Chapter 1

I married Andy Becker, a paralyzed man, but everyone said I was marrying way out of my league.

All because I was the infamous ugly woman.

But Andy didn't care at all. He even went so far as to have a child with me through IVF, completely ignoring what anyone else thought.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, I wanted to surprise him, but ended up overhearing him joking around with his buddy.

"Andy, you're amazing. Pretending to be crippled and getting stuck with that ugly chick for five years? Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl," his friend teased.

Andy laughed, swirling his wine glass. "I've had to put up with her for so long. Just using her for the baby isn't really doing her any harm."

"Just making good use of resources," he said with a smile. "Having a kid is too painful. I wouldn't let Jenny suffer through that."

So he'd been faking being crippled all along.

Without a flicker of emotion, I wiped the fake scar from my face and dialed the number.

"Are you in? Let's ruin Becker Group together," I said coldly.

*****

The man on the other end let out a confident laugh. "Becker Group? You won't have to do a thing. Give me three days and it'll be over."

"In three days, I'll come for you," he promised.

The mocking laughter from the private room kept going, stabbing into my heart like ice picks.

"Andy started that fire just to fake being paralyzed and make Edmund feel sorry for him, so he could marry Jenny," one of them said.

"Who would've thought that ugly chick would be so reckless, charging into the fire to save him? Now she's got her face all messed up, and she even managed to marry into the Becker family," another guy added.

"Wait, her face is all burned and messed up. Won't her kid turn out just as ugly?" someone else chimed in.

Andy kicked him and shot back, "That ugly freak is just a vessel."

"Jenny's coming back in a couple of days. Once the baby's born, the three of us can finally be together, like a real family," Andy said, almost sounding wistful.

Jenny... I recalled the name.

Jenny Frye was Andy's childhood sweetheart. His dad, Edmund Becker, forced them to split up, so she ended up moving overseas by herself.

It seemed they never really lost contact.

I stared at Andy's sharp features, feeling a cold emptiness settle in my chest.

After the fire, I developed a chronic breathing problem.

But when I heard he was paralyzed, I pushed myself. Even though I was sick, I ignored my brother's warnings and went to see him.

When Andy was dead set on ending it all, I lied and told him I was disfigured too.

With my encouragement, he picked himself up, day by day.

Edmund, feeling both grateful and guilty, pulled some strings to make us husband and wife.

For five years, I kept this ugly face and stuck by Andy's side, swallowing everyone's sneers in silence.

At last, Andy finally changed. He was the one who brought up having a child.

"With a baby, you'll be the rightful lady of the Becker family. No one's gonna mess with you again," he promised.

Those words moved me to tears.

Even though my body had never been the same since the fire, I gritted my teeth and went through with IVF.

For months, I endured injections and medications. Honestly, I stopped counting halfway. But in the end, I did it. I got pregnant.

And when we finally got the positive result, Andy actually pulled me into a hug.

It was the first time in five years he'd ever held me, and I thought maybe things were finally changing between us.

But in truth, Andy was celebrating the child that he and Jenny would share.

I wiped away my tears, turned on my heel, and left without a hint of regret.

When I got home, I headed straight for the study.

The study had always been strictly off-limits. Andy said it was stuffed with business secrets, and that I was just some outsider who shouldn't be nosing around.

I fired up the computer and, taking a wild guess, entered Jenny's birthday. The screen blinked once, and it was unlocked.

A folder called "My True Love" instantly grabbed my attention.

Inside, there were 999 videos, all lined up in perfect order by date.

I clicked on one of the videos, and the screen was instantly flooded with explicit sights and sounds.

On the screen, Andy and Jenny were video calling each other. They were naked, brazenly striking all kinds of provocative poses for each other, and they started to touch themselves passionately.

I stared at the screen for two straight hours, numb and silent, until I saw a date that made my heart freeze.

It was our wedding night.

That night, I was so nervous and shy as I took off my clothes, thinking I was finally ready for him.

But instead, Andy just exploded, saying I was insulting him as a cripple. He then stormed out in his wheelchair.

All the while I was sobbing by myself in our new bedroom, he was in the next room, getting off with another woman on a video call.

I couldn't hold it in anymore, retching violently.

All the warmth and hope I'd ever felt just crumbled inside me, all at once.

Dragging myself back to reality, I backed up every file on the computer, then arranged for the pregnancy to end tomorrow morning.

I couldn't keep this baby.

Just then, a message from Jenny popped up on the screen. [Andy, come home early tonight. Let's try something new!]

Another message flashed up, but she deleted it almost instantly.

But I still caught it. She'd written: [I know it's you, Lydia. Since you're so curious... why don't we let you join in tonight?]