Chapter 1

Olivia Sanders, four months pregnant, had just finished her prenatal checkup at the hospital. As she went to print her report, she accidentally scanned her husband Ethan Sterling's ID instead of her own.

When she saw the report that said "vasectomy completed," Olivia felt her blood run cold.

Ethan had a vasectomy four months ago?

Then how is she pregnant?

Olivia figured the hospital must have mixed up someone else's report with Ethan's. She decided to call him and let him handle it.

As soon as the call connected, Olivia was about to speak when Ethan's deep voice came through the line.

"How much do I love my ex? I got her name tattooed over my heart. I kept the dress she wore the first time we hooked up. I even got a vasectomy a few months ago, just for her."

"Ethan, are you for real?" one of his friends blurted out.

"Olivia was just posting pregnancy recipes on her socials a few days ago. If you got a vasectomy, how did she end up pregnant?" another friend chimed in.

Olivia heard Ethan's voice, playful yet cold. "My brother's stuck in a wheelchair for life after that car crash, and he lost his shot at inheriting the company. No heiress in Northbridge would ever marry him, so I'm giving him a kid so he'll have someone to look after him when he's old. My mom keeps nagging me for a baby anyway, and it's still Sterling blood. Killing two birds with one stone."

*****

His buddies started roasting him, calling him a jerk and saying he was crazy about Vanessa.

"Who messed with my phone?" Ethan grumbled, clearly annoyed.

The private room was dimly lit. Seeing it wasn't an important call, Ethan hung up without a second thought.

Olivia's fingers went slack, and her phone crashed hard to the floor.

Shock, anger, and disbelief slammed into her all at once, ripping her apart inside. The pain was so raw, she could hardly breathe.

Tears blurred her vision as she remembered the first time she met Ethan.

Three years ago, the bus Olivia was riding rolled over on the highway. The gas tank was leaking, ready to explode at any moment. Everyone else was scrambling to escape, but her leg was slashed, leaving her unable to move.

She lay there in the wreckage, accepting her fate, just waiting for the end.

Then, out of nowhere, a young man crawled into the bus, risking his life. He calmed Olivia down, tore off his tie to staunch the bleeding, and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her to safety.

After that, she kept seeing those amber eyes in her dreams, her heart racing every time.

One day, when her mom wasn't feeling well, Olivia went to help out around the Sterling Estate. That's when she ran into that man again. She never expected he'd turn out to be Mrs. Sterling's second son.

Olivia knew Ethan was out of her league, like a cloud in the sky while she was stuck in the mud. They were worlds apart. She buried her feelings deep, telling herself he was just her savior and nothing more, never daring to cross that line.

That all changed when Mrs. Sterling found out Ethan was seeing Vanessa.

Vanessa's father had betrayed Mr. Sterling, leading to his fatal heart attack. Mrs. Sterling hated Vanessa, the daughter of her enemy, with every fiber of her being.

Mrs. Sterling used Vanessa's life as leverage, leaving Ethan no choice but to marry Olivia.

Olivia never expected happiness to hit her out of nowhere. After the wedding, she tried her hardest to be good to Ethan.

But Ethan was always distant, never warm, never cold, just lukewarm toward her.

When she found out she was pregnant four months ago, Olivia was so excited she couldn't sleep a wink. She kept telling herself, Ethan loves Vanessa so much, of course he still thinks about her.

Once the baby is born and he becomes a father, maybe he'll finally care about our little family.

Olivia never expected Ethan to fall in love with her, but she never imagined that after being forced to break up with Vanessa and marry her because of Mrs. Sterling, he'd hate her so much that he'd come up with such a cruel way to destroy her.

Olivia stumbled out of the hospital in a daze, barely aware of her surroundings. Then, out of nowhere, she saw Ethan's car speeding straight toward her.

There was a loud crash.

Olivia was thrown through the air, the sharp crack of her ribs breaking rang out. Her forehead slammed hard against the steps, blood pouring into her eyes.

Through the blur of blood and pain, Olivia saw Ethan gently cradle a woman in his arms as he carried her out of the car.

The woman's dark hair brushed against Ethan's neck, her body fragile and almost weightless. "Ethan, it's just a twisted ankle. Don't stress over me. Go check on the person you just hit."

"No way. Your leg needs a proper exam from the doctor. I'll have my assistant handle compensation for them," Ethan replied, his voice unwavering.

The woman suddenly turned her head, and Olivia's heart dropped. She instantly recognized Vanessa.

I can't believe she's actually back.

Three years of marriage, pouring her heart into caring for Ethan, only to get nothing but his cold shoulder. Hearing his real feelings with his buddies, and now watching him treat Vanessa with such tenderness, it was like a punch to the gut for Olivia.

Olivia let out a laugh, but before she knew it, she was sobbing, the sound mixing with her laughter.

After a few minutes, she wiped away her tears, picked up her phone, and dialed. Her voice was gentle, but there was no hesitation. "Mr. Sterling, you want Sterling Enterprises, right? I'll help you take it."

Even if Ethan had saved her life, and she'd spent three years trying to be good to him, she figured she'd already repaid him in full.

She wasn't about to let him walk all over her ever again.