Chapter 1

Sela's POV

The discount groceries I'd fought to get were scattered all across the floor.

I sat amid the mess, a torn cloth shopping bag still hanging from my hand, and my washed-out skirt now covered with stains.

The distinguished man standing in front of me only made me look even more pathetic by comparison.

I stared blankly at Shawn Leake. A torrent of emotions crashed over me, and for a moment, I completely forgot how to speak.

"Honey, hurry and take her to the hospital," the woman urged. "She took a really nasty fall."

Then she turned to look at me. "I'm so sorry. Our son's been spoiled since he was little. He torpedoes around everywhere."

She opened her lambskin handbag, pulled out a thick wad of cash, and pressed it into my hands.

"I only have this much on me. Take this for now. Shawn?"

Only then did Shawn snap out of his daze. He looked at the woman. "What?"

"Give her your business card," the woman answered. "That way she can get in touch with us if anything comes up later."

I continued staring at Shawn without blinking until my eyes were so dry that they throbbed. The pain in my lower abdomen had already turned numb by this point.

"Shawn…"

My voice caught in my throat. Whatever else I wanted to say was choked back by a sob.

"You two know each other?" the woman asked.

Shawn avoided my gaze and cut in quickly, "No."

No.

It was as if I'd suddenly forgotten the meaning of the word. I turned that one single syllable over and over in my mind, chewing on it until a bitter taste filled my mouth. Only then could I barely grasp its meaning.

We'd shared a bed for six years. But we didn't know each other.

"Maybe she's seen me on the financial news channel," he added. "Let's go to the hospital first."

He crouched down, intending to scoop me up in his arms, but I shoved him away hard. I lowered my gaze, hiding my tears beneath the shadows of my lashes.

"I'm fine."

Then I stubbornly forced myself to my feet.

With a completely blank mind and a body covered in filth, I clutched my aching lower back and shuffled outside, one step at a time.

Behind me, I could hear the woman complaining about the little boy and the man soothing her with the utmost tenderness.

I didn't want to listen, and I didn't want to look, but the suspicions kept bubbling up uncontrollably. They screamed inside my head and tugged at my ears. They mocked me and ridiculed me, telling me that the husband who had vowed to grow old with me, who had sworn he'd never change, had betrayed me.

It wasn't until I was out of their sight that I finally abandoned all dignity.

Tears splashed down onto the pavement, drop by drop, as I made my way home. My fingertips trembled so badly that I tapped the wrong buttons several times before finally managing to open my chat with Shawn.

"I want a divorce. I'll get rid of the baby."