To marry me, Alexander knelt for three days and nights, enduring his family’s brutal judgment. But on our fifth anniversary, I received a video of him in bed with someone else. It was clearly filmed in secret. The girl in the video lay on her back, a pillow propped under her hips. The frame shook for a few seconds before steadying. Then I heard that familiar voice. “Legs up. Ten minutes. It helps with conception.” That night, I handed him the divorce papers. Alexander’s eyes were red as he tried to explain. “The family needs an heir, Serena. It’s been five years, and you haven’t gotten pregnant. I was out of options.” “Please, don’t divorce me. I promise you, I’ll break it off with her right now.” Looking at the lattice of scars that still marked his back, my resolve softened. For the next three years, he was a model husband, constantly updating me on his whereabouts to put my mind at ease. Until the day I flew a thousand miles to surprise him on a business trip. And found him with a woman and a child in his arms. 1 “Daddy, can you stay with me a little longer this time?” The boy was about two years old, a cherubic little thing. Alexander knelt, pulling the child into a tight hug. “Of course. Daddy promises.” The woman, Jessica, immediately knelt beside them, gently pulling the boy back. “Sweetie, you can’t be demanding. You’ll make things hard for your daddy.” A shadow of guilt flickered in Alexander’s eyes. The next second, he covered the child’s eyes with one hand and leaned in to kiss her. When they parted, a glistening thread connected their lips for a moment. “Jess,” he murmured, his voice thick, “you’re always so understanding.” “Don’t worry. As long as you stay hidden, as long as you don’t make a scene in front of my wife, I’ll take care of you.” His voice was a low rumble as he nuzzled his nose against hers. My heart seized in my chest. The positive pregnancy report in my hand crumpled as my fist clenched around it. Alexander and I had once been that tender, that passionate. I knew that look in his eyes. He was aroused. I should have thrown the door open right then. I should have screamed at him. “You said you broke it off with her! Why did you lie to me? Don’t you know? I’m pregnant, too!” But I didn’t. I turned in silence and walked away. I went back to our home in Westwood, as if I had never been there at all. One day passed. Then two, then three. Alexander didn’t come home on schedule like he usually did. It wasn’t until a week later that he finally appeared, looking tired from his travels. “Babe, did you miss me?” I just stared at him, searching his face for any crack in the facade. But his dark eyes reflected only me. He looked as if I was still his entire world. Then my gaze fell to his neck. There, on the pale skin, were two stark, crimson marks. I reached out, my fingertip lightly touching one of the marks. “Alexander, what’s this?” I asked softly. He stiffened, his eyes darting away. “Probably a bug bite…” “It’s spring,” I said, cutting him off. “An allergic reaction, then,” his voice grew steadier. “I was at the construction site, and the wind was kicking up all kinds of dust. You know how sensitive my skin is. The slightest thing makes it red.” He took my hand, his tone sincere, his eyes clear. But I didn’t believe him. I looked straight into his eyes. “Is there anything else you have to tell me?” Alexander had always adored children. He was the sole heir to the Prescott Group, the future of the family. Outside the walls of our life, his illegitimate half-brother was circling like a vulture, waiting for him to fail. He needed a child. And yet, he had defied all that pressure to marry me, a woman who struggled to conceive. He had been so devoted, so loyal. So I, in turn, offered myself up as a sacrifice. I had tried countless remedies to get pregnant. Cold needles, one after another, piercing my skin. The medicine was bitter, the injections agony. But while I was dreaming of nothing but a child… He already had one. Now, all I wanted was the truth. “Serena, I love you,” Alexander said, leaning down to kiss me lightly. “I love you so, so much. It’s carved into my bones.” 2 He was lying to me again. My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number. “Ms. Serena, since you already know, can you please give Alexander back to us? A child can’t grow up without a father. I’m begging you, just let us be a family.” It was followed by a picture of a ring. I instinctively touched my own bare ring finger. Our engagement ring. I must have dropped it by accident, right outside the door of their villa in Brookhaven. But the ring wasn’t the only thing I had lost. My hand, holding the phone, began to tremble uncontrollably. Seeing my expression, Alexander immediately tried to look at my screen. “Babe, what is it? Did someone… text you?” I locked the phone and looked up, meeting the poorly hidden anxiety in his eyes. “No one. It was what you just said. It makes me sick.” I forced a smile, my eyes swimming with tears. “You love me,” I scoffed, “but that didn't stop you from sleeping with someone else.” Pain flashed across Alexander’s face. He pulled me into a crushing hug. “I’m sorry, Serena. I know I hurt you. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, being good to you.” He thought I was talking about three years ago. I shoved him away and ran for the bathroom, doubling over the toilet and heaving until my stomach was empty. Alexander’s face went pale. “Serena, you’re thinking about it again.” He clutched his hair, looking utterly broken. “Can’t you just forget it? We decided to start over. Please, stop hurting yourself like this, stop torturing me with it.” He staggered towards me, reaching for my hand. “Let’s just move forward, okay?” I stared down at our joined hands. After I chose to forgive him, I could never stop my mind from wandering whenever we were intimate. His hands had touched that woman. His lips had kissed her. His body had been entangled with hers. The thought alone was nauseating. I was disgusted by his betrayal. But I was even more disgusted with myself for taking him back. Again and again, I would be sick. And he would jam his fingers down his own throat, forcing himself to be sick with me. Each time, he would end up a wreck, his eyes red and his face a mess, kneeling on the floor and clutching my hand. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault,” he’d plead, over and over. “Serena, forgive me. Please, stop thinking about it…” Just like he was doing now. He looked so pitiful. And so detestable. I ripped my hand from his grasp. “Don’t touch me. You’re filthy.” Ding. Buzz. Both our phones chimed at the same time. “Ms. Serena, you can’t have children, and you’re not getting any younger. How much longer can you hold on to your position as Mrs. Prescott? Why not leave with some dignity? His heart has been with me for a long time. Do you need proof?” In the next instant, Alexander gripped his phone tightly. “Serena, there’s an emergency at the Brookhaven office.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He turned, grabbing his jacket. “I have to go right away. You should get some rest.” He didn’t have time to soothe me. Because on the other end of the line, Jessica was pregnant again. And their child was crying his little heart out. “Mommy, don’t get rid of the baby sister! Daddy, come back!” 3 On my phone, a flood of new messages was pouring in. On my birthday, Jessica had a high fever. Alexander stayed with her in the hospital room all night, holding their son. When I went to the chapel on Serenity Peak to pray for a child, he was with her at the old cathedral in Brookhaven, praying for a protection charm for theirs. Last New Year’s Eve, I went to the family estate alone, enduring a lecture from his mother in the library. He was at their villa in Brookhaven, setting off fireworks with her. In every moment of my loneliness, Alexander chose her, betraying me. The opening riff of my ringtone, a heart-wrenching ballad, tore through the silence. It was my doctor. “Serena, your uterus was damaged in the past, and the lining is very thin. For the first trimester, you need absolute rest. No major emotional swings. Bed rest is best. This might be your… your last chance to be a mother.” I laid a hand on my still-flat stomach. It felt like the whole world was closing in on me. My body moved before my mind could think. I ran out the door after him. But all I saw was the taillights of his car disappearing down the street. My hand trembled as I dialed his number. After a few long rings, a robotic female voice answered. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is currently busy…” He had rejected my call. At the same time, Jessica sent one last screenshot. It was a message Alexander had just sent her. “Jess, I promise you, I will handle everything. When you have this baby, I’ll give you and our children a real home. Wait for me. I’m on my way.”
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