Chapter 1

The day the little plus sign appears on the test, confirming our IVF has finally worked, my boyfriend, Edward Harrington, the one and only heir to a nine-generation dynasty, finally caves and agrees to marry me.

But after an excruciating ten-hour flight home, I arrived at his company to a wall of flashing cameras. In the middle of it all was him and his secretary, Jenny Carter, holding each other and smiling as they made their relationship official.

Jenny, practically vibrating with excitement, flaunts her new status as the official Mrs. Harrington, making sure every camera catches the gleam of the legal proof in her hand.

"You can all rest easy!" she chirps into the sea of microphones. "From now on, I'll be the one making sure Mr. Harrington keeps his eye on the ball!"

The reporters, sensing blood in the water, swivel their cameras toward me. You can almost hear them holding their breath, waiting for the meltdown.

But instead of giving them the show they want, I plaster on a serene smile and step forward, leading the applause.

"Mr. Harrington and Ms. Carter, you're a match made in heaven," I announce, my voice ringing out clear and steady. "Here's to a happy marriage. I hope you have beautiful children!"

A wave of stunned silence, followed by a roar of whispers, sweeps through the crowd.

The crowd watches in stunned silence, unable to wrap their heads around the fact that I, the nine-year girlfriend he is supposed to marry, am being so incredibly graceful.

I turn on my heel to walk away, and just as I expect, he scrambles after me, furrowing his eyebrows.

He hisses, grabbing my arm, "Jenny works herself to the bone on that international project, pulling all-nighters with me for six months. She doesn't want a bonus. She has this thing about those silly romance novels. She just wants to play out the fantasy of the secretary marrying the CEO."

He squeezes my arm, pleading, "It's temporary! We're getting a divorce the second the project is finalized. I swear. Then, I'll give you the wedding you deserve. A bigger, better, and unforgettable wedding."

He leans in closer, whispering, "Just think about the baby. Please. Don't make a scene."

Smiling, I gently remove his hand from my arm. "And who," I ask, my voice dripping with ice, "says this baby is yours?"

*****

Without another glance at his stunned face, I turned on my heel and walked away.

But Edward Harrington caught my arm before I could take two steps, pulling me back and planting himself right in my path. His expression was dead serious.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. "Humiliating me in front of everyone wasn't enough for you? Now you're dragging the baby into this just to get under my skin?

"Olivia Reed, how many times do I have to explain this to you? It was a reward. That's it. Jenny Carter worked herself to the bone on that project. Would it kill you to show a little empathy?"

I actually laughed. The audacity of that excuse was almost impressive.

"I was on that project too, Edward. For six months straight, everyone in this company was grinding, not just Jenny Carter," I argued.

Frankly, from what I had seen, Jenny's grand contribution to the project amounted to pouring coffee during meetings and placing takeout orders for the team.

We could've managed just fine without her.

Jenny worked day and night just so everyone could survive on takeout? Give me a break.

I met his gaze, asking curiously, "Or is it your policy now that any woman who asks to play bride-for-a-day with the CEO gets an automatic yes?"

The second those words left my mouth, his grip on my wrist tightened until it hurt. Fury flooded his eyes.

"Olivia, you're throwing a fit over something as small as a wedding? When did you get this petty?"

Something as small as a wedding?

In nine years together, I had brought up marriage more times than I could count. And every single time, he had a reason to put it off.

Initially, the excuse was his shaky foothold at the firm. Next, it was waiting for a better window of time. Eventually, he promised to marry me once he had groomed someone to replace me.

And I believed him every single time.

Because of his promise to marry me, I turned down offers from some of the biggest firms in the country. I never negotiated my title or my salary. I just stayed right by his side, helping him build everything he had.

I endured endless nights of labor and repeated hospitalizations from sheer exhaustion without ever complaining.

Then last year, he told me his parents wanted me to get pregnant first. The second I conceived, we would get married.

I really thought that was it. The finish line was finally in sight.

Despite knowing that IVF would involve a grueling cycle of endless injections and hormonal pain, I agreed to his suggestion without a moment of hesitation.

During the entire process, I didn't dare slow down at work. I got my shot at the clinic and headed straight back to the office to check on project updates.

The stress nearly broke me. There were nights I stared at the ceiling and thought about ending everything. The only thing that kept me breathing was him and the wedding he kept promising.

After six months of grueling perseverance, I thought I was returning home to my hard-earned happiness, only to find that the marriage I had dreamed of was nothing more than a casual prize he had awarded to someone else.

"Come on, you've already waited nine years. What's a couple more months?"

Edward's impatient, complaining voice yanked me back to reality.

I looked at his annoyed face and felt something crack open inside my chest, sharp and precise, like a thousand tiny needles pressing in at once.

For the first time, with perfect clarity, I understood maybe he had never loved me at all. He was just used to having me around to handle his messes and smooth over his mistakes.

Only a man who never loved me could speak so lightly of my nine-year wait, treating a decade of my devotion like a debt that cost him absolutely nothing to collect.

The realization settled over me, and all I could do was laugh.

I was done listening to his excuses. I shook his arm off, flagged down a cab, and left without looking back.

Well, I did look back once through the rearview mirror. Edward stood on the sidewalk for maybe three seconds, watching the direction I had gone. Then he turned around and went to find Jenny.

That last flicker of hope I had been clinging to was gone.

I fought back my tears barely and pulled up the company app on my phone. My fingers didn't shake as I submitted my resignation. Then I went back to the villa to pack my things.