Chapter 1

"It's just a fake divorce. Be good and sign the divorce papers!"

Tabitha Rhodes had just stepped through the door and hadn't even had time to change her shoes when Jordan Gill's all-too-familiar voice rang out.

She looked up and saw her husband, who hadn't been home for over half a year, lounging on the couch with a pregnant woman tucked in his arms. An unlit cigarette dangled between his fingers as he twirled it casually.

The living room was packed with bodyguards in black suits. On the coffee table lay the divorce agreement that Jordan had just tossed down.

"Carrie's pregnant. My kid isn't going to be some dirty little secret, and a Gill heir sure as hell isn't gonna be born without a name or title. Once she has the baby, you and I will get remarried," he said.

Tabitha's mind went blank for a second. She instinctively glanced at Caroline Sutton, the young woman sitting beside him, her gaze settling on the slight swell of her belly.

So Jordan wanted to divorce her, marry Caroline so they could "legitimately" have the baby, and then remarry her after?

He made it sound like he was doing her some huge favor.

At her silence, Jordan got up and walked toward her, his tone mocking. "After we remarry, the kid will be known as yours. You can raise it. It's not like you can have one yourself anyway."

Tabitha stared at him, that last sentence echoing uncontrollably in her head. It felt like someone had driven a knife straight into her heart, the pain flooding through her veins and into every inch of her body.

She had an almost obsessive need for loyalty in a relationship. Forget raising the product of Jordan's cheating—at this point, just looking at him made her so disgusted that she couldn't help shaking.

But what right did she have to complain when she owed him so much?

Three years ago, the day they registered their marriage just so happened to be her birthday. Jordan's mother, Helena Green, and grandmother, Margaret Tate, had booked out an entire restaurant to celebrate the occasion.

She never expected the "surprise" to turn into a nightmare she could never undo.

The three of them were abducted. Helena and Margaret had fought with everything they had to help Tabitha escape, but when the cruise ship exploded, there weren't even any bodies left to bury.

After it all happened, Tabitha had no idea how to face the Gill family, much less Jordan. Leaving him was too hard, but facing him took more courage than she had.

The Gill family patriarch, Arnold Gill, never blamed her. He remained as gentle and kind as ever, which only deepened her guilt. Because of that, she'd poured all that debt and self-reproach into Jordan, bending over backward for him and never drawing a line.

Soon enough, everyone in their social circle said she was Jordan's most obedient, loyal little lapdog.

Tabitha balled her hands into tight fists, her nails digging into her palms. The sharp sting finally jolted her out of the fog that had shrouded her mind for three years.

If Jordan wanted to chase his own happiness, she would let him go. She could get divorced, she could look after his mistress, and she could even help care for their child—but she refused to do any of that as his wife. That was her bottom line.

"I can—" Tabitha started, wanting to say she could sign the divorce papers, but there was no chance they'd get remarried. Unfortunately, she was interrupted.

"Tabitha, please don't get into a fight with Joe. I swear I'm not trying to break you two up—I just don't want my child to end up a bastard."

Before Tabitha or Jordan realized what was happening, Caroline dropped to her knees in front of Tabitha with a loud thud. She tugged on the hem of Tabitha's skirt and wept daintily.

"Don't blame Joe for this. Come at me if you're mad; I'm the one who shamelessly seduced him. I'm begging you—if you'll just give him to me for ten months… No, six months is enough… Just until I give birth. After that, I promise I'll never show up in his and the baby's lives ever again."

Tabitha and Jordan clearly hadn't noticed what she was doing and were both startled.

Once Jordan snapped out of it, he hurriedly helped Caroline up and looked her over. "Carrie, why are you kneeling in front of her? She isn't worthy of such respect."

"We're the ones who did wrong by Tabitha. I don't care if my knees give out as long as I can safely give birth to our baby."

As Tabitha watched Caroline weep prettily in Jordan's arms like some fragile, weak damsel, she felt—for the first time in her life—truly pathetic.

From how lovey-dovey they were acting, anyone who walked in right now would probably assume that she, the lawfully wedded wife, was the homewrecker who'd barged in and stolen another woman's man.

"This isn't necessary. Give me the pen. I'll sign the divorce papers." Tabitha's voice was unnervingly calm.

Jordan hadn't expected her to agree to the divorce—and so easily. For some reason, it pissed him off.

Why wasn't she throwing a fit? Was she that eager to leave him?

He let go of Caroline and closed in on Tabitha again. He slowly crushed the cigarette in his hand, then tossed it into the trash can beside him.

His hand clamped down on her chin, like he meant to grind her jawbone to dust. "Do you already have someone else lined up? Is that why you agreed so readily?"

Tabitha looked at him like a soulless machine and repeated, "Jordan, I'll sign the divorce papers."

He ground his teeth so hard they almost creaked. How could she say that so calmly?

"Joe, the baby's hungry. Can we eat first?" Caroline leaned into him, her body pliant and soft.

Only then did Jordan snap out of his trance and realize what he was doing. He jerked his hand away from Tabitha as if he'd just touched something filthy.

Her skin was already pale to begin with, and now several angry red marks stood out where he'd grabbed her. He forced himself to look away.

"Yeah. Of course." His voice softened automatically when he spoke to Caroline.

She clung to his arm with easy intimacy, then smiled over at Tabitha. "Tabitha, Joe says nothing beats a good meal. Let's get some food in us first, then we can talk."

With that, she stopped paying Tabitha any mind and practically skipped her way toward the dining table, her arm looped through Jordan's.

Tabitha dug her nails into her palms until they broke the skin as she watched them. It felt like someone had carved a chunk out of her heart. For a second, she didn't know whether to follow them or go upstairs.

"Tabitha, come eat with us. We can talk while we eat." Caroline's lips were still curved in a gentle, harmless smile, but it made Tabitha's skin crawl for reasons she couldn't quite name.

No matter how Tabitha looked at it, the three of them sitting at the same table right now was all kinds of wrong. She said, "I'll head upstairs for now. Call me when you're done."

Caroline felt downright gleeful when she saw what a pushover Tabitha was. The real show was still to come; of course she wasn't about to let Tabitha slip away.

She lifted her gaze to Jordan, her eyes shining with feigned hurt, as if she wanted to say something but didn't dare.

Jordan's expression instantly darkened. "Get your ass over here and eat. Are you deaf?"