Chapter 1

It was 10:00 pm by the time Talia Stewart returned to Elmwood Estate. That day was the 15th of the month—her ovulation day.

Her first child with Christian Lane had been a girl, and her in-laws kept pressuring them to have another. If it were anyone else, she would have sarcastically asked them whether the family had a throne to inherit.

But the Lane family was indeed the wealthiest in Jarrowind, and there truly were billions in assets waiting for a boy to inherit.

When Talia entered the bedroom, Christian had already finished washing up. Not a word of concern was exchanged between them as they went straight to business.

Three minutes later, Christian went to the bathroom to clean up while Talia pressed her legs against the wall, positioning her body at a 90-degree angle to maximize their chances. Not a single drop could be wasted to achieve their goal.

Soon, Christian emerged from the bathroom. While getting dressed with his back to Talia, he said, "Keep tracking your cycle. Call me when you get a positive pregnancy test."

In their five years of marriage, he had always been this sparing with his words toward her. Their marriage existed in name only.

Christian kept a woman on the side. Talia had searched through all of Christian's social media accounts for clues, eventually managing to track down the woman's profile.

Since then, she had been secretly monitoring the woman online. Her husband's whereabouts could only be glimpsed through the posts of the woman who was destroying her marriage.

That woman documented everything frequently, from her three daily meals to holidays and birthdays. Talia barely saw Christian before their plan to have a second child. But now, they would meet once a month.

Knowing how eager Christian was to leave, Talia quickly got up and said to his retreating figure, "Can we talk?"

Christian turned back to look at her, his expression completely blank as he asked, "About what?"

Talia lowered her voice, her tone almost pleading as she said, "I want us to work things out."

Despite knowing that this marriage no longer had any reason to continue, Talia still wanted to try to keep it going. What if it worked?

She had finally married the man of her dreams and given birth to their daughter. She didn't want her marriage to end in failure.

But her words seemed to fall on deaf ears. She couldn't tell whether Christian truly hadn't heard her or was pretending not to. He finished getting dressed, put on his watch, and headed for the door.

Talia stepped off the bed in two quick strides, but she didn't rush to embrace him or beg him to stay and keep her company as she once had.

A second before Christian was about to step out and leave, Talia suddenly broke down and confronted him.

"Christian, you only come to Elmwood Estate once a month. You never even call me, and we haven't shared a single meal together. What kind of marriage is this with us being so distant from one another?"

Christian's steps paused. After a long moment, he turned back to look at Talia. He ignored her tears and her grievances, and simply said to her, "Once you're pregnant with a son, I'll return to live at Elmwood Estate."

He left immediately after saying that. Talia stood where she was, no longer chasing after him.

After eight years of loving him and five years of marriage, she had given him everything. Even when she gave birth to their daughter, she suffered an amniotic fluid embolism, and the doctor placed her on the critical list three times.

But even so, Talia was still willing to risk another brush with death to try for a second child—a boy. Yet, at that moment, she suddenly felt confused. She wondered if it was even worth it anymore.

After finishing her shower and emerging from the bathroom, Talia habitually picked up her phone and launched the Instagram app. She tapped into the same profile she obsessively checked every night—"Naners", with her sweet-looking profile picture.

Clicking on her story, Talia saw a new post from two minutes ago. It was just a photo of two shadows under a streetlight, but she could see interlocked fingers in the corner, both wearing matching couple bracelets.

The caption read, "There are two shadows under the streetlight. Both of them belong to me."

Talia felt her chest tighten when she saw the post. However, it barely fazed her now compared to the devastation she had felt when she first discovered his affair. Perhaps she had grown used to it.

Every time they met, Christian was rushing to get back to another woman. But if Talia set her feelings aside, her position as Mrs. Lane would at least be secure, so long as she could give him a male heir to inherit the family business.

It was just that this bitter pill of a marriage was something Talia had to swallow by herself.

…

A month later, it was 7:00 pm when Talia clutched the pregnancy test results and rushed back to Elmwood Estate in delight.

Just as she was about to step into the living room, Talia suddenly heard her mother-in-law, Margaret Johnson's voice saying, "Christian, you're 32 years old now. You've been married for five years.

"It's fine that your first child is a girl, but you're being so half-hearted about the second child. Once a month? How is Talia supposed to get pregnant that way?

"Look—if it's not going to work, just have that other woman of yours give you a son. As long as he's a boy and carries the Lane blood, I'll accept him."

Christian almost immediately rejected Margaret's suggestion. "How is that the same?"

Margaret felt frustrated. "How is it not?"

Talia retreated to the side, and her heart fluttered slightly because Christian had spoken up for her. No matter what he did outside, she remained his only wife.

Soon, Christian's voice sounded again. "Mom, did you forget about Talia's amniotic fluid embolism when she gave birth to Yvonne?"

Margaret became even angrier at his words. "You have the nerve to bring that up! She has been nothing but trouble since marrying into this family.

"Other women can bear four or five children without issue, but Talia has to be so high-maintenance. One birth, and she had the Lane family in the news for three days. It's so embarrassing!"

Christian didn't listen to a single word of Margaret's complaints about Talia. He only explained, "Childbirth carries great risks. Talia has already been through it once, so she has the resilience for it.

"But Nancy is still young, and I don't dare to let her take on that kind of risk."

Talia felt thunderstruck when she heard these words from outside the door. She stood frozen, too shocked even to cry.

Even knowing that Christian didn't love her, had betrayed her, and that their marriage was over, Talia had still foolishly believed a child might win back his heart.

She had thought that no matter how much Christian played around, at least the title of Mrs. Lane would always be hers. But the truth was more cruel than she had imagined.

She was apparently nothing more than a baby machine to Christian.

He had forgotten that she had suffered from depression and developed a fear of blood after giving birth to their daughter, Yvonne Lane. She was someone who had been rescued from the brink of death by doctors.

Christian feared that his mistress, Nancy York, might face complications, but he had forgotten that Talia's health was at greater risk. At this point, Talia couldn't make out what else Christian and Margaret were saying in the room.

Talia had risked her life to give the Lanes an heir, only to spend her nights alone while her husband cheated on her. She clutched the pregnancy test results tightly, thinking that it was time for everything to end.

That day was supposed to be their monthly attempt at conceiving a second child, but at that moment, Talia felt like it had no meaning whatsoever. She realized that this was what heartbreak really felt like. It really could happen in an instant.

The child in her belly probably didn't need to be kept either. She figured that if others didn't care about her life or death, she should at least care about herself.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, the housekeeper, Jane Lewis, spotted her. "Mrs. Lane! You're home!"

Talia smiled at Jane, thinking that perhaps that day would be perfect for discussing the divorce.