Chapter 1

After 20 minutes, the door to the master bedroom swung open. A young man stepped out wearing my silk shirt.

It was Mark Sutton, Simone Jamison's new lover. He was the young artist she was a patron of.

He stiffened for a moment when he spotted me, but then raised his chin and strutted around as if he were the real master of the house.

I nodded in greeting before reminding him, "Leave from the side entrance. There are reporters camped out in the front."

Mark bit his lip and glared at me before hurrying off.

At that moment, Simone came out of the bedroom, her bathrobe loosely tied around her waist. She glanced at our daughter, Ally Jamison, whom I was holding, before eyeing me with a smirk.

"You're being very well-behaved today."

I put the sleeping Ally to bed and pulled the covers over her.

Simone lit a cigarette and added, "Nothing would please me more than for you to remain this well-behaved from now on, Caleb."

Her face was blurred behind the smoke. I was abruptly reminded of a memory from four years ago, on a night just like this one.

Simone had stood outside my apartment building, completely drenched. She'd bought something from my favorite diner. Rainwater dripped from the ends of her hair as she called out, "I've spent the last three months trying to win you over, Dr. Rowland. Won't you give me a chance?"

Her gaze had been so bright, filled with a level of sincerity I would never see in her eyes again.

Simone's voice pulled me back to reality. "You haven't forgotten why we got married in the first place, right? I had too much to drink that night and forgot to take precautions. You were lucky. It only took one try for you to get me pregnant."

She walked over and lifted my jaw with her fingers.

"You also got lucky that my family cares a lot about its bloodline. Otherwise, do you think a mere doctor like you can ever marry someone like me?"

"I'm aware of that," I said, jerking my head away from her touch.

Simone's expression turned cold. She pulled her hand back and took another drag of her cigarette.

"Good. You'd better not forget that. As long as you do your part as my husband and raise our daughter well, I'll make it worth your while. But you need to understand one thing, Caleb—I will never devote myself to just one man."

"Understood." I lowered my eyes.

With a satisfied smile, Simone turned to leave before adding, "Oh, by the way, my parents are having their joint birthday celebration tomorrow. Wear that dark gray custom suit."

The door closed, and I stood in place for a long time. It was only when I felt my legs going numb that I slowly walked back to Ally's bed. She turned over, her little mouth puckered as though she were having a blissful dream.

There were a lot of things Simone was oblivious to. For one thing, I'd altered the results of the premarital medical examination we did. Since I was an attending physician at the hospital where we did the tests, I had the opportunity to do it.

Based on Simone's hormone levels and antral follicle count, the medical report had clearly stated that she had severely diminished egg viability and an extremely low chance of conceiving naturally.

I'd secretly deleted that section of the medical report.

Back then, I loved Simone so much that I couldn't bear to let her know there was something wrong with her. Later on, I learned from my mentor that my sperm had a rare level of motility and penetrative ability, making it possible for my sperm to counteract certain fertility issues.

If it hadn't been for me, Simone might very well have remained childless for the rest of her life.

Nevertheless, after her first trimester, she started spending more and more time away from home. She scorned me for having gained weight as a result of my anxiety while tending to her pregnancy.

The first time I caught the unfamiliar scent of cologne on her coat, I questioned her about it. Irritated, she shoved me away and snapped, "Do you have to make a huge fuss about every little thing, Caleb!"

Then she started coming home with hickeys on her neck. Before long, she brought the men back as well.