Chapter 1

“Vivian, Damian’s probably just overwhelmed with work.

“When he gets back, I’ll talk to him and make sure he apologizes.”

Mrs. Carter didn’t even look up. All her attention remained on the manicure she was getting.

As far as she was concerned, it didn’t matter how upset I became. I was already pregnant.

If anything, she seemed pleased that Sophie was around.

After all, Sophie had started calling her “Mom” long before I ever had.

As his fiancée, I was probably nothing more than someone expected to give the Carter family an heir.

A bitter smile touched my lips as I quietly turned to leave.

“I’ve decided to step aside and let Damian be with Sophie.”

Mrs. Carter didn’t notice me leaving.

She hadn’t even listened to what I said.

“Vivian, Damian is the CEO of a big company. Sometimes business requires him to flirt and play along.

“Everything he does is for the future you’re building together.

“You need to be more understanding. Even if Sophie disappears, there’ll always be another woman. If you get angry every time, you’ll only ruin your health.

“Besides, you’re pregnant now. Who else would want you but Damian?

“Trust me. I’ve been through all this before.”

She continued talking to herself long after I had left the villa.

I rested a hand gently on my stomach.

Because I was pregnant, they thought they could treat me however they wanted.

They believed the baby had tethered me to them like a kite on a string. No matter how hard I struggled, I could never escape their grasp.

But I was about to cut that string for good.

When I got home, I lay in bed and cried until I eventually fell asleep.

Sometime later, Damian returned.

Still half asleep, I felt him pull me into his arms. Then he fastened a necklace around my neck.

“A wedding gift. Do you like it?”

I looked down.

I had to admit, the necklace he’d bought in Paris was beautiful.

If I hadn’t already seen it on Sophie’s social media, I might’ve been thrilled.

But Sophie had posted six necklaces.

Damian had given me the cheapest one, the one she’d liked least.

In the comments beneath her post, Sophie had written:

“This $180,000 necklace was just a free gift that came with The Blue Lover. I would’ve thrown it away if Damian hadn’t told me to keep it.”

The necklace around my neck was nothing more than a freebie that had come with a designer masterpiece worth over ten million dollars.

I quietly took it off.

“You even remembered to bring home Sophie’s freebie for me. How thoughtful.”

Damian stiffened behind me, and his voice turned cold.

“It was all for show. Why are you being so petty?”

I answered flatly, “You don’t have to go to so much trouble. What you do has nothing to do with me.”

His temper flared.

“We’re about to get married, and you’re still determined to make a scene?

“Do you even want this wedding anymore?”

Before I got pregnant, Damian would never have dared speak to me that way.

But now his meaning was obvious.

I was pregnant, so I should behave.

No one else would want me anyway.

Anger rose in my throat. I was about to tell him the truth when he stormed out and slammed the door so hard the sound shook the room.

The next morning, I woke to find Damian already sitting beside the bed.