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Cassienne walked out of Dr. Zach’s office, holding the small prescription paper in her hand. She felt tired and a little dizzy, and all she wanted was to get home and crawl into bed. She headed toward the elevator, but just as she was about to step inside, a familiar voice drifted down the hallway.

That voice. She could never mistake it for another. It was her husband. Dreston Tremont.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Dreston’s tall, straight figure standing out among the people in the corridor, his arm wrapped around a slim woman beside him. As they walked, the woman looked up at him, revealing her face. It was Tina Arcley—his ex-girlfriend.

“Did you see that guy? He is so handsome. I feel like I'm on fire just looking at him.”

“Don’t even think about it. He’s here with his wife.”

Two nearby nurses whispered about them. Meanwhile, Dreston and Tina smiled at each other, looking effortlessly perfect together.

Cassienne couldn’t remember him ever smiling at her like that—not with that soft, loving look he was giving Tina. And he wasn’t alone. Someone else stood with them—a doctor.

“Remember to rest well,” the doctor said gently. “Since you’re still at the early stage of your pregnancy, you shouldn’t do any vigorous work. I hope you understand?”

Pregnant?

Cassienne’s breath caught. Her hand flew to her mouth.

“Your wife’s mood will be affected by pregnancy hormones,” the doctor continued. “As the baby’s father, you should take her out into nature more often. It will help her stay in a good mood.”

Cassienne struggled to stifle the gasp building in her throat. Shock rippled through her, blurring her vision.

“I’ll see to that, Doctor,” Dreston replied, sounding protective. “I’ll make sure she gets all the rest she needs.”

Through her blurred vision, Cassienne saw them as they began to turn in her direction. Panic rushed through her, and she quickly slipped behind a nearby pillar, pressing her back against the cool stone. Her heart hammered so loudly she feared they would hear it. She peeked out just enough to see Deston’s hand resting at the small of Tina’s back, guiding her with a tenderness he had never shown Cassienne.

He led Tina toward the elevator, his body angled as if shielding her—like she was the most precious thing in his world.

Cassienne pressed herself tighter against the pillar, doing everything she could to make herself invisible.

They moved closer—close enough for her to hear their breaths. Close enough for her to see the tenderness in his eyes when he looked at Tina.

She tried to steady her breathing. She tried to stay calm. She tried to do what she had been forced to master over the past five years—swallow the pain and pretend she could bear it.

This was the price of her own foolish decision, the mistake she made five years ago when Dreston’s parents had approached her in desperation. They needed him married—for the sake of the family’s image.

Tina wasn’t an option. His parents never approved of her. So they turned to Cassienne—the girl who had loved him since childhood, the foolish girl who loved him quietly and secretly, even as a friend.

She had signed the contract without hesitation, agreeing to pretend to be his wife for five years. In her naïve heart, she believed that living with him, sharing his days and nights, might awaken something in him. That he might learn to love her the way she loved him.

They had been close once, back in their innocent days. He had liked her—really liked her—before life pulled them apart. They reconnected in high school, and for a brief moment, it felt like fate. He didn’t remember her fully then, but she remembered him. She could never mistake him for anyone else. Yet things were still fine between them… until Tina came into the picture.

Tina was her friend. Cassienne had introduced her to Dreston, but that turned out to become her greatest mistake.

As soon as Tina stepped into Dreston’s life, everything changed. The boys who admired Cassienne drifted away. His friends, who once liked her, forgot her. Everyone’s attention moved to Tina.

Tina didn’t choose any of those boys. She chose Dreston—Cassienne’s secret first love. Tina was beautiful, and Cassienne was no less, but Tina had a charm that commanded attention anywhere she went. And just like all the other boys, Dreston fell under her charm too.

For Cassienne, he was the only boy. Now he was the only man for her. And even after five years of living with him as his wife in name only, her feelings never changed.

Neither did his feelings for Tina. He still loved her.

And now… Tina was pregnant with his child.

Cassienne’s hands trembled as tears burned behind her eyes. A sob rose in her chest, sharp and heavy, but she forced it down. She had learned to swallow pain so deeply it no longer made a sound.

Tina’s voice echoed in her mind—the cruel reminder she used to throw at her.

“You married him even after knowing he belongs to me.”

And Tina was right. Cassienne knew. But she still said yes, because he had been hers first—before Tina took him away.

The elevator dinged. The doors slid open. Cassienne watched silently as Dreston and Tina stepped inside. They stood close together, framed by the narrowing elevator doors.

Only when the elevator shut did Cassienne finally exhale. Even then, their scent lingered in the hallway.

A reminder of everything she could never become.