Chapter 1

I was sitting on the couch when my wife, Celina Buckley, came home. My phone screen displayed the pregnancy test result I had screenshotted from the social media page of Leo Kolcheck, her fellow music student.

With her six-month belly leading the way, Celina's footsteps were a little slow and heavy, but a pleased smile curved her lips.

Out of habit, she glanced toward the shoe cabinet, clearly expecting me to take out her house slippers for her and hand her a glass of warm water.

But this time, I didn't move.

She froze for a second, then bent down to change her shoes herself. But her swollen belly made her movements clumsy.

Her fingers barely managed to reach the laces, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't untie them.

Watching her struggle, I felt an ache in my chest.

In the past, I would have crouched down without hesitation, helped her out of her shoes, run warm water so she could soak her feet, and even massaged her swollen ankles.

But today, my hands and feet felt shackled, like invisible chains were holding me in place.

She looked at me, a trace of confusion and hurt in her gaze. "Randall Cahill, what's wrong with you today?"

Previously, whenever she looked at me like that, I would always indulge her and handle everything for her.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I finally walked over, crouched down, and helped her into her slippers.

Maybe it was out of habit. Or maybe it was because the love was still there.

My silence finally made her sense that something was wrong.

"Babe, what's wrong?" she asked again. "You seem unhappy."

I didn't answer. I simply handed her my phone. On the screen was the pregnancy report and Leo's caption beneath it.

Her eyes fell on the display, and the smile on her face froze instantly, replaced by stunned silence and unease. Then, as if she'd quickly pieced together an excuse, she spoke carefully.

"Leo has always wanted a child of his own. You know that his wife never gave him any children before she passed away. He said he doesn't want to remarry in this lifetime, and randomly impregnating someone would be illegal.

"We studied under the same mentor, after all, so we know each other very well. Besides, over the years, our mentor has helped me out a great deal without asking for anything in return. This was the only thing she'd ever brought up to me, and I couldn't refuse.

"It's just IVF. Once the babies are born, I'll hand them over to Leo, and he'll raise them himself."

A bleak chill spread through me.

I suddenly remembered those first few days when I'd just learned that she was pregnant. I'd been so excited I couldn't sleep at all.

While thrilled, I'd also been worried she'd blame me for secretly poking holes in the condoms, and that she wouldn't want to keep the twins.

Later, when I saw that she seemed happy about the news, I assumed she'd finally come around and wanted children now.

I never imagined that this was all but an utterly terrible misunderstanding.

While I was secretly patting myself on the back for how clever I'd been, had she actually been letting out a quiet sigh of relief?

I let out a bitter laugh, feeling like the biggest fool of all.