Chapter 1

It was dark out by the time Maeva Pearson got home. She pushed open the master bedroom door to find a man's clothes and belt scattered across the bed. The sound of running water came from the bathroom.

David Cavendish was in the shower.

Maeva lowered her eyes to the prenatal test report in her hand. She was pregnant with twins.

When the doctor confirmed it, her first thought was that maybe, with these babies, she could keep David by her side and save this crumbling marriage.

But the next second, the doctor told her that one of the embryos had no heartbeat and would need to be removed. Maeva immediately said they should terminate the embryo without a heartbeat and do everything to protect the healthy one.

However, the surgery required signatures from both husband and wife. Without both, it couldn't be done. She couldn't make this decision alone.

The bathroom door creaked open, and David walked out. He had only a white towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was damp, and water still beaded on his skin. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and sharply defined muscles. It was raw, unfiltered sex appeal.

He acted as if he didn't see her at all. He walked straight past her and into the walk-in closet to get his pajamas.

Maeva had never really existed in his eyes. She was used to it. She followed him in. "I need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you, too." His voice was cool and distant, carrying that familiar chill and detachment.

Maeva tightened her grip on the test report. She bit her lip. "You go first."

David didn't hesitate for even a second. "Ally will come home soon."

Maeva swayed slightly where she stood. The woman he loved most was coming back to Dovia, the country they lived in… That meant there would no longer be any space for her by his side. She would have to clear out and make room.

David turned to give her a sharp look. "So, you know what you're supposed to do, Maeva."

Even after five years of marriage, she hadn't managed to warm his heart. She heard herself ask, "When it comes down to the two of us, you'll always choose her, no matter what?"

The corner of his mouth lifted in a mocking smile. "You think you're even worthy of being compared to Ally?"

Maeva's face paled slightly. Her lashes trembled as she asked, "What unforgivable thing did I ever do to make you hate me this much? I'm your lawfully wedded wife, David."

"You know perfectly well how that came to be. And you know even better how you ended up in my bed!"

Normally, he barely spoke to her at all. He was an expert at giving her the silent treatment. He was even better at cutting her up with a thousand soft, invisible blades.

Only when talking about their marriage did he look at her with such contempt and disgust, his tone full of blame and anger. Because Maeva had stolen the place he'd reserved for Alaina Fulton.

Maeva drew in a steadying breath. "The engagement was arranged when we were kids. As for ending up in bed with you… I really don't know what happened."

David had never touched her after they'd gotten married. Her womb had stayed empty. His grandmother, Linda Bronson, had panicked and done heaven-knew-what to somehow force them to finally consummate the marriage.

All Maeva remembered was waking up completely naked in David's arms. And when he woke, he'd grabbed her by the throat without a word. No matter how she tried to explain, he never believed her.

That was the night she'd conceived. One try, and she'd gotten knocked up. She was ridiculously fertile, wasn't she?

David let out a cold, humorless laugh as he slipped on his silk pajamas. He asked in a low voice, "Didn't you have something to say to me?"

As he walked past her, he caught sight of the paper clenched in her hand. He only cast it a careless glance, clearly uninterested in what it was.

He walked over to the window and lit a cigarette, holding it between his fingers.

Maeva stared at his back. "If we were to have a child…"

David cut her off, already impatient. "Are you seriously thinking of using a baby to tie me down, Maeva? Sleeping with me wasn't enough for you—you're getting greedier now. I honestly didn't realize you were this scheming."

He flicked the ash off his cigarette. "You've played the good, devoted wife for five years, but you can't keep up the act anymore, huh? You're finally showing your true colors."

Maeva tried her best to keep her voice steady as she stubbornly asked one last question. "Because you hate me so much, you'd hate any child I had for you, too, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." David didn't even hesitate.

Maeva could almost hear her heart crack apart, piece by piece. Her entire youth and five years of love and devotion to David turned to dust in an instant.

They were childhood sweethearts and husband and wife, or so she'd thought. It turned out it had always been a one-woman show and a joke that only she had fought to keep going.

His hate for her extended to everything else associated with her. He despised her, so he would hate the children she could bear for him.

On the flip side, his love for Alaina covered everything linked to her. Because he adored Alaina, her family had gained various benefits over the years and was thriving in Berdona City.

Maeva finally got it. She truly, completely got it.

She lifted the report in her hand, took a deep breath, and said, "This is the divorce agreement, David."

He stiffened for a moment, then turned and looked at her. She was the one bringing up divorce? How unexpected.

"I'm letting go. I don't want to love you anymore," she said. "The clauses are already written up. I was just about to give it to you. But…"

Maeva trailed off. Suddenly, she began tearing the paper. The sound of ripping filled the bedroom.

David frowned. Had she lost it?

Maeva shredded the prenatal test report into tiny pieces and tossed them into the air. The scraps fluttered down between them.

David narrowed his eyes. "You changed your mind? You don't want the divorce anymore?"

"No," she said. "I'm changing the clauses. I'm going to draft a new agreement."

"What do you want?"

"Money."

She wanted lots and lots of money—enough to guarantee that she and her surviving child would live comfortably for the rest of their lives. She wasn't going to walk away with nothing.

She didn't owe David anything. Everything she decided to demand from him was exactly what she deserved. In both love and marriage, she could cross her heart and say that she had done right by him in every possible way. But honestly, if it were just her alone, Maeva could have walked away with nothing.

David would never know that in that moment, what she'd torn to pieces was his right to call himself a father.

Now, what Maeva needed to do was get his signature on both the divorce papers and the surgical consent form at the same time. She wouldn't tell him she was carrying his children.

One didn't even have a heartbeat… For any mother, hearing that was agony. And yet, she could only face it alone and force herself to stay strong.

"Ha." David sneered, contempt twisting his features. "Once you take the money, you'd better get out of my life for good, Maeva. And another thing—you're going to tell my family yourself that you're the one asking for the divorce."

"Fine." She nodded.

She was being so cooperative. Aside from the money, she wasn't asking for anything else. David was a little surprised, truth be told. He'd assumed she would cling to him, make a scene, and demand answers. Instead… she was calm. Detached, even.

Something felt off.

A restless irritation rose in his chest. He took a few hard drags on his cigarette and tamped it down. "Don't try to pull anything funny."

If David were being honest, he'd almost gotten used to having Maeva around after five years.

She'd played her role as his wife flawlessly, almost impossibly so. She could handle any formal occasion with grace and charm, and she'd managed their interpersonal relationships perfectly. At home, she was gentle and compliant, keeping everything running like clockwork.

But the one mistake she'd made was scheming to get him into bed and forcing that long-delayed consummation of marriage on him. His feelings toward her had instantly swung to disgust.

Because of her, he would always owe Alaina.

"Go on, then. What else do you want?" David stubbed out his cigarette. "Spit it out."

Maeva held up one finger. "Just one last request."

He snorted. "I knew it."

There was no way she would be that easy to get rid of. Of course, she had one last card to play.

Maeva blinked slowly, taking in the man she had loved for so many years. She had been with him from awkward adolescence to polished adulthood, from their school days until marriage.

Now, he stood at the top, powerful and untouchable, yet there had never been room for her in his heart. A one-sided love like hers was never going to end well.

She said, "Let's have some cake together to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary."

David froze. Was it their wedding anniversary that day?