Chapter 1

Edward Grant's mistress had a miscarriage, and the doctor said she'd never be able to have children again.

Everyone blamed me, his wife, for causing her emotional breakdown.

They said I stressed her out and made her lose the baby. They said it was all my fault.

But the truth was she'd been reckless during her pregnancy and lost the child because of her own actions.

Edward knew the truth, but he never defended me. Instead, he demanded I hand over my newborn baby to raise as hers.

"She can't have children anymore," he told me, his voice steady and cold. "You're different. We can have more kids together.

"One's not enough? We'll have two. That's not enough? We'll have more.

"Don't worry, even if she raises the baby, the kid will still call you Mom."

I gave him an ultimatum. I'd give him the baby, but only if he agreed to divorce me.

At first, Edward refused. He said he still loved me and wanted a future with us, but his mistress cried and screamed and threatened to kill herself, so eventually he caved.

The day we got our divorce papers, I didn't hesitate. I walked up to Edward and handed him the baby without a word.

He'd expected tears, maybe some sign of regret or heartbreak, but all he got was my cold, steady gaze as I placed the child in his arms.

He froze for a moment, then forced a weak smile. "Olivia, do you really feel nothing at all?"

Feel nothing? Why would I?

The baby wasn't even mine. My mom had found him abandoned at the grocery store. She'd heard he was thrown away because he had XYY syndrome.

But somehow, everyone assumed I'd secretly given birth to win Edward back.

What a beautiful, twisted misunderstanding.

I whispered, "Kid, you're with them now. Your real fun is just getting started."

*****

I was at home, wearing a face mask, when my phone started ringing.

I glanced at the screen and saw it was Edward, my husband in name only.

We hadn't seen each other in months, and the last time we'd even been in contact was when his assistant called to ask if I needed any groceries or household stuff delivered.

I took my time picking up. "Hello?"

"Olivia, get to the hospital right now!" His voice came through sharp and urgent, like I'd somehow wronged him.

"Why? I'm kinda busy," I said, smoothing out the sheet mask on my face.

"Charlotte's been in an accident! I need you here immediately!" That bossy tone of his really grated on me.

Charlotte Evans? Oh, right, his mistress. The one he kept tucked away in some luxury apartment.

"What's that got to do with me?" I kept my voice flat and unbothered.

"Just get over here!" He hung up without waiting for an answer.

I stared at the dead screen and let out a small laugh. Then I wandered into the bathroom and took my sweet time washing the mask off. After that, I pulled on a comfy sweater and my favorite jeans.

Sure, I'd go. I would like to see what kind of drama that woman was trying to stir up this time.

When I walked into the VIP room, I stopped short. There were a lot of people in the crowd.

Edward was standing beside the hospital bed with a scowl on his face, and his usual crew was there too. Kevin Brooks, Oliver Lane, and a woman I'd never seen before. All of them were staring at me like I'd committed murder.

Charlotte was lying in bed, looking pale as a ghost, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. The second she spotted me, tears started pouring down her face like someone had turned on a faucet.

"Mrs. Grant," she said, her voice shaking as she sobbed, "I know you don't like me, but the baby didn't do anything wrong."

I frowned, confused. "What baby?"

Edward turned to face me, and his expression was ice-cold. "Olivia, Charlotte was pregnant. She had a miscarriage. The doctor says she can't have children anymore."

I stared at him for a second, then laughed. "Okay, and? What's that got to do with me?"

"What do you mean what's it got to do with you!" the strange woman suddenly jumped in, pointing her finger at me.

"Charlotte said she's been a total mess ever since she ran into you this afternoon, and then this happened tonight! Are you seriously gonna stand there and say you didn't upset her?"

I turned to look at Charlotte. "I saw you today?"

She hunched her shoulders and started sniffling. "At the mall this afternoon, you said some things to me. I've been a mess ever since I got home."

"I was home doing a face mask all afternoon," I said coldly. "Want me to pull up the security footage from our building and prove it?"

Kevin jumped in. "Olivia, come on, this is messed up. Even if Charlotte and Edward had something going on, you can't go after a pregnant woman like that. She lost the baby, and now she'll never be able to have kids. Can you imagine how devastating that is?"

I looked around the hospital room. Every single person was standing there acting like some kind of moral authority.

It was pathetic, honestly.

"So what you're all saying is I was so jealous of her pregnancy that I attacked her and made her lose the baby?" I raised an eyebrow at Edward. "That's seriously what you think?"

Edward went quiet for a few seconds, and when he spoke again, his voice had softened. "Olivia, look, I get that you probably just snapped for a second. Charlotte said she wasn't standing steady and you gave her a shove."

"I shoved her?" I cut him off. "Edward, we've known each other for four years. We've been married for three. You really think I'm the kind of person who'd do something like that?"

"There's video!" Charlotte suddenly got all worked up and yanked her phone out from under the pillow. "Security footage from the mall. Yeah, it's blurry, but you can still see you were the one who pushed me."

She shoved the phone at me.

The video was grainy as hell. All you could really make out was some woman in a beige trench coat struggling with Charlotte near the escalator, and then Charlotte going down hard.

I had to admit, the woman's build and hairstyle did look like mine.

"And that proves what exactly?" I tossed the phone back onto the bed. "Half the women in this city own a beige trench coat."

"But Charlotte identified you," Edward said, his voice heavy. "Olivia, just admit what you did. I'll take care of Charlotte and make this right. And I won't hold it against you, I swear."