Chapter 1

Elena's POV

Eight months pregnant, the half-blood child inside me had put me through hell, yet there I was outside the prenatal examination room, watching my husband—the one who claimed he couldn't accompany me because of "work"—shielding his first love from the sunlight streaming through the corridor glass.

Ryan drew her close, carefully angling the umbrella to block the light, and I watched clearly as he pressed a tender kiss to the corner of her lips. "Don't worry," he murmured. "I won't let anything hurt you or the baby. I'll protect you both."

He had once said the same words to me. But compared to this—what he'd given me felt like a casual afterthought.

That was Lilian, Ryan's first love. I had heard her name even before our wedding, whispered by some of his friends.

Lilian had once wandered into the vampire world by accident. Ryan rescued her when she was injured and nursed her back to health, and the two fell for each other quickly—so quickly that they'd even talked about marriage. But at the last moment, Lilian retreated. Unable to bear the elder council's contempt toward a human bride, she refused to marry Ryan and returned to the human world.

Three months ago, Lilian—now pregnant—had been abandoned by the man she was engaged to. With nowhere left to turn, she came back to Ryan for help.

Ryan told me that seeing pregnant Lilian struggle alone reminded him of me, and that out of compassion for a human woman in her condition, he had taken her in.

"Of course I trust you, but Elena..." Lilian dropped her eyes, her face a picture of concern—though I could see the mockery beneath. "She's going to be furious. Today you came with me to the checkup instead of her—what if she makes a scene again?"

"What can she do without my protection? A half-blood kid with no father? That child has nothing."

Ryan laughed softly.

The sound was quiet, but it drove itself into my ear like a needle.

"So what if she's angry? She can't leave me. Even if she finds out the child you're carrying is mine, she won't dare file for divorce."

He said it so carelessly—almost with a touch of contempt. The smile on his face was utterly foreign to me.

In that moment, something inside my mind snapped.

My blood ran cold. The medical report in my hand crumpled into a ball.

The doctor stepped out of the examination room and called Lilian's name. Ryan instinctively reached out to support her elbow and guided her through the door.

"Doctor... my wife hasn't been feeling well lately. I'd like a thorough check this time."

Ryan called Lilian his wife. Then what did that make me?

From the moment Lilian returned to his life, I, my child, our love—none of it mattered to him anymore.

I lowered my head slowly and looked at the curve of my stomach. Something pressed against my chest, heavy and aching.

I finally took out my phone and dialed that number I hadn't called in years.

It connected quickly.

"What's wrong?" My father's voice was low and measured.

My voice cracked slightly.

"Dad." I said. "You were right. I want a divorce. Come take me home."

My father was silent for a moment, then just sighed. But the steadiness in his voice settled something inside me. "My good girl. You've finally come to your senses."

"Give me two weeks. I'll come for you then."

"I won't let that vampire get close to you and hurt you again."

My father would find doctors to help protect the pregnancy, and he would find a way past the guards surrounding Ryan's estate. I would be able to leave here safely with my child soon.

Two weeks. That was all it would take for me to vanish from Ryan's life completely.