Chapter 1

One week before my wedding to Nathan, I found a torn pair of stockings in the living room of our future marital home.

When I checked the security footage, I discovered that Nathan's secretary, Olivia, had been coming over regularly, wearing seductive outfits, to be intimate with him.

Not only that, for the past month, Nathan had been coming home every day at 11 a.m. sharp to cook meals for Olivia.

I turned off the monitor and calmly continued planning the wedding as if nothing had happened. But on the day of the ceremony, I walked down the aisle and married someone else.

And Nathan, who had always been so arrogant, begged me to just look at him one more time.

*****

When I got to the place my mom had arranged for the meeting, Samuel was already sitting by the window.

I walked over, sat down, and went straight to the point. "Mr. Quinn, I agree with the marriage arrangement. We can have the wedding in a week."

Samuel looked at me with a serious expression, staying quiet for a long time before he finally spoke.

He asked, "Ms. Wynn, you once cut off your family and chased after true love just to avoid this marriage deal. So, why are you suddenly agreeing now?"

Hearing "true love" made my nose sting, and I almost burst into tears.

I forced a smile. "True love? That's just a fairy tale. Back then, I was just young and foolish. Now, I've grown up."

After a moment of tense silence, Samuel finally gave a nod.

Back home, I called the wedding planner and told them to swap out everything with Nathan's name for Samuel's.

Then I just zoned out, watching the security footage play on repeat.

If I hadn't checked the cameras while searching for a necklace, I probably never would've discovered any of this.

In the footage, Nathan would come home at eleven sharp every day with groceries, carefully cook in the kitchen, and then leave with a packed meal.

It was already twelve-thirty, and when I pulled up his location, he was already at Olivia's apartment.

He used to talk about how hard life was for single moms, and he kept urging me to give Olivia a whole year of maternity leave. Turns out, it was because Olivia was pregnant with his child all along.

A wave of bitterness washed over me, so overwhelming I could barely breathe.

Back then, I defied my family for Nathan, refused the arranged marriage, and had all my assets frozen. We built everything from scratch together.

With both of us hustling, our company took off in just a few years.

I was even planning to turn the whole company over to him after we got married, just so I could settle down and be a stay-at-home wife and mom.

But at that moment, looking back at how I was willing to give up everything for him, I found it all just seemed laughable.

We'd been together for six years, and I honestly thought we were doing great.

But then, his phone was suddenly full of videos about tips for newborns and how to care for expectant moms.

I asked him why he was watching all that stuff.

He placed his hand on my belly, with a gentle look in his eyes.

He told me he was learning all this so he could take care of me when we had a baby someday. He said it was all about planning ahead.

With his gentle gaze on me, my heart raced, overflowing with love for him.

I even bought a stack of pregnancy books so we could read together, imagining whether our future child would be a boy or a girl, and picturing what our little one might look like.

I was so caught up in my own hopes that I never noticed the uncertainty flickering in his eyes.

All those dreams and hopes I'd held onto just felt like a cruel joke now.

Just as I was about to text him to call off the wedding, I saw he'd just posted something on his social media.

It was a photo of a hand gently holding a tiny baby's hand.

My breath caught in my throat.

After six years with Nathan, I'd had my share of moments where I just wanted to be the girl he showed off to the world.

I used to bug him to post pictures of us together, but he always brushed me off, saying he had too many business contacts and that his feed wasn't the place for that kind of thing.

But as I scrolled through, his timeline was packed with photos of him and Olivia.

Most were snapped at work events, but looking at them, I couldn't help but notice the closeness between them.

While I was still trying to pull myself together, the receptionist of the company called.

She asked, "Ms. Wynn, the flowers Mr. Cole sent for you have arrived. Could you come sign for them?"

I hesitated, my lips so dry they felt like they might crack, and managed to say, "Okay."

When I arrived at the office, the receptionist was misting a bouquet of fresh, vibrant roses.

I hurried over, watching her spray the flowers with a frown. "What are you doing?"

The receptionist teased, "Gotta keep them fresh. Mr. Cole reminds us every day. Ms. Wynn, he's really thoughtful, flowers for you, every single day."

I forced a smile, but bitterness filled my mouth.

Not once in six years together had Nathan ever given me a single flower.

I didn't bother with the receptionist's playful look. I just picked up the flowers and walked back to my office.

The roses were lush and dewy. I found a card between the stems.

It was filled with cheesy, tooth-rotting love lines. Every single word was for Olivia Lee.

I tossed the flowers aside, and just then, my phone rang.

It was the insurance company calling about a claim. That was how I found out Nathan had been driving my car and crashed it into the roadside barrier.

I rushed to the scene, only to find my car all mangled and the guardrail smashed up.