Chapter 2

Three hours later, Cecilia returned to the bedroom she shared with Marcus.

His cold eyes locked onto her the moment she walked in. “Where have you been, Cecilia? I’ve been waiting for two hours and couldn’t get through to you. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

Cecilia looked at him again, her mind flashing back to the scene at the airport. Marcus had his arm around Lucy, leaning close as he kissed her.

Once, she had loved Marcus’s kisses.

Now they only made her feel sick.

He didn’t wait for her answer. As he stepped closer, his gaze hardened.

“You know I hate it when you disappear without telling me where you’re going. Wasn’t the last punishment enough?”

Suddenly, Marcus’s large hand gripped her waist.

Cecilia’s body stiffened. Her eyelids fluttered as her lashes trembled.

Once, the scent of tobacco on him had been comforting. A place where she felt safe.

Now it felt dangerous.

She knew too well how possessive Marcus could be. His controlling nature. His need to have her entirely to himself.

When she was twenty, they had an argument, and she ran off to the mountains with her friends.

Marcus had nearly lost his mind. He sent helicopters across the city to search for her.

When he finally found her, the first thing he did was lock her inside his apartment.

For an entire month, he refused to let her leave, relentless and obsessive.

She cried and begged him to stop, but he wouldn’t.

Not until she pleaded again and again, promising she would never disappear like that again, never make him worry like that.

After that, Cecilia had been afraid of him.

She swore she would never vanish again, no matter what.

Now Marcus lifted her chin with a slender finger.

“Say something. Or do you want me to punish you for real?”

A flicker of panic flashed through her eyes.

If he found out she was planning to leave him forever, he would probably lose his mind.

Trying to stay calm, she whispered, “I just went… to the hospital.”

She was two months pregnant.

The moment he heard the word ‘hospital’, his eyes darkened.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, his voice low, almost a growl.

“Cecilia, I know you still want to have my child. But your chances of getting pregnant are basically zero. We’ve tried for years. It’s enough. I only want you. As long as I have you, I won’t regret anything.

“Don’t go to the hospital anymore. I don’t want you going through that pain again.”

They had tried IVF nearly twenty times.

Hormone shots left her arms swollen and bruised.

Still nothing worked.

No pregnancy. Not even a glimmer of hope.

A moment later, Marcus’s phone rang.

Cecilia watched his brows knit slightly. He reached out and ruffled her hair as he answered.

“Baby, stop trying so hard to get pregnant. You’re my sweetheart. If we can’t have kids, we’ll just be a DINK couple.

“I need to head out for a bit. Stay home, okay? Don’t go wandering off again. It makes me worry.

“If you do… I’ll really be angry.”

Without waiting for her reply, he was already walking out the door.

Cecilia forced a bitter smile.

So someone was waiting for him outside.

Was he only here to make sure she was home?

Half an hour later, she received a voice message from an unfamiliar number.

“Marcus, is Lucy really pregnant?”

“Yeah. Three months.

“Cecilia can’t have kids, but our family needs an heir. My grandfather’s been pushing me.”

“Marcus, you insisted on marrying Cecilia. Your grandfather only agreed to it after you agreed to have her take those sterilizing pills. And you can't register the marriage with her. What are you planning to do now? You said she was the one you loved most.”

Cecilia’s face turned pale.

Sterilizing pills?

He cheated on her…

And secretly took away her ability to have children?

Her stomach twisted in pain.

Her thoughts flashed back to their wedding night.

Marcus had brought her a bottle of vitamins.

“Here, Cecilia. My relatives sent these vitamins over. They’re supposed to boost your fertility and help you conceive.”

She had blushed, shyly leaning into him as Marcus fed her the vitamin.

So from the very beginning…

He had never wanted her to have children.

Marcus’s voice came through the message again.

“Of course I love Cecilia. That’s exactly why I needed Lucy to get pregnant.

“That’s why I even set aside the feud between our families. Just so I could stay with Cecilia.”

He paused before continuing.

“My parents died in a car accident because of Cecilia’s parents.

“I’ve spent years trying to ignore it, treating her like a treasure. I just can't give her children and marriage.

“But everything else? I can give her all of it.

“Even the entire Leedon Group.”

“Then what about Lucy?” the friend asked. “Just a tool to give you an heir?”

Marcus fell silent for a long moment before answering.

“Lucy is gentle and quiet. Being with her feels peaceful.

“It’s a kind of comfort Cecilia could never give me.”

“Marcus,” the friend said quietly, “you're too greedy.”