Chapter 1
I was at the hospital when I met a pregnant woman.
While we chatted casually, she mentioned her husband was Maxwell Rice, the CEO of a prominent company.
What a coincidence, since my husband is also named Maxwell Rice and is a CEO.
Later, I broached the subject of divorce with Maxwell. It suddenly dawned on me—he had never officially married me.
After all this time, I realized I was the other woman.
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"My husband’s name is Maxwell Rice. He's the CEO of a major company. He's incredibly loving. When we got married, he even bought me an entire vineyard," the woman in front of me, vibrant and stunning, beamed with happiness.
From the moment she handed over her paperwork, she had been raving about how wonderful her husband is. I asked for his name, and she told me. I froze.
What are the chances her husband is the same Maxwell Rice, CEO, as mine?
A shiver ran down my spine.
"Eileen, are you okay? Is there something wrong with my test results?" Her voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to reality.
Regaining focus, I looked at her ultrasound. Adalynn Peters, eight weeks along, with a healthy baby.
“There’s nothing wrong,” I said, though my hands trembled uncontrollably.
“The baby is perfectly healthy.”
“Ms. Peters, may I see a picture of you and your husband?”
She smiled with relief and nodded. “Absolutely.”
Seconds later, she showed me her phone with a picture of herself cuddled up to Maxwell, enjoying gelato.
“This was our first photo together,” she reminisced as she swiped to another image.
“This was from our Italian vacation,” she continued, displaying a picture of them kissing below the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
She scrolled rapidly, revealing more photos, including their wedding.
“We’ve been married for seven years now.”
I abruptly turned off her phone.
“No… there’s no need to see any more.”
Tears unexpectedly slid down my cheeks as my emotions spiraled. I clutched my chest, overwhelmed by the pain, unable to speak.
Maxwell and I had been together for six years, and we have a five-year-old child. Yet, he’s been married to another woman for seven years.
This is undeniably the most surreal experience I’ve ever encountered.