Chapter 1

During the five years of my marriage, I had ten heartbreaking miscarriages.

Somehow, I finally got pregnant again.

I didn't want my husband, Alexis Thompson, to get all excited just to be let down another time.

This time, I waited until I was four months along and the doctor said things looked stable.

I couldn't wait to share the news with Alexis.

But as I approached his office, I happened to overhear him talking to his assistant.

"Are you really going to let Melissa have this baby? Isn't that a little too harsh?" his assistant asked.

"It's the only option. She's had so many miscarriages already. If we give her those pills again, she'll start getting suspicious," Alexis replied.

"But that night, the guy we brought in got knocked out. We still don't even know if the baby is really yours," the assistant said.

"Why waste time talking? As long as that baby isn't mine, that's all I care about," Alexis said coldly.

It felt like my whole world had shattered right then, and my heart was stabbed a thousand times.

Just as I was about to storm in and beat Alexis to death, suddenly, a pair of strong hands came out of nowhere and covered my mouth.

I just stood there, frozen, unable to process what I'd just heard.

Alexis's voice was firm and resolute.

He said, "Melody gave birth to my son just last month. She's so thoughtful. I've sworn that her child will be the only heir to the Thompson family. I'll never allow Melissa to give birth to my child."

"If you never wanted a child with Melissa, then why did you keep making her go through those pregnancies? Those pills have some pretty intense side effects," the assistant pressed.

Alexis replied, "Her folks have always wanted grandkids from us. I didn't really have a choice.

"By the way, Melissa's parents' trust fund unlocks next month. Once we pour that cash into the company, our brand-new AI is gonna blow up," the assistant said.

"Of course! Melissa married me when I was down and out. She'll always be taken care of, never gonna lack for anything," Alexis said.

"But Melissa's bound to figure out the kid's not yours eventually. What are you gonna say to her then?" the assistant asked.

"If the kid's not mine, that's her problem to explain," Alexis said coldly.

A chill ran down my spine, and my legs started shaking.

If Alexis had fallen for someone else, if he wanted to leave, he could've just told me to my face.

I wouldn't have held him back.

But he didn't just cheat—he went all out for his side chick.

He actually threw me at another guy and got me knocked up, just to keep me out of the way.

My fists clenched so tight that I could feel my nails digging into my skin.

Just when I was about to storm in and kill that bastard myself, a pair of strong hands suddenly covered my mouth and dragged me into the stairwell.

"Let me go." I fought back with everything I had. "My husband is in there!"

"You still sure you want him after all this?" A deep male voice growled behind me.

There was something about that voice I couldn't quite place, but it struck me as strangely familiar.

I whipped around to see Gerard Bell, one of Alexis's good friends.

Right now, just thinking about Alexis and his whole crew made my skin crawl.

I shot him a wary look. "What do you want?"

Gerard let out a soft laugh, his gaze sweeping down to my belly. "Well, you sure look shocked, Melissa."

I gritted my teeth, fury boiling inside me.

"Surprised? Yeah, but I'm also furious," I spat.

Alexis and I fell for each other back in college.

He was the scrappy, hardworking president of the student council, barely scraping by.

I was a rich girl, born with a silver spoon, blowing through cash like it was nothing.

My parents rejected us from being together at first.

They said they could see the hunger for success written all over Alexis's face, that he'd be impossible for me to control.

But I figured they just looked down on him for not being born into money.

For Alexis, I was willing to cut ties with my parents.

After graduation, we crammed ourselves into a dingy basement apartment, just doing anything we could to save a buck.

I even started digging through garbage and lived off other people's leftovers.

But honestly, none of it ever felt tough. Love was all we needed to feel full.

But my parents couldn't stand watching me live like that.

They finally stepped in and gave us a startup fund.

Alexis had really proved everyone wrong. He hustled his way up, and before long he was a force to be reckoned with in the business world.

By the time we got married, his fortune was close to half of my family's. I couldn't help but hold my head high and brag to my parents.

"Told you he's the real deal!" I said.

But two years after our wedding, my parents were killed in a car crash.

They'd already had their estate locked away in a trust fund for me, but the trust fund wouldn't be mine to control until I turned twenty-eight.

I knew that was my parents' way of loving me. They were also protecting me from Alexis at the same time.

But he never seemed to care. If anything, he got even sweeter and more considerate toward me.

Thinking back, it was all just a performance.

I forced myself to stay calm.

I couldn't afford to lose my cool at that moment.