CHAPTER 1

Elena's POV

I sat in the quiet room of the hospital, the strong smell of antiseptic filling my nostrils as I clutched the paper in my hands. My heart pounded against my chest as I stared at the results.

The test I had taken a few days ago when I peed on the stick, had confirmed it, but seeing the doctor's official confirmation made it all real.

I was pregnant. The doctor said I was really four weeks gone.

A mixture of emotions twisted inside me— excitement, happiness, and relief. I ran my hand over my flat stomach, a life was really growing inside me. I was carrying Damien's baby.

Damien Volkov. The captain of Boston Wolves. Hockey's golden boy. One of the nation's most loved hockey stars.

And I was now the mother of his child. The thought made my heart swell with joy. This news could change everything.

If he found out that his child was growing inside me, maybe Damien would finally look at me. Maybe he would finally love me as his wife Maybe he would finally be proud enough to show me off to the public as NHL's Damien Volkov's wife.

I imagined his reaction when I told him the news. His eyes would light up happily. He would touch my stomach with so much love in his eyes. He would be so proud that he, one of the most talented hockey stars NHL had ever produced, was about to be a father.

And I was the one giving him that gift.

For the first time in weeks, I smiled genuinely and happily.

As I left the hospital, the weather felt warm and beautiful. Things were finally going my way. I had been worried about our marriage, the way things had turned upside down since Georgina returned.

But this baby would change everything. And I couldn't wait to tell him.

By the time I walked through the door of our luxurious mansion, a hockey game replay was showing on TV. Damien was sitting by the bar in the living room, his back facing me as he remained deep in a conversation on the phone. His voice was so low that I could barely hear what he was saying, but it seemed serious.

I approached with a soft smile on my face, my hand was already inside my handbag, ready to bring out the envelope.

"Damien?" I called softly.

He held up a hand, signaling for me to wait without sparing me a glance. "Let me call you back," he muttered into the phone. He hung up and finally turned toward me, the expression on his face cold.

"What is it, Elena? Can't you see I'm on an important call?"

I wavered for a moment, my excitement reducing slightly. But I summoned my courage and stepped closer.

"I have some news to share with you," I said quietly.

He frowned, his gaze faltering to my hand fidgeting inside my bag. "Okay?"

Just as I opened my mouth to tell Damien that I was four weeks pregnant, his phone rang again, drowning out my voice. He glanced at the screen. And I saw his face light up. He stood abruptly and without a word to me, he grabbed his phone and started heading out.

I stood there, confused for a second before calling after him. "Damien, I said I have news for you. Just give me a minute to—"

"I have somewhere important to be right now, Elena," he managed to say without looking back at me.

Frustration was already bubbling inside me. "Where are you going?" I asked weakly.

But he didn't answer. He didn't even ask why I wanted to talk. He just left.

I stood there, the envelope containing my pregnancy test result already out of my handbag and clutched tightly in my hand. My chest tightened with the familiar feeling of being ignored.

This had been going on for years. Yet somehow, I still couldn't get used to it.

I couldn't even get to tell him he was going to be a father because he left me standing there like a fool. But I knew where he had gone. Or rather, who he had gone to.

Georgina. It was no other than Georgina.

She had relocated from Toronto a few months ago, and my life had never remained the same. My husband went from saying a few words to me to not even coming home for days.

First, she always needed help with one thing or another because she was "new" here. Then suddenly she started falling sick. Georgina had suffered one illness per week over the past month.

She took over our lives with her presence, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had no choice but to be accommodating because Damien said she was his cousin.

I sat down on the couch defeatedly. This pregnancy news was supposed to be the best news for Damien and me. I was supposed to be happy. I was supposed to be excited. But how could I be when my husband wouldn't even spare me a moment of his time?

An hour passed. Then two. Then three hours and I sat in silence, waiting for him to come back. Waiting for a chance to finally share the news. Waiting for the moment he would look at me and see me.

But he never returned. The house remained painfully quiet.

The television continued playing in the background, but I wasn't really watching it. My mind kept replaying the moment his face lit up when he saw whoever was calling him. The way he looked excited, the urgency on his face.  The way he had immediately left. But he would never do that for me.

I couldn't recall the last time he looked at me with any other look, except from his usual blank, bored expression.

I lowered my gaze to the envelope still resting in my hands. Only a few hours ago, I had walked out of the hospital feeling like the luckiest woman in the world. I had imagined Damien smiling, hugging me and finally choosing me.

The happiness I had felt earlier slowly faded, replaced by a familiar ache. The same ache I had carried throughout our marriage, the ache of never being enough.

But still, I waited, because that's what I always did. I waited for Damien, his attention, his affection. I waited for him to choose me.

But instead, my phone suddenly buzzed inside my handbag. I quickly pulled it out and unlocked the screen. My heart sank the second I saw the message from Damien.

"It's Georgina. Come to the hospital now!"

My stomach turned violently. Georgina again.