CHAPTER 1: When Love Is Never Enough

EMELY

“I’ve made my decision, Emely. I’d rather hire another woman to carry my child, or we get a divorce.”

I froze. The words pierced straight through my heart so deeply that I could barely feel the floor beneath my feet.

Alexander stood with his back to me, as if what he had just said wasn’t the destruction of his wife’s life, but a routine business decision.

For a moment I thought I must have misheard him. The room was too quiet… too cold… even the ticking of the clock sounded louder than my own breath.

“A–Alex… that’s impossible.” My voice cracked, unfamiliar to my own ears. “Why would you say that? I’m your wife. We just need to be a little more patient. We can keep trying!”

“The problem,” he replied without turning, “is that we’ve been married a year and you still haven’t gotten pregnant. I can’t waste any more time.”

Instinctively, my hands moved to my stomach, as if my body wanted to shield something that wasn’t even there. But the real wound wasn’t there—it was in my heart, crushed under his heel without mercy.

“You said before that we could wait,” I whispered. I hated how I sounded—not angry, not strong, but begging. “We can try again. I’ll see any doctor, abroad if I have to. I’ll do anything for our child.”

Then Alexander finally turned. His gray eyes were cold, calm… lethal.

“Emely, open your eyes. Three doctors have already said your womb is weak. If you want to keep slowing things down, fine. But I won’t lose the chance to have a male heir just because I’m waiting for you.”

I stepped back.

His words were a slap.

“I’m a failure?” I asked, barely audible. “Just because I can’t get pregnant yet? Is a son really that important to our marriage?”

“Of course it’s important. Even Mother said we must have a male heir.”

“Alex…” My voice wavered. “Please look at my worth. Please look at me, even if I can’t give you a child yet. Are you truly that blind to what I’m going through?”

He raised an eyebrow, not even trying to soften the blow.

“What else am I supposed to see? You’re beautiful, polite, socially trained… but you can’t do the one thing that matters most in this marriage: carry my biological child. Isn’t that obvious?”

My breath caught.

Not because his words were true… but because I had once hoped he loved me for more than my womb.

“I love you.” The words escaped before I could think. “Why is that never enough?”

Alexander laughed—a small laugh, not joyful, but cruel. “Love? No Winchester builds a future on love.”

My chest tightened. My hands trembled. But I stayed standing. Stayed looking at him.

Pain wasn’t an excuse to collapse.

“So you want me to stay by your side… while you impregnate another woman?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “Your duty is still to be my wife. And her duty is to bear me a son.”

The world simply… stopped.

I could barely breathe.

“I’m not asking for much, Emely.” His calm tone hurt more than shouting ever could. “I just want you to accept this because it’s necessary. Not because I want it.”

Tears spilled before I could stop them. All the efforts, all the hopes I had sewn together… they meant nothing to him.

“You have two choices,” he continued, stepping closer. “You agree to this arrangement, or we divorce.”

“D–Divorce?” My breath shattered. “Alexander… that doesn’t make any sense…”

“It makes perfect sense. So choose now. If you walk away, many people will be disappointed. Including our parents.”

I swallowed, and it felt like choking on stone.

A part of me wanted to fight.

But another part… still loved him with no logic.

“Fine… if this is really what you want.” My voice finally came out, trembling but clear. “But I need time to think about everything first.”

For a fraction of a second, I prayed his face would soften.

That he would take it back.

That choosing him still meant something.

But Alexander only nodded, like someone finalizing a contract. He walked past me without looking my way. Without touching me. Without caring.

Before leaving, he stopped in the doorway and delivered the cruelest blow of all—crueler than the threat of divorce.

“Good. And I know you’ll still choose me in the end… because you love me more than anything. Isn’t that right?”

The door closed.

I didn’t answer—because the pain was in the truth.

I broke.

I cried until my pillow was soaked. Yet what hurt the most wasn’t the tears. It was the fact that I still hoped to be loved by a man who never truly held me.

