CHAPTER 3

Alice

Sometimes I caught myself imagining a totally different life—one where I was healthy, where Charles still looked at me the way he did when we first got married, and where I wasn't hiding medical records or counting pills.

I was just arranging the medical report inside my drawer when heavy footsteps sounded behind me.

I shoved the drawer shut and locked it just as Charles walked past the half-open door, his cold gaze sweeping over me before he continued down the corridor without a word.

​I sank against the cold wood of the dresser, clutching my chest. Once upon a time, I would have prayed for him to turn back, pull me into his arms, and ask me what was wrong. But that loving husband had gone years ago. Now, all that remained between us was silence and secrets.

A sharp knock sounded on the bedroom door.

“Mrs. Reynolds?” the maid called out. “The driver is waiting for you and Mr. Reynolds.”

Right. The annual corporate gala. I had completely forgotten.

I wiped my wet cheeks and caught my reflection in the mirror. The woman staring back looked exhausted, with dark circles that makeup could no longer hide. I touched my stomach gently, forcing a breath.

“Let’s get through one more day.”

The banquet hall was blindingly bright, filled with executives holding champagne glasses and laughing like they had never known pain a day in their lives.

Charles stood near the entrance in a tailored suit, looking distant and formal. When I walked up to stand beside him as his wife, he barely acknowledged me, his attention already elsewhere.

Then, Carolyn arrived.

She walked into the hall wearing a skin-tight red dress that left very little to the imagination. Spotting us from across the room, she made her way over with that flawless, practiced smile.

“Charles,” she purred.

He turned, his eyes brightening instantly. “You made it.”

My chest tightened. He invited her?

“I said I would.” She laughed softly before turning her gaze onto me. “Good evening, Alice. You look beautiful tonight.”

I wanted to scream bloody murder and call her a liar at the top of my voice, but I just forced out a quiet, “Thank you. You too.”

She smiled wider and something about the way she said it made my skin itch with something bad. “You’re so kind.”

Before I could say anything again, one of the primary company directors approached us.

“Charles, we’d like to introduce you to the foreign investors.”

Charles nodded. “I’ll be right there.”

I took a small step forward to walk with my husband, but Carolyn glued herself to his side first, attempting to slide her arm through his.

The director looked between the three of us briefly. “Miss Carnegie, you should join us as well.”

Charles didn’t object. Not once did he look back at me, nor did he say, “My wife is coming too.”

They just walked away together while I stood exactly where they had left me. If looks could kill, Carolyn would be six feet under right now.

It didn’t help that just across the room, as Carolyn stood comfortably beside him, laughing at something one of them had said, she reached up and kissed Charles on the cheek.

It was no accident—she did it boldly, right in front of everyone. And the worst part? Charles didn’t pull her away. Charles didn't push her away. He just smiled and offered a low, teasing reprimand.

The fake smile on my face died before I even realized it. I couldn't breathe in that room anymore. Turning on my heel, I grabbed my handbag and walked out into the cold night.

When I woke up the next morning, something felt wrong immediately.

There was noise coming from the hallway, along with a row of high-end designer suitcases and a pair of women's shoes that definitely wasn’t mine sitting there.

My heart began to hammer erratically. “What’s going on?” I asked a passing maid.

The maid hesitated, avoiding my eyes. “Miss Carolyn moved in this morning.”

My blood ran cold. “What did you say?”

“Mr. Reynolds ordered us to prepare the East Wing for her.”

Moved in? Into my home?

Before I could even wrap my head around it, sweet laughter echoed from the living room as Carolyn stepped out. Dressed in a loose white silk dress with her long hair draped over her shoulders, she looked completely at home.

“Alice!” she called out happily. “You’re finally awake. I was getting worried.”

Worried? I stared at her without answering.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said, stepping closer. “Charles said staying here would be better for the baby. My doctor wants me to avoid stress, so everyone agreed this was the safest place.”

Everyone except his actual wife.

She reached out to touch my arm, but I yanked my hand back before she could touch me. Her smile didn’t even shift.

“I know this must feel strange,” she said smoothly, lowering her voice. “But we’re both important to Charles in different ways. I’m not here to replace you, Alice. You’ll always be Mrs. Reynolds.”

I almost laughed.

Then, her eyes swept slowly down my body, her smile twisting into something cruel.

“I guess Charles just has different tastes when it comes to who carries his children,” she whispered. “I was just even teasing him earlier that he prefers a woman with an hourglass figure instead of… well… chubby.”

​I didn’t flinch. I stepped closer until Carolyn’s smug smile faltered under my dead gaze.

​“You’re carrying a surrogate pregnancy in my guest wing, Carolyn,” I asserted. “Enjoy the silk robes and the comfortable bed. But don’t confuse Charles using your body for an heir with him respecting you as a wife. When this is over, you’re still just the doctor he hired.”

​Carolyn’s brows furrowed, her lips opening and closing without a sound.

​

Without giving her the satisfaction of a response, I turned on my heel and walked back to my room with my head held high.

I needed my medication. Now.

I scrambled over to my nightstand and pulled out the bottles.

Panic ran through my spine.

One bottle had only two tablets left. Another was completely empty. The smallest bottle would probably last a week if I skipped doses—something the doctor had explicitly warned me never to do.

None of it was enough.

Carolyn managed our health insurance now, so every medication refill required her sign-off. I couldn't hand her that kind of power or let my own body become her trap.

Because of that, Charles would never find out about this baby. Whether I filed for divorce or walked out with nothing, I couldn't stay in this house a second longer.

​If I left right now… where was I even supposed to go?

Suddenly, the walls swam around me, and my fingers lost their grip on the pill bottles, sending them rolling across the floor.

My knees became weak and I collapsed onto the edge of the bed, holding my head in my hands as a dark, terrifying dizziness swallowed me whole.

How was I supposed to keep my baby alive for nine months when I couldn't even survive the week?

Once my symptoms subsided, I picked up my phone to call Wayne. He was the childhood friend who brought me flowers when my parents were too busy to notice I existed—and who still looked at me with a warmth Charles never had.

He talked about his travels, and for a few hours, I confided in him about Charles's mistress, Carolyn, and my plan to leave before my bump began to show.

Right after I hung up, a notification popped up on my phone. The prescription that my family health insurance had blocked was suddenly cleared, approved under a new individual policy, and paid in full.

My heart skipped a beat. I hadn't asked anyone for help, and I hadn't mentioned the prescription issue to a single person—except Charles.

​Could it have been Charles?

​About half an hour later, my phone rang. The screen displayed an unlisted, black-tier caller ID.

​I answered, holding my breath. “Hello?”

​

“I’m standing outside the East Gate,” Wayne said, rain tapping against his car window in the background. “I found you a health insurance plan and covered the first payment. Did you really think you could suffer in that cage without me noticing?”

Stunned, I walked toward the balcony window, swallowing past the sudden lump in my throat. Through the downpour, a sleek black Maybach sat idling by the gates.

​Questions flooded my mind. How did he know our family insurance was blocked in the first place? More importantly... How could someone like him get access to medical networks so easily?

For the first time in months, a genuine smile reached my lips when our eyes met through the glass. But reality hit just as quickly.

​“Wayne, I’m still married. You shouldn’t be here—”

​“I don’t give a damn about Charles Reynolds or his ring,” Wayne interrupted, his voice dropping low. “I care that you look like a shadow of the girl I left behind. Pack what you need, Alice. When you’re ready to step out of his shadow, my doors are open.”