Chapter 2

When Harrison snapped at her, Isabella didn't respond.

She just kept her composure, stood up, and walked quietly to the kitchen.

Harrison always ended his day with a cup of herbal infusion, a habit he'd kept up for ten years.

But when Isabella returned to the living room, Harrison was already gone. Only his suit jacket remained, left alone on the couch.

Isabella glanced at the light coming from the study, her grip on the cup of herbal infusion tightening.

She wondered, just how long had she and Harrison been stuck in this awkward routine?

Was it six months? Or a year?

Ever since Harrison hired that new woman assistant last year, he hardly talked to her at all.

And when he did, it was always like a boss barking at his staff, cold, distant, and always sounded like he was scolding her.

Even the herbal infusion he'd been loyal to for a decade? Now he wouldn't touch it.

A bittersweet numbness crept through her chest. As if she was punishing herself, Isabella downed the steaming herbal infusion in one shot, ignoring the heat as it burned down her throat.

When Isabella woke up the next morning, Harrison was already gone.

She knocked on the study door three times, but there was no answer. When she tried the handle, it was locked, just like before.

Sure enough, when she walked into the living room, the suitcase she'd left out the night before was gone.

Isabella stood there for a long time, staring at the empty living room.

It wasn't until her phone chimed with a hospital notification that Isabella snapped back to reality. Flustered, she rushed to her room, threw on some makeup, packed her suitcase, and headed straight for the private hospital.

'If getting pregnant quickly is the only way,' Isabella thought bitterly, 'then so be it.' Without hesitation, she checked herself in for a hospital stay.

Every IVF shot hurt like hell, stabbing into the soft flesh of her belly, inch by inch, until she was drenched in cold sweat.

The egg retrieval needle was even worse, longer than her own finger. Whenever the pain got too much, Isabella would ask herself, 'Is it really worth all this agony just to cling to a marriage that's already falling apart?'

But every time she was rolled out of surgery, she'd forget the pain as if it never happened.

No matter how much Isabella wanted a baby, it just wasn't that simple. She'd gone through two egg retrievals already, but both had failed.

As the day Harrison was supposed to return from his business trip approached, Isabella was a bundle of nerves.

But on the very day she was about to check out of the hospital and head home, Harrison sent her a message on Facebook.

He said he'd have to stay out of town for another month. The company project had hit a snag, and if things didn't get sorted out, they could end up losing a ton of money.

Her heart sank.

But just as quickly, a raw ache flooded her chest.

Isabella knew Harrison wasn't really handling company business. He was shuffling company assets and vacationing abroad with his new assistant.

Every place they'd once visited together, Stenland, Zorland, Drakland, he'd now taken her there instead.

And the places Isabella had only dreamed of, like Myrland, Jorland, Lynland, he'd taken her there too.

But at least Harrison's extra month overseas gave Isabella just enough time. She finally managed to get pregnant.

As she gazed at the tiny black dot on the ultrasound, a small smile crept onto Isabella's lips.

'Maybe now Harrison won't want a divorce,' she reassured herself.

But just as Isabella was about to check out of the hospital, William pinged her on Facebook again.

William messaged: [Ms. Thorn, Mr. Cross just got back. He told me he's planning to talk to you about the divorce tonight.]

Her heart skipped a beat at William's message.

But after a moment, she steadied herself, brushed him off with a couple of quick replies, and hung up.

Then, she pulled out her phone and called Harrison.

Her voice was gentle, carrying that familiar, eager-to-please tone she always used with him.

She said, "Harrison, I heard you're back. How about I make some of your favorite dishes tonight? Come home for dinner, okay? I've got some good news to share with you."

Harrison sounded impatient, and Isabella couldn't help but wonder, 'Is he with someone else right now? Why does he always sound so distant?'

"I'm busy, I don't have time..." he started, but then suddenly switched gears. "Alright, I'll come home for dinner tonight."

Then he hung up.

Isabella stood there, phone still in hand, listening to the dial tone for what felt like ages. Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed when a patient bumped into her. Only then did she come back to herself, a soft smile tugging at her lips as she gently touched her belly.

"Sweetheart, you must be getting impatient, huh? Mommy's taking you home to meet Daddy right now," Isabella whispered to her belly.

Isabella pulled out her phone and called the driver, asking him to give her a ride home.

She barely set her suitcase down before she rushed to change and headed straight for the kitchen.

Vivienne Westbrook, the housekeeper, spotted the joy on Isabella's face and asked, a little confused, "Mrs. Cross, I haven't seen you this happy in forever. Was your trip really that amazing?"

Isabella just smiled and shook her head. "Vivienne, I'm expecting."