Chapter 1

After marrying my billionaire husband, I took a part-time job at a bar when I was three months pregnant.

That same night, I walked into one of the private rooms and found my husband partying with his buddies.

My husband, Denys Harding, lounged on the couch, lifting a cigarette to his lips.

"Three million a month? Isn't that a little cheap for my wife?"

One of his buddies shot up off the couch. "Three million dollars is cheap?! Your wife's burning through money like it's nothing."

"She hasn't secretly taken on a toy boy, has she?"

The room went dead quiet. His face darkened.

"Last night she said she was short on cash, so I wired her another million."

"And this morning she brought up divorce, saying that if I couldn't afford to support her, I shouldn't bother."

I stood outside the door, shaking with rage.

I looked down at my rounded belly. I couldn't hold it in any longer.

Before he could react, I slapped him hard across the face.

"Tell me. How many wives do you have, exactly?"

His eyes went bloodshot as he ground out.

"There's only you..."

I froze. "Then why do I only get eight hundred dollars a month?"

……

When my period was a month late, I swallowed my anxiety and went to the drugstore for the cheapest pregnancy test I could find.

Two lines. The room tilted, and everything went black for a second.

I snapped a photo and sent it to my best friend, Rebecca.

"What do I do, Rebecca? I was already broke, and now I'm pregnant."

She fired back instantly.

"That bastard! It's bad enough that he won't give you any money, and now he's even got you pregnant?!"

After she got done cursing Denys, she turned on me.

"Didn't you keep condoms around? What the hell were you thinking? You didn't even use one?"

Even through the screen I could feel how furious she was.

It's not that I didn't want to use one. I just couldn't afford to buy any...

Eight hundred a month didn't even cover food. I could barely afford to eat, let alone keep a supply of condoms around.

And Denys had always wanted a child. If I didn't buy them, he was more than happy.

I never imagined that one time would be enough.

The growl of my stomach dragged me back to reality.

With the two hundred dollars Rebecca had lent me, I went downstairs and bought a pack of bread that was about to expire and some milk.

There was only one reason I'd bought it: it was half price because it was about to expire.

I leaned against the wall, taking a bite of bread and washing it down with a sip of milk.

The whole thing suddenly struck me as absurd.

I was the wife of the Harding Group CEO. I lived in a ten-million-dollar home, yet I was so broke that I had to wait for grocery stores to mark down food that was about to expire.

I swallowed the last bite of bread and called Denys anyway.

No surprise, Ivy was the one who picked up.

She was Denys's secretary, and she also handled my monthly allowance.

"Mrs. Harding, if I remember correctly, this month's allowance has already been sent."

I forced myself to stay calm and keep my voice from trembling.

"I'm pregnant. Could you give me a little extra this month?"

There was a pause on the other end, followed by a scoff.

"Last time you claimed you had low blood sugar, I made an exception and wired you an extra hundred. And now you're using pregnancy as an excuse?"

"Mr. Harding's money doesn't grow on trees. You should learn to show some restraint."

Before I could explain, the line went dead.

When we got married, he'd been the one to promise he'd provide for me, telling me to stay home and enjoy being a lady of leisure.

But eight hundred a month really wasn't enough.

Later, I tried getting a part-time job at a coffee shop to make a little extra money.

When Denys found out, he simply bought the entire shop.

"Do I look like the kind of man who's so hard up for cash that I'd let my wife work part-time?"

He wasn't short on money, and yet he never gave me a single cent more.

Rebecca's question came back to me: "Are you going to keep the baby?"

Honestly, I didn't know either.

Maybe once Denys found out about the pregnancy, he'd give me some extra money for the baby's sake.

I made an appointment for a prenatal checkup. The doctor said the baby was a bit over two months along, developing normally.