Chapter 1

Nick Horden was the kind of man everyone in New York’s elite circles whispered about. He was rich, reckless, and a little unhinged. But for all his chaos, he only ever cared about one person: Lisa Winters, a girl with nothing to her name, the half-starved homeless girl he once pulled off the streets.

From fifteen to twenty-five, he gave her his whole heart. He spoiled her, protected her, and made her the center of his world.

Lisa loved the violin, so Nick dropped everything to travel with her overseas to study music. Even when he lost billions in the stock market because of it, he didn’t care.

He expressed his love in grand gestures, sending fleets of luxury cars filled with gifts to her door and livestreaming his marriage proposal every day for 999 days straight.

When his powerful family refused to accept her, he endured three days of brutal punishment to break through their rules of class and bloodline. In the end, he gave her a wedding that looked like something out of a fairy tale and made her the envy of the entire city.

Now, that same man who once adored her was forcing her to kneel in the snow, dressed in nothing but a thin nightgown.

All because he thought she had driven away his new lover, a woman he had known for only six months.

“Baby, tell me,” Nick said from where he sat across from her, twirling a glass of whiskey in his hand. “What did you say to Susie?”

His tone was soft, almost sweet, but his eyes were colder than the snow outside. It sounded less like an accusation and more like casual small talk.

Lisa’s body was numb from the cold. Her teeth chattered as she spoke. “Nick, I’ve never even met Susie Sanders.”

Nick gave a faint smile. “Baby, that’s not true.”

He lifted his hand, and a bodyguard stepped forward with a phone. Nick pressed play.

On the screen, Lisa’s younger brother lay in a hospital bed. Someone had pulled the breathing tube from his mouth. His face was turning purple, his body jerking in pain.

“Nick, please,” Lisa cried, grabbing his legs. “He’s all I have left. Don’t hurt him. Please believe me. I didn’t say anything. I don’t know where she is.”

Nick leaned forward and wiped her tears with his thumb. “I told you, Susie is important to me too.”

His voice stayed calm and almost affectionate. “Be good. You have fifty seconds. In his condition, he won’t last more than two minutes without oxygen.”

He sat back, tapping the phone screen lightly as if counting down.

Lisa trembled. It felt like something heavy had slammed into her chest.

He had told her before that Susie mattered, but she never really believed him. Not after everything he had done for her.

Now she saw how foolish she’d been to think she couldn’t be replaced.

She had only seen Susie once, at a charity auction. Susie had been working as an event hostess.

When Lisa walked toward the lounge, Susie stopped her and lifted her chin slightly. “Mrs. Horden, I told you, I don’t like your husband. He’s already made my life difficult enough.”

That was the moment Lisa finally understood. The “interesting little kitten” Nick had been talking about all this time was Susie Sanders.

Susie was born with a weak left eye but had an incredible gift for painting. With her story of overcoming disability and her quiet brilliance, she became an online sensation.

But instead of cashing in on her fame through sponsored livestreams like other influencers, she chose to live simply, working part-time and paying her way through school. She waited tables at fancy events, moving between crowds of wealthy guests who never really saw her.

She was proud, confident, and radiant. And that confidence caught Nick Horden’s attention the moment he saw her.

The more Susie pushed him away, the more obsessed Nick became. His pursuit of her turned into a public spectacle, something everyone in the city talked about.

Lisa confronted him the same day she found out. He didn’t deny it. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and said lightly, “It’s just a game. My friends have all done this kind of thing. I just want to see how much it would take to win her over. Don’t worry, baby. You’re the only one I’ll ever love.”

Lisa asked quietly, “And if I don’t accept this?”

Nick ran his fingers through her hair, his eyes soft as he said, “Be good, baby. You’ll always be Mrs. Horden.”

Lisa fell silent. She knew she had no power to say no.

She told herself to wait, to believe that Nick would lose interest soon enough. But what she got instead were headlines about the two of them dating.

