Chapter 1

When I came home with the gift I'd carefully picked out for Dennis McMillan, the house was empty. No one was there—just a table covered in fresh flowers.

From the garden, bursts of laughter and cheer drifted in. I followed the sound, step by step.

"Dennis, you're so lucky—your son's so handsome, and your wife's beautiful too."

A man's teasing voice rang out from not far ahead.

I froze. My whole body tensed. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard.

I walked a little further and saw Dennis cradling a baby in his arms. A petite woman clung to his arm.

"Yeah," he said. "I really am lucky. And it's all down to Scarlett."

He looked at her like there was no one else in the world, brushing her hair with tender fingers.

The woman covered her mouth and laughed, eyes bright with happiness.

They looked like the perfect family of three—something out of a picture, too beautiful to touch.

I stood frozen, hidden in the shadows like a mouse, watching them.

Behind them, a banner hung on the garden wall.

[Eugene's One-Month Celebration]

Eugene…

Once, I had clung to Dennis's arm, pouting playfully. "Dennis, one day I want to have a son with you, and name him Eugene."

He asked why.

I'd smiled brightly and said, "I believe Eugene is a lucky name!"

And now, he had a son with someone else—and he'd named him Eugene.

"By the way, Dennis," someone said, "Isn't Anna coming back soon? Aren't you worried she'll make a scene when she finds out you've become a dad?"

Dennis gently stroked the baby's cheek.

"I'd almost forgotten if you hadn't reminded me."

Then he pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Have Anna stay abroad a little longer," he said. "It's better if she doesn't come back. If she finds out I have a son, she'll definitely make a fuss."

My breath caught. I took a step back, heart twisting.

Joining Doctors Without Borders had been Dennis's idea.

Three years ago, he told me I was too emotional. I cried over everything. I'd throw a fit whenever I saw him with another woman.

He said, "It's not that I don't like you. But the McMillan family is prestigious. I just don't think your temperament suits being my wife."

"How about this," he continued. "Spend three years with Doctors Without Borders. Use it to build character. Once you're steadier, you can come back and be my wife."

I believed him.

So I studied hard. I applied, pushed myself through the process.

The day I was accepted, I was overjoyed.

I thought, 'Just make it through these three years, and I'll be able to marry Dennis.'

But now I'm back, and he's already a father.

When I came to, my face was soaked with tears. The more I wiped, the more they came.

"I really don't want her to come back," Dennis said.