Chapter 1

"Dad... please come pick me up in five days. I'm ready to marry the Williams family heir, just as you wished."

"Marriage? What are you talking about? Are you divorcing Alex?" My father asked, confused and worried.

"Yes." I choked up, my eyes still moist. "Please start preparing for the wedding."

Before he could say another word, I hung up the phone. It slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor. I was trembling all over, covering my face with both hands.

For three years, I thought I was living a perfect life, but today when I slipped in the bathroom and called my husband a hundred times without him answering, I realized it was all a lie.

Two months ago, Chloe Lancaster came back from England crying, begging Alex for help. She said she discovered her husband's affair, and that he had been violent with her, causing her to miscarry. After the divorce, she was homeless.

"She's my first love, Evelyn," Alex pleaded, gripping my hands. "When my family abandoned me and I was broken, she was there for me. Now she needs help, and I can't abandon her."

I saw the pain in his eyes and my heart softened.

He kissed my forehead gratefully. "Thank you for understanding. I'll arrange for her to stay in the guest room, just temporarily."

But for the next two months, Alex spent almost every day taking care of her. Buying daily necessities, medicine, accompanying her to doctor appointments, while I stayed home alone, my belly growing bigger but feeling increasingly lonely.

Every time I called him, he always said Chloe needed him.

"Alex, I have a prenatal checkup today, can you come with me?"

"Sorry, babe, Chloe's having a rough day, I need to be with her."

"Alex, I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable..."

"Evelyn, Chloe just finished her therapy session, she's very fragile right now, I can't leave. You can call a car to the hospital."

Every time, it was Chloe.

Today, when I slipped in the bathroom, lying on the cold tile floor with blood pooling beneath me, I dialed his number.

Again and again, but he never answered.

I was so weak I could barely press the buttons.

The hundredth call.

He answered.

"Evelyn, why are you so desperate for attention? I told you I have important things to do, stop bothering me!" Alex's cold voice came through the phone.

Before I could speak, I heard a woman's sweet voice in the background.

"Alex, darling, come back to bed. I can't wait anymore. Don't keep me waiting too long."

That voice... I knew it all too well.

Chloe.

Now, I lay in a pool of blood, listening to her calling his name from their bed.

I hung up, tears blurring my vision.

I used my last strength to shakily dial emergency services.

I fell unconscious and woke up days later in a hospital bed.

Due to the delay, my baby didn't survive.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, I heard Alex's voice while lying in the hospital bed.

"Mr. Vanderbilt," the doctor said, frustration in his voice, "I can't keep her unconscious any longer. If I continue using sedatives, her life will be at risk. The stem cell transplant surgery is complete, Miss Lancaster has recovered. It's only fair that Evelyn wakes up now."

"Fair?" Alex snapped. "If Evelyn wakes up now, she'll discover that I caused her 'accident' to fall so Chloe could get the stem cells! I need her unconscious until Chloe gives birth to my son."

My heart stopped.

So the man I loved not only got his mistress pregnant, but also used my child's stem cells to save his mistress.

The doctor gasped. "Keeping a patient unconscious for extended periods could kill her!"

"I don't care!" Alex roared. "I've paid you enough money. You better listen to me!"

My trembling hand pressed against my chest, tears silently sliding down my cheeks.

My husband was trying to kill me, just to save his mistress.

Three years ago, when his company was on the verge of bankruptcy and creditors threatened to make him jump off a building, I used the Sterling family's resources to save him.

This is how he repaid me. He didn't care about our dead child at all, he just wanted to kill me so his and Chloe's child could be born safely.

How cruel fate is.

After they left, I shakily picked up my phone and called my lawyer.

"Prepare the divorce papers."

After hanging up, I craved fresh air and dragged my weary body down the hallway, only to encounter Chloe.

"Oh, Evelyn, you look so weak. Why are you hiding here alone? Shouldn't you be resting in your room? After all, you just went through such a... painful experience."

"You bitch," my voice was hoarse and cold, "you destroyed my marriage and family."

Her voice was sickeningly sweet: "Darling, the one who isn't loved is the real mistress. I'm the woman Alex truly loves."

She pulled out a document. "Look at this."

It was a stem cell transplant consent form with Alex's signature.

"Your son's stem cells were a perfect match for me," Chloe said coldly. "The doctor told Alex that doing this might kill the child. But Alex signed it, agreeing to transplant his stem cells to me. Now these precious cells are inside me, protecting our child."

I suddenly felt a chill. "What...? Didn't my child die before being born?"

"Oh my! Didn't the doctor tell you? Your son was born alive and healthy. It's just that your husband insisted on transplanting the stem cells to me. Your child unfortunately died in the end. Such a shame."

I lunged at her like a wild beast, screaming, both hands grabbing her throat. "You monster! You killed my child!"

"Alex! Help!" Chloe screamed.

Then Alex rushed over, stunned for a moment, then firmly grabbed my wrists and threw me hard to the ground. The back of my head hit the wall, and I tasted blood in my mouth.

"How could you do this?" Alex roared at me.

"Why did you use my child's life to save her?! You two bastards—" I shouted.

"How can you be so vicious?" Alex interrupted me. "Your own child is dead, and you're still attacking a pregnant woman? You don't deserve to be a mother! This is why God took away your right to be one!"

My throat choked at his harsh words, letting out a whimper. But he wouldn't even look at me again, gently lifting Chloe like a treasure and walking away, leaving me alone on the floor.

Watching the man who once promised to love me forever disappear down the hallway carrying Chloe, my heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

I finally understood. Alex never loved me. He had always loved Chloe.

Five days. In five more days, I could leave this hell forever.

But I won't just slip away quietly.

Alex Vanderbilt, I will make you regret hurting me and my child.