Chapter 1

It was one in the morning.

Sharon McKinzie found herself unable to sleep and started scrolling through her phone.

She suddenly came across a new post on Kelly Walt's Instagram.

[Thank you to Carter and little Theo for the lovely gifts. The cup was even handmade by Theo himself.]

Sharon tapped on the photo.

A necklace and a DIY mug appeared on her screen.

Faintly, she could make out the words etched onto the cup: Happy Birthday, Mom.

Her eyes drifted to the cold dishes still sitting on the dining table, untouched. The birthday cake, too, remained unlit.

A faint, self-mocking smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

She remembered seeing a news notification earlier that day.

[Confirmed! The famously aloof figure from Amstern City, Carter Biggs, is secretly married—with a five-year-old son!]

In the photo, a tall, handsome man and a slender, beautiful woman were walking hand in hand with a five-year-old boy through an amusement park.

Kelly gently touched Theo's head, while Carter gazed at her with a softness Sharon had never seen before.

The three of them looked picture-perfect—a beautiful couple and a child who looked just like Carter.

They truly looked like a happy family.

Today was Sharon's birthday. It was also her fifth wedding anniversary with Carter.

And yet, the one being celebrated wasn't her—it was Kelly.

Carter and Theo had spent the entire day with Kelly, gifting her what should have belonged to Sharon.

Sharon wasn't surprised. Not anymore. She was used to this.

Kelly was Carter's first love. She was terminally ill, with only a year left to live. Her dying wish was simply to see him one last time.

Carter had told her he just wanted to do a few things for Kelly before the end, and hoped Sharon would understand.

Sharon didn't want to understand. But she knew—she couldn't stop him.

It was the first time Carter had spoken to her with such gravity.

It felt like something had been carved out of her chest—leaving behind a hollow, aching space.

She didn't know how long she sat there in the dark before the sound of the front door broke the silence.

Carter walked in with Theo.

He paused when he saw her sitting at the dining table, clearly surprised, as if he'd forgotten what day it was.

"You're still up?" he asked.

"I want to talk," Sharon replied calmly.

Carter frowned slightly, then looked down at Theo. "Go on upstairs, Theo."

Theo rubbed his eyes and yawned as he walked past Sharon.

He suddenly paused.

"Happy birthday, Mommy."

He tilted his head up to look at her—those eyes, so much like Carter's, stared into hers.

"Daddy and I didn't mean to forget your birthday. It's just… we still have so much time together. But Kelly only has six months left. You're not mad at us over something so small… right, Mommy?"

Sharon didn't know what hurt more—being forgotten completely, or being remembered, only to be pushed aside anyway.

Once Theo left, the room fell into silence again.

Carter was the one to break it.

"What did you want to talk about?"

He was dressed in a white shirt and black slacks, his features refined, his presence cool and composed like the pale, untouchable moon hanging in a winter night sky. Detached. Remote.

Sharon took a deep breath. "Carter, let's get a divorce."

A flicker passed through his eyes—like a breeze rippling across a still lake. But just as quickly, it vanished.

"I didn't forget your birthday," he said. "I already prepared your gift."

"My gift?" Sharon gave a low laugh. "You mean the necklace that used to belong to my mother? The one you gave to Kelly?"

That necklace was the only thing Sharon's mother had left her before she passed. Sharon had lost it the day she gave birth to Theo.

Carter had promised to help her find it. He did find it—only to give it away.

Carter's face remained composed, without a trace of embarrassment. Only his eyes darkened, just slightly.

"It's only on loan to Kelly. I'll return it to you later."

"How much later?" Sharon asked quietly. "The day she dies?"

"Sharon! That's enough!" His voice cut through the air, sharp and cold. His usually distant expression gave way to rare anger.

It was enough.

She had had enough of being married to a man who gave his heart to someone else, enough of raising a child who never felt like hers, enough of being belittled by her in-laws.

"Kelly only has half a year left," Carter said. "Even Theo knows to be kind. Why can't you show the same generosity?"

In that moment, Sharon felt something in her snap.

"What does her time left have to do with me?" she said. "She's not my family. Why should I be the one to tolerate her?"

Carter looked genuinely taken aback. Sharon had always been gentle, mild. He hadn't expected words like that to come from her mouth.

A cold glint flashed across his gaze. "I thought we had an understanding."

Sharon let out a soft laugh. "She wants to relive her first love, so I have to watch the two of you fall in love all over again. She wants to experience a wedding, so you hand her the one I spent half a year planning. I get to watch you and her walk Theo down the aisle like a real family. She wants to see the world before she dies, so you take her traveling across it. If she wanted the moon, I bet you'd try to pluck it from the sky."

She and Carter had been secretly married for five years. They'd never held a ceremony.

It wasn't until Theo once asked her what she looked like in a wedding dress that Carter decided they should hold one. He promised she could plan it all—down to the last detail.

She had.

Then Kelly spoke a single sentence, and everything changed.

Carter's expression turned to ice. "You've crossed a line."

Crossed a line.

Something tightened in her chest. She closed her eyes, the weight of disappointment pressing down on her.

All these years, she had tried to be the perfect wife and mother. No matter how hard she tried, Carter remained distant. She had assumed it was simply his nature—detached and reserved.

But then Kelly came back, and Sharon realized, even an aloof guy like Carter had fire in him.

She reached for the divorce papers already prepared and placed on the table.

"I've signed them. You should too. If she can officially become Mrs. Biggs before she dies, I imagine it would make her very happy."

Carter's lips pressed into a tight line. His handsome face seemed to frost over. It was a clear sign of his displeasure.

"And Theo?"

"He'll stay with you," she replied softly.

He looked like he was about to speak, but then his phone rang.

He picked it up.

"Carter! Kelly collapsed—she's in the emergency room!"