Chapter 1
Five years into her marriage with Harrison Cross, Isabella Thorn found out he was secretly getting ready to leave her for some girl.
Her feelings for Harrison hadn't faded.
So, before Harrison could hand her the divorce papers, Isabella pulled out a doctor's note confirming she was pregnant.
That night, Harrison spent the whole night smoking on the balcony.
After that, Harrison ended things with the girl he'd been seeing.
When Isabella was six months pregnant, the girl came by their place herself with a wedding invitation.
"Mr. Cross, my wedding is tomorrow. If you just ask me to stay, I'll call off the whole thing," she said.
She put the invitation down and ran out sobbing.
Harrison jumped up to go after her.
Watching them leave, Isabella clutched her aching belly and called out after him.
"Harrison, if you dare walk out that door today, I'll go to the hospital and terminate this pregnancy," Isabella said.
Harrison paused for a moment, but in the end, he still went after her.
"Ms. Thorn, I've got some bad news. Mr. Cross had me draft up divorce papers last night. The terms are ruthless. You'll be left with absolutely nothing," William Kane, Harrison's assistant, said.
"And on top of that, Mr. Cross is selling off his assets for next to nothing, and some of the company's money has already been funneled into a mystery account," William added.
Isabella listened quietly as William spoke, her face perfectly calm.
"Alright, I understand. Just make sure he never finds out you're helping me," Isabella replied, her voice steady.
Isabella had known about Harrison's affair for a long time.
After all, there was that video of him kissing the girl at a celebrity concert. It even made the gossip headlines.
Because of that, whenever Isabella went out, people would sometimes stop her to ask about it.
"Mrs. Cross, hasn't Mr. Cross dumped that little mistress yet?" they'd ask.
No matter how people mocked her, Isabella would just lower her eyes, smile, and say nothing.
She never thought about divorce, and she never confronted Harrison about what was really going on between them.
After all, they'd spent five years dating and another five years married. He wouldn't just walk away from a decade-long relationship like it was nothing.
Back when she married Harrison, Isabella didn't believe in love, and she'd told him as much.
She'd give him three chances to mess up in their marriage.
So she chose to endure it, to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.
Even when Harrison started coming home later and later, always carrying that unmistakable scent of a young woman's perfume.
Even when he moved into the study, saying he was buried in work.
She just pretended not to notice.
But she never imagined that while she was determined to hold on, Harrison would be the one to walk away.
Isabella's hands were balled into tight fists, her nails digging into her palms. After sitting in silence on the couch for a while, she finally grabbed her phone and called the private clinic.
"Dr. Gray, did Harrison freeze some sperm at your clinic about a year ago?" Isabella asked.
"I've made up my mind. I'm coming in for IVF. I don't care what it takes, just make sure I'm pregnant within a month," she said, her voice cold and determined.
Dr. Thaddeus Gray sounded surprised on the other end.
"Ms. Thorn, didn't you always say you never wanted kids?" he asked.
Isabella's grip on the phone tightened at Dr. Gray's words.
She really never wanted kids.
When she was a kid, her mom got pregnant at forty, just to give her dad a son, even though everyone knew it was risky.
But it ended in tragedy. She lost both her mom and the baby.
Ever since then, Isabella had been terrified of pregnancy and childbirth.
But now, she was out of options.
If she wanted to keep Harrison, having a baby was her last shot at saving her marriage.
Even though she'd braced herself for this, a bitter taste crept up her throat. Isabella fought back the pain in her chest and said sharply.
"Just help me get pregnant, Dr. Gray. The rest is none of your business," she said.
With that, she hung up the phone.
Right after she hung up, Harrison came home.
He saw her spaced out on the couch, but didn't even bother to ask what she was up to.
Even when he noticed her eyes were a little red, he didn't care enough to ask if she'd been crying.
Instead, he said coldly, "There's been some trouble with a project at work. I'm leaving for a business trip tomorrow, gone for two weeks. Pack my bags tonight.
"By the way, my mom says her nanny isn't working out. Go find a new agency and get her a replacement. And when you interview them, try not to mess it up this time. Seriously, how can you be so clueless? You can't even handle something as basic as hiring a nanny?"