Susie hadn’t taken a single cent from him. She only agreed to be with him under one condition—that they would date like a normal couple.

Nick agreed without hesitation. He joined her livestreams as she painted, visited art exhibits with her, took her to amusement parks, and ate greasy street food at roadside stands.

He brought her to events, held her hand in public, and posted photos of them together like an ordinary boyfriend showing off the girl he adored.

Every post was a knife to Lisa’s heart. She cried, she begged, she even asked for a divorce.

Nick never took her seriously. He only said lazily, “Don’t cry, baby. I like it when you behave.”

Lisa tried to convince herself to stay calm. She forced herself to believe that he would get bored eventually and come home.

But now, Susie had suddenly blocked him and disappeared after mentioning that she had met with Lisa.

Lisa knew it was a provocation. She hadn’t done anything wrong, but Nick didn’t believe her.

“Baby,” he said, his voice soft as silk, “still not talking? Your brother doesn’t have much time left. Ten… nine… eight…”

He leaned closer. His breath was warm against her ear, but it made her shiver even more.

“I’ll tell you,” she gasped, her voice breaking. “I told her to stay away from you. To stop bothering you.”

The words came out strangled, each one cutting her from the inside. For the first time, she lied to him.

Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. Her hands slipped from his arm until they hung limply by her sides.

Nick looked at her, broken and trembling. He brushed her cold cheek and said softly, “Good girl. Don’t act on your own again. Think about your brother next time.”

Lisa nodded mechanically. The warmth in her chest had turned to something hollow and sharp.

Her body swayed, the world spinning around her. Just before she collapsed, she felt a sudden warmth spreading between her legs…

Just then, one of Nick’s men rushed into the room, panting as he spoke. They had found Susie. She was at a community center, teaching a group of disabled children how to paint.

The man hesitated before adding, “But Mrs. Horden told her not to see you again, sir. She said it’d be better if you stayed away.”

Nick’s expression brightened instantly. He ignored the last part completely. Without a second thought, he ordered his team to push Susie’s name to the top of the trending searches online, flooding social media with praise about her kindness and beauty.

As for Lisa, who was still lying on the ground, he didn’t spare her a single glance.

“Nick… my stomach hurts…” she gasped, reaching out toward his back. But he was already walking away, his figure fading into the snowy distance until she could no longer see him.

Once inside the car, Nick made a call. “Lock her in the meditation room,” he told the butler. “She needs time to reflect.”

The butler looked at Lisa’s collapsed body in the snow, a pool of red spreading beneath her. “Sir, Mrs. Horden seems to be miscarrying. She’s losing a lot of blood.”

Nick’s face darkened instantly. His voice turned cold. “She was pregnant? How disobedient. That child was never supposed to exist.”

The butler let out a quiet sigh. He didn’t dare argue. Following orders, he had Lisa carried to the meditation room.

The pain eventually jolted her awake. It felt as if her body was being torn apart from the inside. She could feel life slipping away.

She dragged herself to the door and banged on it with all her strength, her voice hoarse and desperate. “Please, let me out! Take me to the hospital! Save my baby!”

“Nick, please… save our baby!”

Her cries echoed in the empty hall.

After what felt like forever, the butler’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Mrs. Horden, this child isn’t part of Mr. Horden’s plans. Without his permission, no one can take you to the hospital. You should calm down and stay here to reflect.”

Lisa felt her strength drain away. She sank to the floor, trembling. Nick’s cold indifference replayed in her mind, breaking her completely.

All she had ever wanted was a child, one that belonged to the two of them.

But because he didn’t want it, she had no right to carry it.

Now, for the sake of another woman, he had locked her away, ignoring her pain and her cries for help.

Lisa clutched her stomach, wanting to cry but unable to make a sound. The pain came in waves, sharp and unbearable. Her vision blurred, her body weak.

Just before she passed out, she whispered faintly, “Nick Horden, the baby’s gone… and I don’t want you anymore.”