My head throbbed.

If we divorce, my parents will fall apart.

If I stay, I will fall apart.

There was no choice without pain.

In the morning, I got up, washed my face, covered the puffiness with makeup. I stared at the ring on my finger long enough for my vision to blur.

Once, it symbolized love.

Now I realized… it was a shackle I’d chosen myself.

I dressed properly and stepped out of the bedroom. Strange. A whole year of marriage… yet Alexander’s touch had been almost nonexistent. We were a household without warmth. Only rules and obligations.

I walked down the hall toward his study. I stared at the door for a long moment… then knocked.

“Enter.”

I inhaled deeply. My steps were steady.

For once, my decision wasn’t driven by love. It was driven by survival.

Alexander lifted his head slightly. “I didn’t expect you to give an answer this soon.”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I’ve decided.”

“So?” His gaze held the confidence of someone waiting to receive a trophy. “What is it?”

“I won’t divorce you.”

Alexander smiled. A satisfied smile. A smile that crushed my chest.

“I knew you’d never let me go, Emely.”

I held my breath. Swallowed the pain.

“But… I have two conditions.”

“Go on. I’ll accept anything.”

I cleared my throat, trying to steady my breathing so my words wouldn’t crumble with my tears.

“First, I’m the one who chooses the woman. And second, you’ll use IVF. Not physical contact.”

Alexander studied me for a moment. Silence stretched between us. Then he nodded.

“Fine. I agree. But I also have a request,” he said firmly.

I swallowed, wiping the tears that threatened to fall.

“She must be beautiful and well-educated. I want a quality heir. Do you understand, Emely?”

Those two words—beautiful and well-educated—stung my pride more than I expected. But I only nodded, without protest.

“I’ll give you one month to find her,” he added. And I accepted.

When I left his study, my tears had dried. Not because the pain was gone—because my body was simply too exhausted to cry anymore.

All I wanted was to get to my room and disappear from the world for a moment.

But life was never that kind to me.

“Emely, darling… why does your face look so pale? Your eyes are swollen—have you been crying?”

My steps halted.

The last voice I wanted to hear—Anna Winchester, the mother-in-law who adored sweet words while carving deeper wounds beneath them.

I turned and forced a thin smile. “I just didn’t sleep well, Ma’am.”

“Oh?” Anna approached, touching my arm with a gesture that looked gentle but felt like intimidation. “Not sleeping well? Or is something troubling your mind? Something sensitive, perhaps… like heirs?”

Damn it. My chest tightened instantly. Of course she knew.

“I’m fine,” I answered quietly.

Yes, I was fine. Or at least I wanted to believe I was.

“Are you?” Anna raised an eyebrow in feigned confusion, though her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “Because women usually cry like that only when they’re… afraid of losing their husband.”

I held my breath.

She smiled—elegant, superior—and looked me up and down, evaluating, measuring.

“You’re beautiful, polite, and well-educated. But you must remember, none of that matters if a woman cannot give a man the one thing that means the most.”

I almost lost control of my expression. But I refused to give her that victory.

“I understand, Ma’am.”

“Good.” Anna stroked my cheek lightly—a touch that felt more like a slap. “You’re a good wife. And a good wife should know her place.”

Her words cut sharper than anything Alexander had said.

Anna leaned closer. Her voice softened, but her pressure intensified—aimed precisely at my weakest point.

“And Emely… if your womb remains empty in the near future, then the family will replace you with someone who can provide an heir.”

My chest seized, but she wasn’t done.

Her smile was gentle, graceful, barely a whisper… yet it pierced bone.

“You understand what I mean, don’t you, dear?”

Anna walked away, but before she disappeared completely, she turned once more, her quiet voice landing like a killing blow.

“And don’t misunderstand, Emely. Alexander isn’t the only one who wants this. The family… has agreed.”

As her footsteps faded, my heart collapsed. I finally realized the truth.

It wasn’t just my husband who wanted me gone.

The entire family wanted me erased.