Chapter Five

Emma's POV

"I can pretend none of this ever happened," I heard myself say. "But you have to end things with Chloe. Completely."

Carter's expression darkened by the second.

"Emma…"

"I'm not negotiating with you."

I forced myself to keep my voice steady.

"If you want this marriage to continue, you end whatever is going on between you two."

He avoided my eyes.

For a long time, neither of us spoke.

Sitting across from him, I suddenly felt as though an uncrossable river had opened up between us.

We'd grown together and survived the hardest years side by side. Almost every important moment of my life had included him.

I'd believed that kind of love would be enough to keep him from crossing the line.

In the end, he had still let me down.

"Emma, I don't want to lie to you."

Carter finally spoke, his voice low.

"I love Chloe."

I lifted my head.

"But I love you, too."

I stood up, walked over to the table, and took out another copy of the divorce papers.

"Then sign them."

Carter stared at the documents, his expression growing darker.

"You're really going to take things this far?"

"You're the one who crossed the line first."

He let out a short, bitter laugh, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Chloe doesn't want anything from me. She just wants to stay by my side. What about you? Emma, you already have so much. Why can't you ever be satisfied?"

I looked at him, my heart feeling as though an invisible hand had clenched around it.

"All I want is a husband who stays faithful to his marriage."

"If you can't give me that, then sign the papers."

This time, I refused to back down.

Carter eventually signed them.

But I soon discovered that ending the marriage wasn't going to be as simple as I'd imagined.

His legal team had already arranged our joint assets so meticulously that most of what we'd accumulated together ended up under his name.

Before leaving, my lawyer handed me a compensation proposal.

"Mr. Grayson is willing to offer you an additional five hundred thousand dollars."

I didn't take it.

At the very least, I refused to put a price tag on our marriage.

In the end, I packed my belongings and left the house we'd shared for so many years.

Only then did I remember that I still hadn't told Carter I was pregnant.

Sitting in the back of a taxi, I rested my palm against my stomach, unable to find the courage to pick up my phone.

I'd looked forward to this baby for so long.

But now, I had no idea whether I could manage to build a home on my own.

After the divorce, I seriously considered giving up the pregnancy.

Not because I didn't love my child, but because I knew exactly how difficult it would be for a woman without a stable income to survive alone in this city.

I left my previous job and returned to landscape design.

The awards and experience I'd once been proud of did little to help me. Whenever an interviewer learned that I'd been away from the industry for years, they would politely tell me I wasn't the right fit.

I was rejected again and again.

Each time, I revised my portfolio and tried somewhere else.

Just when I was at my lowest, Carter sent me a message.

"Just so you know, Chloe is pregnant. We're getting married next week."

I stared at the screen for a long time before turning off my phone.

Then I went back to organizing the plans I needed for the next day's interview.

I couldn't afford to fall apart.

Because I was no longer alone.

When my parents learned about the pregnancy, they immediately came to take care of me.

They didn't press me for explanations. They simply told me that whatever I decided, they would support me.

After my daughter was born, I devoted nearly all my time to work so I could give her a better life.

When she was little, my parents helped look after her. As she grew older, I started bringing her to the studio with me.

Eventually, I joined Noah's landscape design firm.

Noah was my senior from school and an exceptionally intelligent man. He had already established himself in the industry, but he never used his position to make others feel inferior.

When he learned about my circumstances, he simply pushed a stack of project documents across the table.

"I've seen your previous work. We happen to need someone who can take charge of a project independently."

I knew he was giving me a chance, but I didn't want to build my life on anyone's pity.

So I worked relentlessly, determined to do every project well.

Little by little, I finally found my footing.

Noah also gradually became an indispensable part of Avery's life.

He would pick her up from school when I worked late, accompany me to the hospital when she fell ill, and remember exactly which kind of cake she liked best.

Once, he even brought out a ring and proposed to me.

I didn't say yes.

He didn't pressure me. He simply put the ring away.

"It's okay, Emma. You don't have to give me an answer right now."

The more understanding he was, the guiltier I felt.

I knew perfectly well that he was nothing like Carter.

But knowing that someone was worthy of my trust didn't mean I had the courage to hand him my heart again.

I'd once bet my entire life on a relationship.

After watching that bet fail so miserably, I no longer dared to wager my heart so easily.

What I didn't know was that, on the other side of the story, Carter was finally beginning to pay the price for the choices he'd made all those years ago.