Chapter 1

“Some women are born without a uterus,” the doctor said calmly. “But that’s not your case, Ms. Watson. Your uterus was surgically removed.”

Eve Watson’s mind went blank. Five years ago, she had only undergone one surgery. That was the procedure to insert an IUD—and her husband, Sean Baker, had accompanied her the entire time.

An IUD insertion did not require general anesthesia. However, Sean had been worried she might feel pain, so he used his status and influence to pressure the hospital into giving her the most expensive full anesthesia available. Could her uterus have been removed during that surgery?

That was impossible. Sean had been waiting outside the operating room the whole time. The hospital would never do such a thing.

Eve was still reeling when a sharp, angry voice suddenly rang out not far away. It was her sister-in-law, Cindy Baker.

“Sean, you’ve gone too far. Bringing those two illegitimate children home was bad enough. Now you want to bring Mandy Smith back as well? Are you planning to carry on the affair right under Eve’s nose?”

“Watch your words, Cindy,” Sean replied coldly, his face dark. “Affair? Mandy and I aren’t like that. She saved my life. I’m just repaying her kindness.”

“Oh, please,” Cindy sneered. “Repaying her kindness by having her give birth to a set of twins? Sean, don’t be such a jerk. Where are your principles?”

“I didn’t want them either,” Sean snapped. “But her father was gravely ill back then. Before he died, his only wish was to see Mandy married and with children. I owed her my life. Giving her a child was the least I could do to repay that debt. I had no choice.”

“No choice?” Cindy’s voice rose. “So that’s why you secretly married Mandy behind Eve’s back? And after the wedding, you tricked Eve into getting an IUD, then took the opportunity to have her uterus removed?”

The words struck Eve like a bolt of lightning. Her vision went dark, and she stumbled, almost collapsing.

So the person who ordered her uterus to be removed… was her own husband?

“Eve has a low pain tolerance,” Sean continued. “Childbirth is too cruel, and I couldn’t bear to put her through that. Besides, when we went for the checkup, the doctor said she had uterine fibroids. If they weren’t removed, her life could’ve been in danger. Isn’t everything perfect now? Mandy gave birth to twins, and now the Baker family has heirs. Eve doesn’t have to suffer through childbirth, and her life is no longer at risk.

“As for Mandy… she’s terminally ill. She doesn’t have much time left. After all, she has given me a son and a daughter. I can’t bear for her to die alone. That is why I want to bring her home and accompany her through her final days.”

Sean even looked pleased with himself.

“What I did may seem outrageous,” he said, “but in the end, it benefits everyone. Just don’t let it slip, Cindy. She only has one week left. After that, everything will be over.”

Eve did not know how she made it home. She felt so cold. The house that had once been warm now felt like an ice cellar. Everywhere she looked were memories of her and Sean. She had always believed he was the man who loved her most in this world.

They had kissed beneath the northern lights; they had held hands and skydived from ten thousand feet in the air; they had embraced in the deep sea, watching the stars of the ocean floor together.

Sean was the heir to an influential and wealthy family. His status should never have allowed him to do such extreme things, but she liked them, and so he did them all with her.

“For you, even dying in an accident would be worth it,” he had once whispered as he held her tightly. “As long as you’re by my side, I’d die without regret. You’re the only woman I will ever love in this lifetime.”

Those vows, once so sincere, now felt rotten—molded beyond recognition.

Eve broke down. She could no longer bring herself to stay in a house filled with lies and false memories. She lit the fireplace, then one by one, threw every reminder of their past into the flames.

As the fire burned, the front door suddenly opened. Sean came back, and with him was Mandy, pale and fragile, dressed in a hospital gown.

“Eve, this is Mandy,” Sean said smoothly, not even glancing at what she was burning. His smile was gentle, his lies effortless. “You know her. She’s my mentor’s daughter, but my mentor and his wife have both passed away, leaving Mandy all alone now. And she has late-stage lymphoma… She doesn’t have much time left, and I couldn’t bear to leave her by herself in the hospital, so I brought her home to recover.

“Don’t worry,” he added quickly. “I’ve hired a caregiver to look after her. You won’t have to do anything. You can even pretend she doesn’t exist.”

Every word made it clear that he had made the decision. He never intended to discuss it with Eve.

“Okay,” Eve said softly.

She tossed the last photograph into the fire. It curled, blackened, and turned to ash, just like her marriage to Sean.