Chapter 2

The young nurse fell silent at once, her face flushing with embarrassment.

She clearly had not expected Claire to expose her own husband so calmly.

Then again, it had to be true.

Otherwise, why had Claire never once talked about her family or children?

The nurse looked at Claire with even more sympathy after that.

Claire did not tell her the truth.

The truth was, Adrian had never wanted her to have his child.

On the first night of their marriage, he had told her in that cool, detached way of his, "My work keeps me busy. I have no time for children, and I don’t plan on having any. Don’t get your hopes up, and don’t try to discuss it with me."

Back then, she had understood.

She thought he was just busy.

But now...

Now she finally understood why he had never wanted children.

He had been afraid that if she gave birth, the woman he truly loved would mind.

The joke was that not long ago, Claire had actually considered telling Adrian the truth, that he already had a daughter.

Footsteps sounded again, and the moment she looked up, she met Adrian’s unreadable eyes.

He was holding a payment receipt, and the look he gave her was colder than the one he would have given a stranger.

So had he heard her comment about erectile dysfunction?

Then again, so what if he had?

She did not care anymore.

As expected, Adrian quickly looked away and turned to leave without a word.

Claire was not surprised.

He had always been like this.

Impatient with her.

Indifferent to her.

Unwilling to waste even a little energy on her, and never bothering to hide it.

Even if she wanted to fight with him, there was no way to do it.

He never gave her anything to fight against.

So she could only swallow it all back down, day after day, and let it sit in her chest until she could barely breathe around it.

She had a husband, but no one to lean on.

No one to count on.

No one to keep her standing when life fell apart.

That was one of the reasons she had secretly given birth to her daughter all those years ago and raised her behind Adrian’s back.

She walked back to her private office with heavy steps.

Claire pulled open the drawer beneath her desk.

Inside lay two neat stacks of documents.

Before she and Adrian had gotten married, Chairman Sterling had already met with her and handed her two agreements.

One was a prenuptial agreement.

The other was a divorce agreement.

Her background had never been enough for the Sterling family. Compared to Adrian, she may as well have come from a different world. If not for the scandal back then spiraling so badly, the Sterlings never would have allowed her into the family.

The old man had never thought much of her.

The divorce agreement came with a seven year term.

Once those seven years were up, it would take effect.

Back then, Adrian had not even bothered to read it. He had signed it right away, smooth and decisive, and to this day, he probably still had no idea the divorce papers had been there all along.

And now, there were only three months left.

Only three months until the date written into that agreement.

Claire did not want to waste another second.

She slipped the papers into her bag, finished her shift in a haze of exhaustion, and returned to the house she shared with Adrian.

She had just changed her shoes when she saw him coming downstairs.

Claire stayed where she was.

Even now, Adrian showed no sign that he intended to talk to her, let alone explain what had happened in the ER.

As he passed by, she finally found her voice.

"Let’s get divorced. I’ll give you three months to sort out the asset transfer and division."

That made Adrian stop.

The long fingers that had been adjusting his gemstone cuff link paused for the first time. His dark, cold eyes lowered over her.

"Just because I went to the hospital with Sienna today?"

Just because.

So he did know she would care.

And still, he had not thought the subject was worth mentioning.

Claire looked straight at him, her voice light and steady.

"Yes."

She had no interest in arguing over right or wrong.

And as for the child, Adrian was never going to learn a thing.

His black eyes remained nearly emotionless, as though he could not care less whether she was genuinely hurt or simply trying to make a point.

"You can throw your tantrums at home if you want. But outside, as Mrs. Sterling, you know how to behave."

The meaning could not have been clearer.

He was protecting Sienna’s image.

He did not care about Claire’s attitude.

Claire saw that now.

So what if she had caught them red handed in the aftermath of their rough little love scene?

Adrian clearly did not think he owed his wife any explanation.

"Don’t worry," Claire said.

Her nails dug unconsciously into her palm. The pain steadied her voice.

"Once we’re divorced, none of it will be any of my business."

That, perhaps, was what surprised him.

Adrian looked at the wife who had always gone along with whatever he wanted, and who now, for the first time, seemed to have found some sharp edge of her own.

Still, there was no emotion in his gaze.

No ripple.

No hesitation.

"I don’t have time to deal with your mood right now. If it really bothers you that much, find a lawyer and draft the papers yourself."

In seven years of marriage, he had never loved her.

Worse, he had never even gotten used to her being there.

He agreed so easily it was almost laughable.

Claire did not waste time.

With a new resolve hardening inside her, she brushed past his tall frame and headed upstairs to pack her things.

Adrian narrowed his cold eyes slightly and watched her slim back retreat.

But only for two seconds.

Then he had already guessed what she was doing.

Claire’s unusually fierce reaction this time did not concern him in the slightest.

This was not the first time she had done something dramatic in hopes of getting his attention.

He had never needed to do anything about it before.

Because Claire always gave in first.

If he ignored her long enough, she would pretend nothing had happened and soothe herself back into place.

Usually within a few days.

To him, her feelings had never been worth much.

Adrian withdrew his gaze, picked up his coat, and walked out again without a backward glance.

Back in the bedroom, Claire looked around at the home she had spent seven careful years building with her own hands.

For a moment, she did not even know where to begin.

Then her phone chimed with a new text.

The second that cartoon profile picture popped up, her whole expression softened.

She opened the voice message.

Her daughter’s sweet little voice came through the speaker again.

"Mommy, I’m coming to Hawthorne City next month. Then we can be together all the time."

Claire suddenly felt her eyes sting.

She tipped her head back hard, forcing the tears away.

Thank God.

She still had her baby.

Thank God.

She had never told Adrian about the child.

Just then, Avery Hart called.

She sounded excited, but there was a thread of worry beneath it.

"Our daughter is coming?"

"Next month."

Avery clicked her tongue, then dropped the bomb.

"Wait, isn't Adrian dead-set against having kids? If he finds out you gave birth to a daughter behind his back years ago, and that you were planning to keep the baby and cut him out entirely, do you think he’ll lose his mind?"

Claire let out a small laugh, the kind that sounded more bitter than amused.

"He won’t."

If Adrian did not even care about her, why would he care about something like that?

Not after doing something as ridiculous as sleeping with his cousin’s fiancée while she was in early pregnancy.

Whether he cared about the child or not, he had already proven he was not fit to be a father.

As for the rumor that Adrian would never have children...

Claire’s gaze drifted.

In the first year of their marriage, Adrian had always been careful.

She never got pregnant.

Then one day, she overheard the household staff gossiping in private.

They said Adrian would probably never have children.

The Sterling family had tried more than once to arrange a proper match for him with some well born heiress.

But Adrian had never agreed to any of it, and he had publicly said before that he would not be having children.

Over time, people started whispering that the Sterling heir might be the one to end his family line.

And with Claire and Adrian having no children after seven years of marriage, at least from the outside, the rumor only sounded more believable.

For a while, Claire had believed it too.

She had even told herself it did not matter. As long as life was good, children were just an added blessing.

But Adrian had always used protection with her.

And the truth was, in that department, he had always been more than capable.

No matter how cold their marriage had been, she could not deny that.

But later, he kept avoiding the subject of children.

Eventually, even Claire began to believe the rumor completely.

Until that day...