Chapter 1

My husband Ethan Chase was sent undercover.

No lavish wedding for me, no honeymoon either.

When I had complications giving birth to our daughter, he was on a mission.

Our daughter is seven now, and she's only seen him in photos.

"Vivian, I'm sorry. Being with me has made you suffer. Once this mission wraps up, I'll come back and we'll be together."

Every time we talked, I'd smile and say it was fine, that his safety mattered more.

Until our daughter fell seriously ill, and I ran into him at the hospital with a pregnant woman for her prenatal checkup.

"Mommy, look..."

My daughter pointed at him excitedly.

I immediately covered her mouth in panic.

"Don't call out! Your dad's on a mission—it could put his life in danger!"

My daughter looked at me with confusion written all over her face.

"Mommy, what are you talking about?"

"That's my classmate's dad. He picks her up from school every day."

"My classmate's about to have a little brother. When are you going to give me a sister?"

I forced myself to stay calm and dialed Ethan's number.

"Ethan, where are you? Our daughter's sick."

Not far away, he glanced at his phone.

He bent down to kiss the pregnant woman's face, then frowned and walked to a corner to answer.

He deliberately lowered his voice: "Vivian, I'm on a mission abroad. I have to hang up."

After ending the call, he stared at his phone, distracted.

It took him a while before he took the prenatal test results and went to queue for registration.

My eyes stung terribly. As if possessed, I carried my daughter and walked over.

Charlotte Lane was sweet-looking, completely non-threatening.

She was clearly someone who'd been well-protected all her life.

When she learned my daughter was her son's classmate, she brought me to a café next to the hospital.

She ordered juice for the two children, then cheerfully pulled me into small talk.

When she talked about Ethan, her eyes practically sparkled.

"My husband and I have known each other for ten years. I was his first love. When we first got married, there was a misunderstanding, and in a fit of anger I ran off to Europe. He couldn't find me and was depressed for quite a while. But seven years ago, he came to Europe to find me. We reconciled and had our first child."

Seven years ago.

I turned my face away, afraid she'd see the tears welling in my eyes.

That was when Ethan and I first met.

I had just graduated high school when my family forced me to get married.

After a huge fight with my parents, I ran away from home and met Ethan in an alley.

He reeked of alcohol, lying on the ground vomiting blood.

When he saw me, he stared for a long time before explaining he'd been injured on a mission.

I believed him and took him to the hospital.

Later we fell in love, and I followed him to this unfamiliar place.

Until he went abroad on a mission, and I discovered I was pregnant.

I endured the pregnancy and delivery all alone.

Back then I didn't know anything, not even how to properly recover postpartum.

The landlord bullied me for being an outsider and threw me and my baby out in the middle of the night.

I took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"So... have you two always had a good relationship?"

Charlotte took a sip of her milk tea and closed her eyes contentedly.

"Very good. When I had our first, he was there for the entire delivery. He booked the best postpartum care center."

"Most people rest for a month after giving birth, but he insisted I take three full months."

"This time my morning sickness has been severe with the second baby, and he's been so worried he's lost a lot of weight too."

I gripped my straw so tightly I wanted to stab it into my flesh.

Charlotte looked at me curiously.

As if she'd discovered something exciting, she couldn't contain herself.

"No wonder we hit it off so well—haven't you noticed we look a bit alike?"

"Actually, I know that during the three years I was abroad, my husband found a substitute who resembled me."

"My husband said that woman was barely educated, completely on a different intellectual level from him."

"I'm pretty understanding about it. I just think of it as my husband finding a free prostitute."

The tip of the straw pierced under my nail, but I felt no pain.

Charlotte didn't notice my reaction and smiled at me smugly.

"You have no idea how much my husband dotes on me. When he found out that woman was pregnant, I lost control and had someone run her over with a car. I heard she hemorrhaged badly."

"That woman reported it to the police, but my husband didn't blame me at all. He took care of all the trouble for me."

"After I had our first baby, I had some postpartum depression. I had people harass that woman, calling her a homewrecker. Watching her carry her child around looking so helpless—it felt so satisfying."

"Oh, and my husband was even more ruthless. When the homewrecker was arguing with people, he and I just sat in a car across the street watching the show."

Late pregnancy, getting hit by a car, all alone with no one to turn to.

I crawled to a nearby hospital by myself to beg for help.

The day people called me a homewrecker, Ethan choked up on the phone for the first time, saying he was sorry.

How ironic it seems now.

My vision kept going black. I almost fainted from my seat.

Charlotte finally noticed something was wrong and worriedly supported me.

"Are you okay? We've been chatting so long—where's your husband?"

I opened my mouth, my throat tight.

"He..."

Just then, an indulgent yet helpless voice came from behind us.

"Drinking milk tea behind my back again. Charlotte, you're being naughty."