Chapter 1

I was eight months pregnant and overseas for my delivery.

Never did I expect to see my husband at my favorite singer's concert with another woman.

He thought he could get away with it.

The first thing I did after returning home was to take everything from him.

*****

Eight months pregnant, I sat in the hospital room, scrolling through videos as usual.

I came across the national tour of my favorite singer, Leonel Phillips.

Leonel liked interacting with fans in the audience. This time, as usual, the big screen randomly captured attendees.

The camera stopped on a crowd.

A woman covered her mouth in delight, tugging at the man beside her.

The man glanced at the screen, then leaned back slightly.

He seemed uncomfortable under the spotlight, and the cameraman switched to someone else.

I rewound the video.

Even though the man only looked up for a second, I recognized him.

It was my husband, Ryan Simon.

I read the comments scrolling across the screen and smirked.

[Wow, that girl is kinda cute.]

[So sweet how she kept pulling her boyfriend!]

[Is it her boyfriend's first time at a Leonel concert? He looks so shy, lol.]

Shy? More like guilty.

As I read the comments, my heart sank. My breathing grew ragged, and my stomach tightened with pain.

Not good. I might be going into labor.

Thanks to my parents' careful attention these past months, the baby was healthy. I gave birth to a beautiful daughter and breathed a quiet sigh of relief as I looked at her rosy little face.

I named her Ashley. I hoped she could stay happy even without a father's love.

My parents had come with me to Amelia and were overjoyed with their adorable granddaughter.

But I told them not to spread the news about Ashley's birth, not even to Ryan.

Seeing how serious I was, they chose to trust me without question.

Ryan's life these past few months without me must have been eventful.

I posted a screenshot from the video on InstaLife.

[This girl is so cute! Does anyone know her? I'd love to offer them a free photoshoot!]

I'm a small photography blogger with tens of thousands of followers. I love setting up photo sessions, and Ryan knew about my hobby, but not my specific account handle.

Since getting pregnant, my morning sickness had been severe. At Ryan's insistence, I hadn't touched my camera in months.

But thanks to the power of the internet, several helpful people reached out with information.

They shared the girl's InstaLife account with me.

I scrolled through her profile. It was filled with beautiful selfies, no trace of Ryan anywhere.

For a moment, I doubted myself.

Maybe they were just friends who happened to attend the concert together, coincidentally caught on camera.

Clutching at hope, I messaged the girl.

PhotoBrook: [Hey there! Are you and your boyfriend in this photo?]

She seemed to have heard about my photoshoot offer and replied eagerly.

Belle-Penny: [Yes! It was actually our one-year anniversary at Leonel's concert.] There was a "shy" emoji that came after her sentence.

I laughed coldly and kept probing.

I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh and kept digging.

PhotoBrook: [Oh, I see! You two look perfect together. Mind sharing how you met? I like hearing my clients' stories to choose the right setting for their shoot.]

Belle-Penny: [We met two years ago at a bar. He stood out in the crowd. I was drawn to him instantly. Later, I found ways to get close to him as a friend. Then, a year ago, he confessed, and we started dating.]

Well done, Ryan. You had been not only cheating, but also hiding your marriage to trick an innocent girl.

Suddenly, I remembered how, about a year ago, Ryan was in high spirits for a while.

Seeing him so cheerful, I'd asked what was going on.

He just looked at me tenderly and said the company was going public soon, and he was thrilled.

Then he gazed at me seriously and said, "Honey, I want a baby."

He said we were both thirty, our careers were stable, and having a child now would give them a good life and bring us new joy.

Looking into his eyes, I'd nodded without thinking.

From that day, we were inseparable again, like newlyweds.

Soon after, I got pregnant.

I told him immediately. He was ecstatic on the phone, but I thought I heard him let out a sigh of relief.

I found Penny Nolan's Twitter handle, ready to dig deeper.