Chapter 1
The day I went in for the procedure, the doctor asked me why I didn't want the baby.
I said, "I'm getting divorced. I don't want to have it."
The doctor took off her mask.
It was Alysha Hudson, Ethan Hudson's sister.
She stared at me for a long moment before finally saying, "Ophelia, does Ethan know?"
"No," I replied.
My voice was even steadier than I thought it would be. "He doesn't need to know."
Alysha set the medical record on the table and flipped to the ultrasound page.
She looked at me and said, "You're almost five months along. Induced labor isn't a minor procedure. Are you really sure about this?"
"I've made up my mind," I replied.
"Ophelia—" Alysha started.
I interrupted her. "Dr. Hudson, you're my attending physician, not my sister-in-law. I've signed all the paperwork and even left my fingerprint on the consent form."
Alysha didn't say anything else.
She put her mask back on, scribbled a few notes in my file, and handed me a pre-op checklist.
"Come fasting at eight in the morning, the day after tomorrow. And bring someone with you for support," she said.
"Okay," I replied.
I took the checklist and got up to leave.
Just as I reached the door, Alysha called out to me.
"Ophelia, you've been with Ethan for three years. He does care about you," she said.
I didn't turn around.
Three years. It had been one thousand and ninety-five days since I married into the Hudson family.
The most Ethan ever said to me was, "I have a business dinner tonight. I won't be home."
I really couldn't tell what kind of love that was.
As I walked out of the hospital, my phone rang. It was Ethan.
"Come with me to a dinner tonight. Dress up," he said.
He never bothered to ask where I was or how my day went.
For three years, he'd only ever called me to tell me something or to give me instructions.
"Okay," I replied.
That was the last time I ever said yes to him.
*****
When I got back to the Hudson home, the maid had already hung the evening gown by my bedroom door. It was a black, cinched-waist dress, picked out by Ethan's assistant.
She knew my size better than Ethan himself.
I changed into the dress and stood in front of the mirror for a moment.
My belly was still barely visible, and the gown concealed the gentle swell perfectly.
In two days, this secret would disappear forever.
Ethan's car pulled up right on time.
I got in. He was on the phone and gave me a nod. It was his version of a greeting.
He spent the entire forty-minute drive talking business: quarterly reports, new project bids, and next week's board meeting.
Not a single word had anything to do with me.
The dinner was held at a private club in Eastwold.
The Hudson family was one of the city's leading business dynasties. The Hudson Group was valued at nearly billions of dollars, and Ethan became CEO at the young age of thirty-two.
He was accomplished and had gained recognition, with every financial magazine eager to feature him on their cover.
And me, Ophelia Paige, was his wife in name only.
To everyone else, I was an ordinary woman with no background, no degree, who'd married into the Hudson family by sheer luck.
As we walked into the hall, Ethan placed his hand on my waist.
It wasn't intimacy. It was possession.
We sat down at the main table, and before I could even take a sip of water, a woman walked over.
It was Iris Wheeler. Ethan's forever crush, the girl he'd grown up with, and a business genius who'd come back after five years overseas.
She was dressed in a white evening gown. Her perfect makeup and graceful posture were like a model straight off a magazine cover.
"Ethan, long time no see," she said.
She looked right past me, her eyes locked onto Ethan.
Ethan stood up.
In three years, I'd never seen him stand up for anyone until now.
"Iris, you're back?" Ethan said.
Iris replied, "Yeah, I got back last week. I wanted to call you sooner, but I didn't want to mess up your work schedule."
She finally spared me a glance.
"So, you must be Ophelia, right? Ethan's always talking about you," Iris said.
All the time? Really?
I just smiled.
Ethan only ever talked about one person at home, and it wasn't me.
"Hello, Ms. Wheeler," I said.
"Just call me Iris. No need to be so formal," Iris replied.
She sat down next to me and started chatting with Ethan about her time abroad, their conversation so natural and intimate, like I wasn't even there.
Ethan looked at Iris the whole time.
He kept picking out dishes for her. He made sure her glass was always full.
He stepped in when someone tried to toast her, making sure she didn't have to deal with it.
He never did any of that for me, not even once in three years.
All through the dinner, I sat next to him like I was invisible.
At 9:30, I got up to go to the restroom.
As I passed the hallway corner, I overheard two women talking.
"Mrs. Hudson is such a poor thing. Her husband's making eyes at another woman right in front of her."
"Poor? She married a billionaire. Isn't all that cash enough for her?"
"Come on, now that Iris is back, it's only a matter of time before Mrs. Hudson gets replaced."