Chapter 1

Third POV

“Doctor, what is wrong with me?” Ivana asked the doctor as the doctor approached her with the test result in hand. 

Ivana was pretty tense. She passed out on set during a film shoot and she couldn't help but be scared of what could possibly be the reason. As an A list actress, she was always on the spotlight and flawless, so this came as a shock to everyone around. 

“Mrs. Derrick, there's nothing to worry about. You’re not sick.” The doctor assured her. 

“Then why did I pass out on set? That has never happened to me before.” She argued. “Well, you're pregnant with twins.” The doctor finally revealed, handing her the test result.

Ivana's dampened demeanor brightened at once. “What?” She yelled out. “I'm what?” 

Then the tears came. She sniffled, trying to hold back tears of joy as she stared at the test result on the medical result sheet. A tear dropped on the paper which she gently dipped in her finger. 

“Is this for real?” She asked. “This can't be a prank.” 

“Well, if it were a movie, it would be. This is real ma'am. You're really pregnant.” The doctor said one more time. 

She had been married for almost three years to her husband, who is a billionaire real estate CEO, without a child. He always disregarded her, calling her infertile because she couldn't take in. Even when the doctors said there she had a minor fertility issue which could be corrected. 

This was the best news she received yet and she was confident that all the sufferings and emotional stress she went through for three years would finally end.

She had endured a lot of insults and abuses from Rowley, even being called a man by him and his family. The most annoying part was that she had to maintain a smile when she got outside because she was a popular figure and didn't want the world to know what she was facing. 

Today was their fifth anniversary and she had for a long time thought of what to give him as an anniversary present when they met for their anniversary date later in the evening. Revealing this news to him would have to be the best present yet. 

She left the hospital, smiling so wide and walked to her car where her driver was already waiting for her. 

“Are they done ma'am?” The driver asked. “Yes, we can go back to the set now.” He said to the driver. 

The driver was confused. She was brought to the hospital looking very sad, but came out happy. He wondered what happened there.  As a worker though. He was only allowed to ask so many questions, so he kept his peace. 

She sat at the back seat, looking out at the skies, thinking about how luck had shone on her and she was finally getting what she desired the most. 

As requested, she was taken back to the set and insisted on them hurrying things up. She didn't want to tell them yet, that it was because she was having a baby and needed to shoot everything before the baby bump gets to show. She wanted her husband to be the first to know. 

She tried calling him in the evening, when the day's work was over so they could go for their dinner date, which they usually did every anniversary. 

The problem was that he wasn't answering his phone. She guessed he would be in his office in his favorite hotel. Even when he owned estates which he leased out to top people, hotels and bars, he had to choose his office to be in a luxury hotel, one of his, so there, Ivana went to announce this good news. 

“Is my husband around?” She asked the receptionist at the ground floor of the hotel. 

“No ma'am, he isn't. He left quite early today.” The receptionist responded. 

Ivana was quite disappointed. At the same time, there was only one place he could be. That was his second house, where he spent most of his time. 

His disgust for Ivana made him neglect her. He rarely visited her in their marital home and never let her visit him. It was as if she was living alone and getting married to herself. She normally wouldn't go, but since he wasn't answering her call and wasn't in the office, she had no other option. 

It was a journey of an hour and then she arrived, first meeting with the lady in waiting on the ground floor. 

“Ivana is here to see you, sir.” His house mistress told him after Ivana arrived at the scene. 

“Huh? Why is she here?” He asked the old lady. 

“She says she has very critical news, you should let her in.”

Rowley sighed, but his eyes suddenly glanced at the documents just sent by the lawyer, and his tone changed. “Let her in.” 

The mistress ordered for her to be allowed inside and she entered, heading straight to his bedroom. “Honey,” she called out. She was shocked to see him on the bed, doing nothing and his phone by his side. It meant he purposely chose to ignore her. 

He frowned when he saw her enter, like something dirty or disgusting had just made its way into his room. 

She took her time to observe the bedroom from the smell and scenery, she could tell that he housed another woman. She suspected it heavily, but chose not to say anything. She was there for something better and didn't want any other thing coming in her way. 

“Why are you here?” His voice came out really harsh, just like always.

“I'm here because I called you several times and you weren't picking. I even went to your office at the hotel.” She then paused and sniffed around. “Who's here with you in this house?” 

“Who will it be other than your young divorced stepmom, she just went into the bathroom.” 

Upon hearing this, Ivana’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why is she going to have a bath when it's so cold here and why are you sweating? Since she quitted the marriage with my dad, she has been so close to you.” 

“What's going on here?” She raised her voice in anger but seeing Rowley rise up with bloodshot eyes, she maintained a sudden peace but her face was still twisted in a frown. Rowley walked up to her, grabbing up her chin and jerking her face up violently. 

“Have you forgotten who Alicia is? She can sue you for false allegations?” He sneered, turning back and slowly walking to his seat. Ivana stood there, puzzled and sunk in despair. She knew that something fishy might be going on between them but if she could release this news, perhaps everything will return to normal. 

She returned to her former mode. 

“I'm sorry hun. It's a misunderstanding.” She toned her voice, forcing a smile on her face but Rowley wasn't even looking at her. 

“Say what you want to say. If you have nothing, you get out of here.” He barked at her, but she gulped down saliva, choosing to endure. 

The smile on her face faded but she managed to gather some strength to say what was in her mind. “I wish his mood changes after announcing this,” she muttered inside of her. 

“We're supposed to go on a dinner date today. It's our anniversary.” She told him. 

“Oh, that.” He said as he just remembered. As you can see, I'm busy.” He replied to her. 

“This doesn't look busy to me.” She said to him, “Well, if you're not going to go on a date like we always do, I might as well hand you the gift I brought. I promise you'll love it!” 

She moved closer to him and pulled out a fancy parcel from her bag, handing it over to him. 

“What’s this?”

“It’s a surprise, you have to open it and go through it yourself,” she said, smiling in anticipation.

The parcel contained the medical result sheet from the hospital, she just decided to add a piece of suspense by putting it in a parcel. As an actress, she couldn't help but be dramatic most of the time. 

Rowley sighed, indifferent. Deep down, he was curious about what was inside, so he opened it. On seeing that it was a paper, he got more angry. 

“What the hell is this?” He asked her. 

“Open it!” 

“You must be a joke!” He yelled at her, tearing the paper immediately and throwing the pieces at her. 

Ivana shrieked, raising her brows in horror. This felt unreal. 

“Did you just tear that paper?” 

"Seriously, aren't you past the age of trying to dazzle me with flashy gimmicks? You know exactly what I'm craving, and let's face it, you're not worth it. It's got me wondering... what was I thinking when I said 'I do'?”