Chapter 1

The afternoon sun felt too bright as I stepped out of the hospital. I spotted Lucas's car waiting by the curb and walked toward it, my hand pressed against my purse where the pregnancy test report was tucked safely inside.

I slid into the passenger seat and closed the door. The familiar leather interior should have been comforting, but my heart was racing. I'd rehearsed this moment a dozen times in my head, but now that I was here, the words felt stuck.

"I have something to tell you," I started.

"You really chose this moment to get sick?" Lucas cut me off without looking away from his phone. "Do you have any idea what kind of damage you're doing to the company right now?"

The smile I'd been holding froze on my face. "I..."

I'm pregnant. The words lodged in my throat, refusing to come out.

"The project schedule has already been affected. Do you know how much money we're losing in just one day?" His voice was cold, detached.

My chest tightened. His grandfather had just passed away less than a week ago. Since then, I'd been forcing myself to stay strong, handling the funeral arrangements, managing the company emergencies, even making sure Lucas remembered to eat and sleep. When I collapsed at work this morning, some small part of me had hoped he might show concern. That he might ask if I was okay.

I swallowed everything I wanted to say. "I'm sorry."

His expression softened slightly. He finally looked at me. "It's fine. If your body is okay, just come back to work as soon as possible. The company needs you."

The company needs you. Not I need you. Not I was worried.

His phone rang before I could respond. He answered immediately, his voice shifting into that clipped, professional tone. I sat there listening to him discuss quarterly reports and project timelines, feeling invisible.

I held the title of project manager, but I knew the truth. I was the company's backbone. Without me handling the details, putting out fires, managing the impossible schedules, Lucas's empire would have crumbled long ago. But no one at the company knew that. They didn't even know I was his wife.

My gaze drifted, and that's when I saw it. A delicate gift box sitting on the back seat. The logo was unmistakable, from my favorite jewelry brand. The same boutique I'd lingered outside last month, admiring a diamond necklace in the window display.

Something warm bloomed in my chest, pushing back against the hurt. Maybe I'd been too harsh in my thoughts. Lucas wasn't good with words. He never had been. But this, this was his way of caring. He'd noticed. He'd remembered.

He ended the call and turned to me. "See? There are too many things going on. The company really can't run without you."

Guilt crept in, replacing the hurt. Maybe I really had caused problems by collapsing. The timing couldn't have been worse, with everything happening at once.

"I'll come back tomorrow," I said quietly.

He nodded and started the car.

When we pulled into the driveway, I noticed another car already parked there. My stomach sank. That was my mother-in-law's car.

I followed Lucas inside, my body still weak. Eleanor was standing in the foyer, arms crossed, her face set in that expression I knew too well.

"Well," she said without preamble. "That was quite a performance this morning."

I stopped on the bottom step. "Excuse me?"

"Fainting at work. Very dramatic." Her lips curved into something cold. "Making a fuss over nothing, just to dodge your responsibilities."

My hands clenched at my sides. "I was actually sick."

"You look fine now." She looked me up and down with disdain. "Even though there are servants in this house, I need you to clean. My daughter is coming back today, and the house shouldn't look messy."

Heat flooded my face. My daughter. Lucas's stepsister, the one Eleanor had brought into the family when she remarried his father. There were maids who came regularly. This was just another way to put me in my place.

I turned toward the stairs. I was too tired for this.

"Yea, that’s what I thought. Walk away like the shitty wife you are. How did you even trap my son?”

“Mother, it’s okay.” Lucas said, his voice calm.

“No, it’s not! What has she done for this family aside from making silly excuses? She can’t even give you a child!”

Her words made me pause. I waited for Lucas to scold her because it was a personal topic but he only heaved a sigh in defeat.

“Come on, do you want to fight me?” She sneered, seeing me halt.

“Mother, it’s okay.” Lucas said.

Heaving a sigh, I continued up the stairs, each step heavier than the last.

Laughter woke me.

I blinked in the darkness, disoriented. My phone screen showed it was already evening. I slept for hours.

The voices floated up from downstairs, bright and warm. She must be here. The stepsister. I'd never met her, just knew she'd been away studying overseas. A finance PhD, Eleanor never stopped mentioning whenever she got the chance.

I sat up slowly, my head still foggy. As the lady of the house, I should go down and greet the guest. It would be rude not to. But why hadn't Lucas woken me?

I pulled on a cardigan and made my way downstairs, following the sound of conversation to the dining room.

The first thing I saw wasn't her face.

It was the necklace.

The diamond necklace from the gift box in Lucas's car was draped around her throat, catching the light as she threw her head back and laughed at something Lucas had said.

I stood frozen in the doorway, my breath catching.

The same necklace. The exact one I'd thought was for me.