Chapter 1

I was enjoying the food my husband had bought for me. Unfortunately, we couldn't eat together because he had to return to the office after receiving an urgent call.

Even though it was supposed to be his day off. But Lucian is a very hardworking man. He always says we need to save more money because our first child is due soon. Despite our simple life, I was very happy.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. I winced, clutching my stomach as the pain grew increasingly intense. I quickly grabbed my phone and called Lucian.

"Lucian, I'm having stomach pain."

"I'm sorry, but I'm on my way out of town. Call Mom to come look after you."

"Okay." He abruptly ended the call.

I stared at the phone screen, feeling uneasy.

Meanwhile, the pain in my abdomen worsened.

"Ah!" I winced.

When I looked down, my body began to tremble. Blood was seeping out and running down my legs.

Panicked, I immediately called an ambulance. Before long, I was taken to the hospital.

A nurse helped me onto a gurney. But just then, I caught sight of someone I knew very well.

Lucian.

He was standing not far from me with a beautiful woman.

"Lucian!" I called out.

My husband turned his head. Our eyes met. I hoped he would rush over to me.

But before Lucian could move, the woman beside him whined.

"Lucian, my leg hurts. I can't stand it anymore."

Lucian ignored me. Instead, he chose to go to the woman and pick her up in his arms.

My heart shattered instantly. So, while I was fighting to save our child, he chose another woman instead?

The marriage I had always considered perfect turned out to be nothing but a hollow illusion.

My chest felt tight. The pain in my abdomen intensified, and blood flowed more heavily.

I didn't even have the strength to call out to him again. Doctors and nurses rushed me to the delivery room.

They scrambled to save both me and my baby, while I teetered between life and death. I clutched the bedsheets tightly.

"Doctor... please save my child."

But when my baby was finally born, there was no sound of crying.

I looked at the doctor's face, it had suddenly turned grim.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Elara. Your baby isn't breathing."

My world seemed to stop turning. It was like being struck by lightning, the news was far more painful than the hurt I felt seeing Lucian with another woman.

My child...

The child I had waited for so long...

My soul was shattered. My vision slowly darkened until I finally lost consciousness.

When I woke up, it was already dark. I turned my head to the side. Only my mother-in-law was there.

My hand slowly stroked my now-flat belly. Tears streamed down my face again. My child was truly gone.

"Don't be sad. You can still have more children," my mother-in-law said, her expression indifferent.

I stared at her in disbelief. I knew she didn't like me much because I was an orphan and just an ordinary housewife.

But I never expected her to show absolutely no sorrow over the loss of her grandchild.

"Mother-in-law, I saw Lucian with another woman earlier," I whimpered.

"Don't overreact. Lucian told me about it. She's just a colleague."

Just a colleague? What colleague is more important than a wife and child? I didn't have the energy to argue.

My body and heart were utterly exhausted. I chose to lie back down, hoping the ache in my heart would slowly subside.

Moments later, I heard the sound of footsteps. Lucian had arrived. He sat beside me and reached for my hand. I looked into his eyes. He was weeping.

"I'm sorry, Elara. Please forgive me..."

I immediately pulled my hand away.

"Can your apology bring our child back to life?" I snapped.

"Elara, your child died—why are you blaming Lucian? Even if he had been by your side, there was nothing he could have done!" my mother-in-law scolded.

Lucian immediately looked at his mother.

"Mother, you should leave. Let me speak with Elara alone."

My mother-in-law walked out, casting a scornful glance at me. Lucian turned his gaze back to me.

"Elara, that was just a colleague. She fell because of me, so I was trying to take responsibility."

"Do you think I'm blind?" I asked, my voice trembling. "We've lived together for over three years. I know the way you look at her. And another thing—I know she’s your ex-girlfriend from school, isn't she?"

"Larisa is my ex-girlfriend, but we’re nothing more than colleagues now!"

"But can you swear that you don't have any feelings for her?"

"Elara, I know you're grieving the loss of our child. But don't make baseless accusations against me. It seems my mother was right—I’ve spoiled you too much!"

Lucian stormed off.

I wept uncontrollably.

It was the first time Lucian and I had ever fought during our marriage.

From then on, we were locked in a cold war. We still shared a bedroom, but we didn't speak to each other. What frustrated me even more was that whenever Lucian received a phone call, he would rush off immediately.

I knew who was calling.

Larisa.

I spent a week doing some soul-searching. In the end, I realized I still loved Lucian. I also knew Lucian still loved me.

The proof was that, even though he wasn't speaking to me, he still cleaned the house and cooked meals before I woke up every morning. Today, I decided to make amends.

I cooked his favorite meal and intended to drop it off at his office.

Upon arrival, I was stopped by two security guards stationed at the entrance.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Lucian's wife. I'm here to drop off his lunch."

They looked surprised and exchanged glances.

"Oh, right this way. Please, come in!"

I stepped inside.

I asked a few employees where my husband worked, as this was my first time visiting the office.

However, just like the security guards, they seemed surprised when I identified myself as Lucian's wife.

Finally, I reached my destination. I stopped in my tracks.