Chapter 1

"I was wrong, Raina. Please don't go, okay?" Zane Wade begged.

His eyes instantly welled up with tears as he watched me come down the stairs decisively with my suitcase.

He had been comforting Moira Green. However, after seeing me, he immediately abandoned her in a panic and hurried toward me.

Zane's entire body was trembling when he grabbed my wrist. "Please, babe. Don't leave me! Believe me, just this one last time. When Moira gives birth, I'll send her abroad and keep only the child. Everything will go back to the way it used to be."

Back to the way it used to be?

As Zane and I struggled, the ring that had been on my finger for seven years suddenly slipped off. Seeing this, he frantically let go of my hand and scrambled to pick up the ring. Meanwhile, I was forced to recall what had happened just this morning.

Zane had brazenly brought Moira, who was eight months pregnant, into our home. She had sat on the sofa while he and my mother-in-law comforted her in gentle voices.

In that moment, my heart felt as though it had been cleaved in half with an axe. The pain was so intense that I felt as though I was being torn apart.

Zane picked up the ring. He looked full of joy as he tried to put it back on my finger.

However, I stepped back. I let out an abrupt, bitter laugh as my tears fell.

"We can't go back to how things were, Zane," I said.

"Raina…"

Zane froze in place. The ring slipped from his fingers again. It rolled to a stop before Moira, who had just stood up.

Ignoring it, I pulled my suitcase and was about to walk past Zane to leave. But the next second, I once again felt a powerful grip on my arm. When I turned back, I saw Zane with tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.

His lips trembled as he turned his head. "Tell me, Raina. What do I have to do to make you stay…"

I looked at Moira. She was staring nervously at me while standing beside my wedding ring. I unconsciously glanced toward her heavily pregnant belly.

It didn't matter what Zane would do. He couldn't change my decision to leave. Just as I was about to say this—

"Mr. Wade!"

Moira's cry of alarm sounded from behind me. Her face was pale as she clutched her belly and collapsed onto the sofa.

"My stomach really hurts…" she moaned.

Zane's expression changed instantly. He had refused to let go of my hand earlier, but upon her cry of distress, he immediately let it go and shoved me aside. Then, he rushed over to Moira and swept her up in his arms.

The force of his shove knocked me to the ground, and I hit my head hard against the edge of the stairs. Everything went black in an instant.

My voice trembled as I called out to him. "Zane!"

However, Zane didn't even turn his head. I saw him urgently shouting for the driver while softly comforting Moira. Yet, he had left me with only the image of his hurried, departing back.

I was left kneeling on the ground. The more I laughed, the more my tears fell.

Staggering to my feet, I calmly wiped the blood from my forehead. Then, I immediately called my lawyer. Once the divorce agreement was drafted, I went to the hospital.

Standing outside the hospital ward, I watched as Zane anxiously stayed by Moira's bedside. His brows would furrow deeply even when she gagged slightly.

"I want to eat the green apples from that orchard outside of the city," Moira whined lazily.

Zane didn't hesitate for a second. He grabbed his coat and rushed out. "I'll go pick them for you. Wait for me."

My heart tightened with envy. Only after he left did I step out from the shadows and push open the hospital ward's door.

The moment Moira saw me, her eyes filled with tears, and she launched into her act again.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Hill. I didn't mean to interrupt you two. I really was in pain. Please don't hurt my baby," she cried.

Her shoulders trembled as she choked up, as though she had suffered a terrible injustice.

However, I had no patience for her performance. I handed her the divorce agreement and said, "I have no intention of standing in your way."

When Moira saw the word "divorce" on the papers, her tears stopped flowing.

"You know very well that Zane loves me and will never let me go. So, I need you to make sure he signs this," I instructed.

"But…" Moira looked conflicted.

"This chance comes only once, Moira."

Moira stared at the agreement for a long time while biting her lip. In the end, she took it from me.

"Thank you, Ms. Hill, for allowing the three of us to be a family," she said.

A family of three. My heart twisted violently at this thought. It hurt so much that I could barely breathe.

"Then… I wish your family of three well," I replied.