Chapter 1

Zachary Brooks and Naomi Cole had lost count of how many times they'd visited the hospital, how many tests they'd undergone, and how many medications they'd tried. They'd even prayed for a miracle, but nothing had worked. They still couldn't have a child.

After yet another failed attempt to conceive, Zachary held Naomi tightly in his arms. "I'm sorry, Naomi. You're about to turn 29, and I don't think I'll be able to help you achieve this part of your life plan after all."

She hugged him just as tightly, her expression gentle and sincere. "It's okay. Life doesn't always go according to plan. Unexpected things happen."

…

Not long afterward, Naomi left the country to expand her company's business and spent several months overseas.

The next time Zachary saw her, she was in a hospital delivery room, cradling a newborn in each arm as she gently soothed them.

The nurse beamed with joy. "Congratulations! You've given birth to a boy and a girl. What a blessing!

"Everything went smoothly. The babies' father went downstairs to get you something to eat. He'll be back soon."

It wasn't long before Zachary saw the man.

The man entered the delivery room with a container of soup in his hands. Naomi leaned into his embrace, and the intimacy between them made them look like a blissfully happy family of four.

"Naomi, have you thought of names for the babies?"

As she soothed the newborns, she answered gently, "Let's call them Olivia and Oliver Harris."

Zachary felt as though he'd been plunged into a freezing abyss.

By the age of 10, Naomi had already chosen names for her future children and written them in her life-planning journal, along with a line of poetry: [Green grass grows beside the river, while my thoughts stretch endlessly toward the one far away.]

Olivia Brooks and Oliver Brooks. Zachary had always believed those names would one day belong to his own children.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined they would belong to another man's babies instead.

"Mr. Brooks, are you all right?" The nurse's cautious voice pulled Zachary back to reality. "Didn't you come here hoping to share in their good fortune? Mr. Harris and Ms. Cole just had twins, a boy and a girl!"

Zachary's entire body went numb. He could hardly believe that Vincent Harris, the man he'd come to congratulate, was the same man who'd just fathered twins with his own wife.

Zachary's thoughts descended into chaos. 'So Naomi was determined to achieve her life goals at any cost from the very beginning. She gave up on me long before I even realized it...

'And now, just before her 29th birthday, she's finally had the twins she's always wanted. Did she ever truly love me?'

"I spoke to Mr. Harris beforehand. He agreed to give you one of Ms. Cole's intimate garments in exchange for the 14,000 dollars you offered him."

With that, the nurse handed Zachary a piece of lingerie.

The moment he saw it, his blood seemed to freeze in his veins. It was the birthday gift he'd given Naomi three years ago. And now, he'd paid another man 14,000 dollars just to get it back.

Zachary couldn't bear to stay another second. He clutched the lingerie tightly and practically fled the hospital.

…

When he got home, he received his latest test results from the hospital. Once again, they confirmed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with his body.

The doctor sounded hesitant as he spoke. "Mr. Brooks, you're in excellent health. Have you considered that there might be another reason you haven't been able to conceive a child?"

Just then, Zachary received a message from Vincent.

Vincent asked for the 14,000 dollars they'd agreed upon. Distracted and overwhelmed, Zachary transferred the money immediately. Vincent sent him another message.

[Mr. Brooks, since you've been so generous, I'll let you in on a little secret. Check the third drawer in the master bedroom of your house. You'll find all the answers you've been looking for.]

Terror gripped Zachary as a dreadful sense of foreboding washed over him.

The beautiful dream he'd shared with Naomi for eight long years might finally shatter that very night.

Even so, he walked into the bedroom and pulled open the drawer. Inside was an entire bottle of birth control pills. Not a single pill had been replaced with a vitamin.

Zachary played the short audio recording Vincent had sent him. "Mr. Brooks, have you really never wondered why Naomi always takes a vitamin after the two of you sleep together?"

After a brief burst of static, Naomi's agitated voice rang out. "Vincent, you know perfectly well that you're the only person I've ever included in my life plan!

"You're the one I wanted to date. You're the one I wanted to marry. You're the one I wanted to have children with.

"But you just walked away! Did you ever stop to think about how I've managed to hold on all these years?

"If I hadn't been so determined to stick to my plan, I never would've gotten together with Zachary in the first place... This is all your fault!"

Naomi spoke through gritted teeth. She'd always been composed and self-controlled, but now she could no longer contain her anger.

"Now that you're back, don't even think about running away again. The children in my plan can only be yours. I have to correct every mistake in my plan!"

Lightning flashed outside the window and illuminated Zachary's deathly pale face. His legs could barely support him anymore. He collapsed onto the cold floor and gasped for air like a fish stranded on dry land.

So he was nothing more than a mistake in Naomi's life. He'd merely been a substitute in her carefully crafted life plan.

Zachary clutched the bottle of birth control pills and sat motionless throughout the night as tears silently streamed down his face.

He remained there until dawn the following morning.

Then he called Naomi's grandfather, David Cole.

"David," Zachary began, his voice hoarse. He'd wiped away his tears and regained his composure. "The first love you told me about all those years ago... was his last name Harris?"

"How did you find out?" David's voice trembled slightly.

Zachary let out a bitter laugh. "When Vincent suddenly left all those years ago, he threw Naomi's entire life plan into disarray. She was so devastated that she nearly fell apart.

"To repay the debt I owed your family, I pursued Naomi just as you'd hoped I would. I helped her accomplish one goal after another, step by step.

"But now, the man she's been waiting for all this time has finally returned. Does that mean I can leave now?"