along?

"Mrs. Foster, I'm a little tired. I'll head to my room." I couldn't bear the charade any longer. It made me sick.