Chapter 1

Six months pregnant, I got up to pee and overheard my husband and my best friend in the spare room.

"Keep it down. Don't wake Charlotte," my husband, Edward Sterling, said.

Olivia Wynn, my so-called best friend, shot back in that syrupy voice of hers.

She whispered, "Scared? She's carrying our kid. Remember what you promised? She pushes it out, and I stay red-carpet ready."

Edward chuckled.

Then he added, "Pretty smart, huh? A celeb like you can't balloon, so I swapped the eggs."

I froze outside the door, heart pounding.

Everyone knew Edward loved me deeply. Our only flaw in three years of marriage was no baby.

I'd busted my butt—countless needles, gut-wrenching egg retrievals—to finally score this IVF pregnancy.

And now I'd found out he'd slipped in her egg.

I hauled myself to the bedroom, hands shaking, and speed-dialed the one number I still knew by heart.

I whispered, "Christopher, I screwed up. If you'll still have me, I'll leave him tonight."

"Are you... Are you serious?" Christopher Wade practically stammered, his voice quivering with excitement and disbelief.

But as I dialed Christopher's number and listened to the ring, I could finally pull myself together, feeling a cold calm settle over me.

I told him, "I'm not kidding. I'll end the pregnancy. But about the wedding, I'm afraid I have to leave most of the stuff to you. I can't—"

Christopher didn't even let me finish, jumping in, voice shaking with urgency. "Absolutely! Whatever you need, just tell me."

After I hung up, I braced myself against the edge of the bed, letting my gaze linger on the curve of my pregnant belly.

Every single night before that, I'd fall asleep only after gently stroking my stomach and whispering sweet words to the little life inside.

But now, that tiny heartbeat belonged to someone else. My husband had reduced me to nothing but an incubator for Olivia's child.

A wave of nausea hit me so hard that I had to stumble to the bathroom, retching until I thought I'd empty my soul.

After what felt like forever, I felt a pair of warm, rough hands gently settle on my shoulders. "Honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Edward asked.

But the sickly sweet scent of jasmine perfume on his hands made me recoil like I'd been burned. I slapped his hands away as if they were on fire.

When I turned to face him, the raw, burning hatred in my eyes made him stumble back, a flicker of panic crossing his face.

But he steadied himself in an instant, slipping right back into that gentle, caring facade.

"Honey, is it due to the baby? Let me help you lie down and get some rest," he murmured.

His eyes were full of such obvious concern. I'd almost believe he really cared if I hadn't just learned the cruel truth.

Now I saw it for what it was. He wasn't worried about me at all; he was just afraid something might happen to the baby and ruin their flawless scheme.

With every ounce of strength I had left, I pushed myself up and slowly made my way back to the bed. I watched Edward hovering around, showering me with fake concern while I masked my hatred with a cold, steady voice. "Where were you just now?"

His hand froze for a split second, and I caught a flicker of guilt in his eyes.

He handed me a warm cup of honey water with his left hand, gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear with his right.

"There was a last-minute issue at the office. I stepped out to take a call," he said.

I took the cup, my hands gripping it tightly as I stared into the warm liquid. The temperature was perfect, just the way I liked it, with exactly three teaspoons of honey.

Suddenly, Olivia rushed into my bedroom after hearing the commotion, her robe carelessly thrown on and slippers barely staying on her feet.

"Charlotte, what's going on? It sounded like you were upset," she said.

When Olivia saw Edward sitting right beside me, she immediately scowled and, without hesitation, slapped him hard across the arm.

"How could you take care of Charlotte like that?" Olivia scolded.

But her slap lost all its force before it even touched Edward, and he smoothly caught her hand, holding it tenderly in his palm.

Olivia shot Edward a coy glare, cheeks turning pink, but then she seemed to remember I was in the room. Feeling awkward, she hurriedly pulled her hand back.

But at that moment, her robe slipped open just enough to reveal a hickey on her chest. It was like a punch to the gut, and I felt my heart drop.

My nails dug into my palms, and a wave of hurt and anger crashed over me. I tried to steady my voice while asking, "Olivia, what's that mark on your chest?"

Olivia's cheeks turned scarlet as she hurried to button her robe, clearly flustered and refusing to meet my eyes. Maybe it was the intensity of my glare, burning into her, that made her squirm.

To my shock, Edward actually seemed irritated.

He raised his voice at me. "Charlotte, what's with the attitude? It's summer, so of course, Liv's gonna get a mosquito bite. That's perfectly normal.

"And don't forget, you were the one who insisted Liv move in and keep you company while you're pregnant. She's only here because you wanted her to help out."

I couldn't help but notice the shift—from "Olivia" to this intimate "Liv." He was getting more and more familiar with her right in front of me, and I doubted he even realized it.

Olivia must've caught the darkness in my eyes, because she hurried to grab my hand as if she was really standing up to Edward on my behalf.

"Edward! Charlotte's only having mood swings because she's pregnant with your child. What's with all the shouting?" she snapped.

Watching their two-faced routine, I felt nausea churning in my stomach. But without hard proof of Edward cheating, I had no choice but to play along.

Swallowing all my anger, I kept my mouth shut and forced myself to bury everything deep down.

Edward rubbed his nose and then wrapped his arms around me, trying to soothe things over.

"Charlotte, I'm sorry for raising my voice. I didn't mean it. Don't let it get to you, okay? Oh, and tomorrow's the company's quarterly meeting. You should really get some rest. It'll be the last one you'll need to sit through before the baby's here."

The way Edward held me so close made Olivia's face cloud over with resentment, but it barely lasted a second before she shot me a look full of smug satisfaction, like she'd already won.

I could tell from her reaction that the next day was not going to be easy.