Chapter 1

On Thanksgiving Day, I went to the clinic for my tenth round of IVF.

The nurse looked up at me, confused. "Mrs. Vance, didn't you authorize your family to take the embryo this morning?"

She pulled up the security footage.

On the screen were my husband, Sean, my mother, and a young girl I didn't recognize.

I drove home and pushed the front door open.

They were all sitting around the dining table, laughing and chatting over dinner.

The moment they saw me, the laughter died. Everyone froze.

"Audrey? What are you doing back so early?"

"What did you do with my embryo?" I asked, my voice deadly calm.

My mother stood up. "Audrey, you can't carry a child. You're too old, and your body can't handle the strain anymore. Elena is young and healthy. Let her carry it for you. The baby will still be yours."

Trevor, my younger brother, shoved a piece of pumpkin pie into his mouth. "Come on, Audrey. Painless motherhood. What's not to love?"

Sean took the young girl's hand in his. "We owe her, Audrey. She's doing our whole family a massive favor. You should be grateful to her."

I stood rooted to the spot, staring at the people who were supposed to be my closest family.

Ten years of dating. Ten years of marriage. Building an empire from scratch.

For him and our company, I suffered three miscarriages and endured nine failed IVF cycles.

This past year, I put all my work on hold and focused entirely on repairing my battered body, holding out hope for this final chance.

I had gambled everything on this.

And behind my back, they stole my embryo, hired another woman to carry my child, and expected me to thank them on my knees.

Worse yet, this girl—I had been anonymously sponsoring her education for eight years.

The very last thread of affection inside my heart snapped.

This kind of "favor" was something I couldn't afford, and I would never accept it.

I would have my own child, and I would take back everything that belonged to me.

"Give the embryo back to me," I said.

Sean frowned. "Audrey, haven't you always wanted a baby?"

The girl timidly looked up. "Audrey... I'm so sorry. I only wanted to help..."

I let out a cold laugh.

I pulled out my phone and tapped on the clinic's surveillance clip.

"Help? You stole my unborn child and stripped me of my right to be a mother. You call that help?"

My mother's face instantly darkened. "Why are you always so damn selfish? We went through all this trouble for your own good! Don't you know what state your body is in? You're forty years old!"

Trevor put down his pie. "Audrey, stop being so paranoid. We're all trying to help you. Does making a huge scene and ruining family dinner make you feel good?"

Sean's tone turned stern. "We've been married for ten years, Audrey. I've never mistreated you. Now we're just finding another way to bring a child into our lives. Do you really have to be so petty and calculative?"

I looked at him, my chest aching so badly I could hardly breathe.

Ten years. Three miscarriages. Nine grueling IVF cycles.

This past year, I choked down gallons of bitter herbal concoctions. My entire body was covered in bruises and needle marks from daily hormone shots.

All just so this final attempt would succeed.

And yet, behind my back, they handed my embryo over to another woman.

My mother kept barking, "This sweet girl is going through all this pain for you! She isn't asking for status or money! Instead of being grateful, you're attacking her! Where is your conscience?"

The girl's eyes turned red, and tears began to spill down her cheeks.

Suddenly, she pulled her hand away from Sean and dropped to her knees right in front of me.

"Audrey, I swear I never meant to destroy your family. I owe Sean so much. Carrying a child for him is the only way I can ever repay him."

I looked down at her. "Repay him? For what?"

She gazed affectionately at Sean. "Sean has funded my tuition and living expenses for years. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today."

I looked at the girl kneeling before me.

I crouched down so I was eye-level with her.

I never imagined our very first face-to-face meeting would look like this.

"I am the one who sponsored you for eight years," I said coldly. "When your abusive parents tried to marry you off to a creep for quick cash, I was the one who sent people to intervene and save you."

"You're thanking the wrong benefactor."

The girl began to tremble on the floor.

She lifted her head, her voice barely a whisper. "Audrey... but you used Sean's money."

I went numb.

My mother nodded eagerly. "She's right! A husband and wife are one! What's his is yours, what's yours is his—why split hairs?"

Trevor chimed in, "Exactly, Audrey. Don't be so cheap."

"I'm cheap?" I sneered. "Every bite of food on this table, every piece of clothing on your backs, every luxury you enjoy—which one of them wasn't paid for by me?"

Sean finally spoke up, "Audrey, just calm down..."

I looked at every single one of them. "My child will never, ever come out of another woman's womb."

I slipped the wedding band off my ring finger and shoved it straight into his hand.

"I am calm," I said.

"I've been calm for ten whole years. Your company, your home, your social standing—I carried all of it on my back for you. And now you think you have the right to control my body, my embryo, and my child? Sean, you don't have the damn right."

Sean looked at me, utterly exhausted. "You're always so dominant. Ten years, Audrey, and I could never hold my head up high around you. You built the company for me. You maintained the home. Everything I have is credited to you. I owe you, I admit it! But all I want is a child! You can't carry one, but someone else is willing to. Why can't you just accept that?"

He let out a heavy sigh. "I'm your husband, Audrey. I'm not some subordinate you can lecture whenever you feel like it."

My voice hitched, and hot tears streamed down my face before I even realized it.

"And yet my husband wants to have a baby with another woman."