Chapter 1

My husband, Liam, got his terminally ill ex-girlfriend, Chloe, pregnant. He said it was to grant her dying wish of becoming a mother.

On the day she gave birth, Liam's sister, Isabella, hired a security firm to guard the hospital, claiming it was to prevent me from causing a scene.

Isabella stood by Chloe's bedside. "Don't worry, I have people posted at the entrance. If Ava dares to show up and make trouble, we'll have her thrown out immediately."

Liam, seeing I hadn't come, breathed a sigh of relief. "Chloe, just focus on delivering our baby safely. Don't worry about anything else."

He truly believed that since he was only fulfilling his dying ex's last wish, I would never be so unreasonable as to make a fuss.

Looking at the tiny, rosy infant in his arms, he sent me a text: "Darling, I did this for you. I had her carry a child for us, so you could finally be a mother."

He thought that as long as I accepted it all, this child was my ultimate reward.

But what he didn't know was that I had just surrendered my residency.

In one week, I would be in Kenya, working as a volunteer on a project of biomedical research.

It was meant to be a final goodbye—a world away from Liam, forever.

But he was searching for me like a madman, pleading for me to return.

...

I landed in New York after a long flight from a research project based in Heidelberg, only to find Liam had brought Chloe back to our Fifth Avenue penthouse again.

The door was ajar. As I wheeled my suitcase toward it, I heard warm laughter from inside.

"Chloe is a real woman—soft and family-oriented," came Isabella's voice, as cutting as ever. "Not like some people who are out there messing with God-knows-what chemicals and calling it their 'job'."

My knuckles turned white on the doorknob, but no one noticed I was home.

Isabella was happily cooing at the baby in her arms, while Liam emerged from the kitchen carrying a steak.

"Chloe, you've been through so much. You need to get your strength back."

He sat on the edge of the sofa, his eyes full of tenderness as he cut the steak for her, the very picture of a loving husband.

Isabella dangled a delicate music box over the baby, beaming.

"This little one is as lovely as Chloe. Thank God Ava isn't his mom. I'd worry about a mother who spends all day around poisons."

I remembered the first time I met Isabella. She had held my hand, her face full of admiration, gushing about how having a sister-in-law in biomedical research was an honor for the Grant family.

But now, she looked down on my career as something dirty and dangerous.

There was no place left for me in this home.

A lump formed in my throat, and I blinked hard against the stinging in my eyes.

Liam and I had been married for five years. We once had a child on the way.

But back then, he was set up by a business rival. They planned to kill him in a staged car accident.

It was me who shoved Liam out of the way at the last second, saving him from being crushed under the wheels.

I was lucky to survive. But I didn't just lose the baby; I lost my ability to ever become a mother.

When I got the news, I sobbed inconsolably. Liam held me tight, his heart breaking for me.

"Ava," he'd comforted me, "if we can't have children, we'll travel the world together and help more children to live a normal life."

He said, "Ava, having you is enough."

Now, all to fulfill his ex-girlfriend's so-called "dream of motherhood," those words felt like a cruel joke.

I still remembered the day I left for my assignment in the Congo. He'd cried like a child at the airport, clinging to me, refusing to let go.

This past year, he had video-called me every single day, making it feel like we were never apart.

I had thought that after everything we'd been through, our love was unbreakable.

But two months ago, I'd managed to get approved for an early return to surprise him for our wedding anniversary.

I endured a fifteen-hour red-eye flight, desperate to see him.

I rushed back to our apartment and walked in on Liam kissing Chloe's baby bump.

He was on one knee, gently caressing her stomach and murmuring, "Hey there, little one. It's Daddy. You being good for your mommy today?"

Chloe saw me first.

"Ava, when did you get back? Why are you just standing in the doorway?" she asked, her voice light and airy, with a fragile, sickly sweetness.

Every head in the living room snapped toward me.

Isabella's eyes landed on the red Congolese dust clinging to my suitcase, and her brow furrowed into a tight knot.

"How did Liam end up with such an unkempt wife? You'd rather be with chemical reagents than be home. If that's the case, then just don't ever come back!"

"I told you to take a cushy job at the family company. You just threw away such a great opportunity. You're a disgrace to this family."

Hearing her words, I felt a surge of absurdity.

"And what about Liam? Knocking up another woman while I was away doing research—he's not a disgrace to the family?"

"Ava, that's enough! Can't you see I did this for your own good?"

Liam's brows were drawn together, his eyes cold as he looked at me.

"You can't have children, so I had Chloe give you one. I gave you a gift—the chance to be a mother. Why can't you understand my good intentions?"

"Besides, it's a win-win. Chloe's wish is fulfilled, and you get a child. I really don't know what you're so upset about!"

"If Chloe hadn't given me that blood transfusion after the accident two years ago, I'd be dead! She's all alone in the world. As a woman, shouldn't you feel some sympathy for her? Why do you always have to pick on her? Or do you really think I'm some kind of monster?"

He kept insisting he did it for me. Sleeping with another woman was for me. Making me a mother to his mistress's child was for me.

But I couldn't care less about his grand promises. All I ever wanted—the only thing I ever wanted—was to just have a normal life with him.

Chloe took Liam's hand, her face a mask of concern, and turned to me.

"Ava, please don't say any more. I know this is all my fault, but please don't let me ruin your marriage."

A sharp pang shot through my chest. They were such a united front. They were the real family.

Then, Liam suddenly spoke again.

"Ava, I'm sorry. I was out of line just now." He walked over and took the suitcase from my hand.

"I know you won't mind. You're a kind and generous woman. Come to the christening next week. As the baby's mother."

Next week?

I glanced at the sleeping baby in the stroller, and my throat tightened.

I fought to keep my voice from cracking, managing just one word:

"Fine."

That's it, I thought. It's really time to leave.