Chapter 001

Nina's POV

The hall smelled like crayons and warm cookies. Laughter filled the hall as kids ran around, tugging on their colorful scarves. The scarves I had spent weeks knitting for them, one for each child at the Charity event .

I smiled as I tied one around a pretty little girl’s neck. She hugged me tight and whispered, “Thank you.” Moments like this made me forget all the worries in my heart. At least for a while. But not everyone was here for the kids I guess... to help.

Behind me, I heard a voice I recognized. Cold and sharp. “Elijah didn’t come again?”

I turned. It was Mia Belmont, The billionaire Belmont's Wife. She's tall and dressed in a red coat that screamed money, with two other ladies clinging to her side.

“He had a meeting,” I said calmly.

She smiled, but I knew that smile wasn’t friendly.

“Strange. A man like him should want to spend time with his wife. Then again, maybe he’s tired of waiting for a child that won’t come.”

I froze.

Another woman stepped forward, her tone even crueler. “Maybe you should just adopt one of these children, Nina. Or get a surrogate. Anything would be better than nothing, right?”

Their laughter felt like needles.

I stood up slowly. My hands were shaking, but I kept my voice steady. “You all used to smile at me when my family was rich. Now you whisper behind my back like snakes.”

Mia’s face changed. She stepped closer. “You think you can talk to me like that?”

But then before I could move away from her when she got more closer, her hand slapped across my face. Very hard. The Pain shot through my eye. I stumbled to the ground, holding my face.

“Nina!” That voice I head, Deep was familiar. It was Elijah.

I looked up and saw him rushing toward us. He had just walked in, and saw everything.

In a second, He was beside me , gently pulling my hand down to look at the red mark on my face, my eyes had become red, filled with blood and my cheek got a slit cut. Elijah's brows furrowed and his jaw tight.

“What the hell is going on here?”

“Who did this to you?” His voice was low, dangerous.

“She was being dramatic,” Mia said quickly. “It was just a reaction. She insulted us first.”

“Are you insane?” Elijah turned toward her, his eyes colder than I’d ever seen. “You laid a hand on my wife? In public? At a children’s event?”

The hall had fallen very silent. The kids were watching and the staff had frozen in place. Mia stammered something I didn’t catch, but Elijah wasn’t listening.

“She’s my wife,” he said firmly, stepping closer to me and shielding me with his body. “And I married her for her and not because of what she could give me. Not for a child. Not for show. But because she’s the kindest person I’ve ever met.”

I stood still, stunned. His voice softened just slightly, but it still echoed through the room. “With or without a child, she's more than enough for me. She will always be enough for me.”

The air shifted.

Even Mia looked speechless now. She opened her mouth to respond, but Elijah didn’t give her the chance. He turned back to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, his gaze searching mine.

“You okay?” he asked gently.

I nodded, but the words wouldn’t come out. The pain in my eye was already getting worse.

He leaned in closer, his eyes full of worry. He kept looking at my eye, checking it over and over like he was trying to make sure it wasn’t too bad.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again, his voice soft.

He was still so concerned, and it showed in the way he kept watching me.

something in me still ached. Because what he didn’t know , what no one knew was that I could have a child. yes I could . The doctors had said everything looked fine. Physically, I was capable. But no matter how hard we tried… month after month… nothing ever happened.

The truth? I didn’t feel like a woman anymore. I wanted to believe his words, that he didn’t care, that he loved me regardless. But every time he came home late, every time he sighed when he looked at our empty bedroom, every time he said nothing at all... it chipped away at me.

And now? Now I wasn’t sure if I was touched by his words... or terrified they were just that.. words.

Elijah helped me into the car after the event, silent but firm, he was still holding my hand.

As we drove home, I leaned against the window, pretending to sleep. I could feel his eyes on me now and then. But I didn’t move.

The car rolled quietly through the streets, and I stared out the window as the city lights blurred past like distant stars. Elijah hadn't said a word since we left the charity event. His hand still rested between us on the seat, not quite touching mine anymore.

The car ride home was silent.

Elijah’s hand grazed mine once, briefly, before he pulled it away. The words he said back at the event still echoed in my chest,sweet, steady, almost too perfect.

“With or without a child, you’ll always be my wife.” But why did it feel like he had rehearsed it?

I glanced at him, hoping for warmth. Instead, he stared ahead, jaw clenched, as though there was something he couldn’t say.

At home, he helped me out of the car, and said he had some emails to finish, then disappeared into his office like a ghost slipping into shadow. The door clicked shut.

I stood in the hallway for a moment, unsure of what to feel. The echo of laughter from earlier in the day rang hollow in my ears now. Everything felt... off.

I turned heading upstairs,I thought of what he had said. I should have felt comforted by what he said back there.

But I didn’t. Because when a man speaks of forever with his mouth, but his eyes look lost every time you’re near… you learn how to read the silence more than the words.

My fingers pressed gently against the tender spot on my cheek. It was still warm. Not just from the slap, but from everything. The shame and even the confusion.

I stood in the hallway, still.

I was still feeling the throbbing in my eye, but the real ache was deeper.

Elijah had defended me. But nothing could silence the truth I carried in my heart.

I had the ability to bear a child. I wasn’t barren. But for reasons I couldn’t explain, even to myself, I just couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I wanted it, my womb remained quiet.

And that silence… felt like it was slowly swallowing me whole. I placed my hand on my lower belly, a tear slipping down my cheek.

What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I give the man I loved a child.

I blinked, holding back another wave of tears.