Chapter 1

The sound of typing on the other end of the line stopped abruptly.

Caleb Whitman fell silent for two seconds, then laughed.

"What's wrong? Do you want to have a baby with me now? Didn't we agree to wait until next year? If you really want one, I'll come back right now and make one with you."

His tone was suggestive and teasing, as if he were genuinely joking.

"Well, I suppose my turn's out of the question," I said.

I crumpled the food delivery receipt in my hand, then smoothed it out again as I said, "Haven't you already started taking care of a pregnant woman? You seemed really thoughtful when ordering meals for her."

A trace of panic crept into Caleb's voice, but he steadied himself quickly. "Darling, are you misunderstanding something? I ordered that for a female colleague. Her husband was away on a business trip, so he asked me for help."

I hung up before he could finish.

Less than half an hour later, Caleb burst through the door, drenched in sweat. "Darling," he said.

He was breathing heavily and hadn't even changed his shoes when he hurried toward me and pulled out his phone. "Look, this is Susan Collins from the finance department."

The screen was a little smudged from his sweaty hands, so he hastily wiped it with his sleeve.

"This is her husband. He's been abroad on a business trip for a month. Look! These messages show him asking for my help."

Sure enough, there were several messages in the chat history in which he asked for help. I glanced at it briefly and pushed the phone back to him.

"So what? I've never heard of a pregnant woman being unable to order her own food. She's pregnant, not disabled."

Caleb wiped the sweat from his forehead. "It was only for safety. She wanted the deliveryman to think that a man was ordering, so no one would know that her husband was away."

As he spoke, he suddenly raised his right hand. "I swear that nothing is going on between us. I'm completely innocent.

"If you don't believe me, come to the office with me tomorrow. I will have her explain everything in front of everyone."

I stared at him for a long time. A wave of bitterness welled up inside me. After ten years together, I knew that when he lied, he liked to retreat in order to advance. He swore oaths to make his lies sound convincing.

Yet I simply shook my head and said, "There's no need for that."

He wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Darling, you're the only person I'll ever love in this lifetime. From college until now, ten years have passed, and you're the only one in my heart."

His arms tightened around me, as if he were afraid that I might leave. Yet I felt no joy at all and couldn't fall asleep even late at night.

The next day, after Caleb left for work, I opened the delivery app and ordered a bouquet of 99 roses. After putting Caleb's name as the sender, I changed the delivery address to the apartment upstairs from his office.

Then, I sent a message to the deliveryman. "Please keep an eye on the recipient's reaction. I'll give you an extra 20 dollars for your trouble."

My phone vibrated. The deliveryman had sent me a video.

The video showed the door opening, and a woman in loose loungewear with a noticeably rounded belly taking the roses. "Thank you," she said.

As expected, she showed no surprise at seeing Caleb's name. Instead, she gently stroked her stomach and said, "Baby, look. Daddy sent flowers.

"When you're born, you have to love Mommy just like Daddy does, alright? Daddy loves us the most, doesn't he?"

The video ended there. I set the phone down with trembling hands.

My husband, whom I had spent ten years loving, had cheated on me. He even had a child with another woman. Meanwhile, I was a fool. I was completely in the dark, thinking that I was living a happy life.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and forced down the bitterness and pain in my chest. Since Caleb chose to betray me, he would have to bear the consequences.