I'd been married to Joshua Merck for five years, but we still didn't have kids.

To stay healthy, I took those pricey custom vitamins he ordered from overseas—never missed a dose.

Then my cousin came back from studying abroad, took one look at the bottle, and was like, "That brand doesn't even make custom vitamins."

I sent them to the hospital for testing.

The lab report hit me like a truck—birth control pills. Powerful ones.

Suddenly, all those mornings with Joshua hovering over me, acting so concerned while I took my "vitamins," made sense. The whole thing had been a lie. Five years of lies.

Just as I was gearing up to confront him, my phone buzzed—a group chat notification. Shirley Hoare had tagged Joshua.

[Honey, I had a prenatal checkup today, and the doctor said I'm carrying twins! Your family's about to get two grandchildren at once—excited?]

My heart turned to ash. Everything clicked.

Fine. We were done.

I pulled out my phone and replied to my childhood sweetheart's message from three days ago:

[After watching the northern lights, I still wanted to see penguins in Antarctica.]

Shirley's message in the group chat blew up the whole company.

[OMG, when did you and the boss get together?]

[Wow, already moving on to the next generation!]

[Congrats, congrats! Got my wedding gift ready!]

[Boss, you're impressive! You actually snagged the office sweetheart!]

Messages kept pouring in. I just stared at the screen, feeling colder by the second.

This was the Merck Corp group chat—executives and Joshua's close associates. He'd added me ages ago because his parents insisted.

Even back then, it was just as chaotic. When people joked around, Joshua had typed:

[Nadia's just a friend. I added her so she can learn more about finance and get some experience.]

Then he turned to me with that casual shrug. "Our marriage is just a family alliance thing. There's a lot going on, so let's not make it public yet."

I just nodded and stayed quiet.

When people asked if they could hit on me, Joshua would joke:

[That depends on your skills—just don't slack off at work!]

Then Shirley jumped in right after:

[Come on, guys. Don't act like a bunch of thirsty dudes just 'cause there's a pretty girl around. Bad for the company's image!]

Joshua kept using work as an excuse, so we never had a wedding. Five years of marriage, and no one even knew he was taken.

It took a whole hour for the chat to finally chill out. Then Shirley popped back in:

[Thanks for the well wishes! When Joshua and I have the baby shower, you all better come show support.]

[And don't forget those fancy presents, you company elites!]

Everyone jumped on it:

[No problem! Wishing you three a happy family!]

[What three? She's having twins—it's a family of four!]

[Can't wait to meet your babies!]

I stared at the screen, heart aching, gripping my phone so tight my fingers went white. I wanted to believe it was just some sick joke.

Then I saw Joshua's reply to everyone:

[Thanks for the blessings. Once this busy period's over, I'll give everyone some paid leave.]

My vision blurred as tears spilled over, like my heart was caught in a vice. Why? Why did Joshua have to treat me like this?

I sat frozen on the couch, drowning in pain, until I finally calmed down. I opened the group chat and saved all the conversation records. Then I just stared blankly out the window, my mind totally blank.

Just then, I heard the sound of keys turning in the lock. I glanced over—it was Joshua.

He'd actually come home before dinner. How rare.

"Why are your eyes so red? Were you crying?" He looked at me with fake concern and sat beside me.

"What's wrong, babe? Who upset you? Let me take care of it!" He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.

His arms were warm, but I still felt frozen. How could he act like he loved me after what he'd done?

I couldn't make sense of it. Feeling his breath on me made my skin crawl, so I shoved his arm off and moved away.

"Stay away from me!"

Joshua's face darkened for a second, but then he just shrugged like it was no big deal.

"You saw the messages in the company group chat?"

Joshua sighed, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes. "Nadia, you know why we got married. It was for the family. Why get hung up on the details? Isn't this arrangement just fine?"

I froze, caught off guard. He wasn't wrong.

Years ago, Ardenburg popped up as this massive threat, pushing both Merck Corp and Green Corp to the brink. They had no choice but to team up, and marrying us off was part of the deal.

"For the future of Merck Corp and Green Corp, you two must get married! No discussion!"

Our parents didn't leave room to argue. Joshua and Shirley's little fling got cut off, and I was forced to break up with Sean—my childhood sweetheart. They even yanked all financial support, leaving us broke. We barely lasted three months before giving in.

When we walked out of the city hall, Joshua's face was stone cold. "This is all for the family. I don't love you—don't expect anything more."

I knew his heart was still with his secretary, Shirley. But knowing he'd cheat and force me on birth control just to make sure I never had his kid? That was a whole different kind of betrayal.

My heart ached, a mess of fury and disappointment swirling inside me. Yeah, we married for our families—but five years together? Eighteen hundred days? How could there be zero love?

The question clawed its way out. "What are you planning to do about Shirley's babies?"

As soon as I asked, I regretted it. If he didn't want the kids, he wouldn't have bragged about it in the company group chat or thanked everyone for their blessings.

"Nadia, I love kids. And that's my flesh and blood—I have to keep it."

Rage exploded inside me. My hand shot out, and I slapped him. Hard.

Smack!

Joshua stared at me, eyes wide, like he couldn't believe it. "You're crazy! You actually hit me?"

I didn't bother answering. Just ripped the hospital report from my bag and slapped it down on the coffee table. Tears burned my eyes.

"Five years, Joshua! Five freaking years! You lied to me every single day! Expensive custom vitamins? Genius move—feeding me birth control and acting like you're doing me a favor!"

His face went pale, guilt and fear crashing over him. "Nadia, let me explain—"

"Explain what? You forced those pills on me for years. That's your idea of loving kids? Or is it just Shirley's kids you care about?"

Bitterness tightened my throat, and I couldn't hold back the tears. He reached out to hug me, but I jerked away.

"If you wanted Shirley to have your kid so bad, you could've just told me. I might've even convinced both families. But why'd you have to hurt me like this? Do you even get how much damage those hormones did to my body?"

Yeah, our marriage was mostly for convenience, but five years was five years.

He used to scour the whole city for my favorite cake when I was down.

Drunk, he'd cling to me, mumbling, "Honey, don't leave me."

And whenever I said I missed him on his business trips, he'd catch the last flight home, even if he had to leave again the next morning.

I didn't know if it was love, but every time he called me "Honey," it felt a little sweet, a little real.

"Honey, I'm so lucky to have married you."

He'd said that over and over, holding me close at night. I thought that happiness was forever. Never imagined he'd lie to me for five long years.

If my cousin hadn't found out, I'd still be clueless that those "vitamins" were actually hardcore birth control.

Joshua's face softened when he saw me crying, guilt flickering in his eyes. "Honey, I just... I didn't want you to get hurt knowing about Shirley. That's why I hid it from you."

His lame excuse just made me feel hollow.

Afraid I'd be hurt? Then why cheat?

Worried about my feelings? Then why shove birth control down my throat?

What a joke. Joshua Merck—the guy's got zero shame.

I let out a bitter laugh, watching guilt squirm across his face.

Seeing the guilt and unease on his face, I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. "For years, I barely slept—stressed out, hair falling out in clumps—losing my mind over not having a baby. Do you have any idea what that did to me?

"And you? You fed me birth control like it was nothing. Those hormones destroyed me—I can never have a baby now! You RIPPED AWAY my chance to be a mom just so SHIRLEY could have your kid. You're a MONSTER, Joshua."

My heart tightened, and tears wouldn't stop streaming down my face. When the doctor told me the truth, it felt like my whole world shattered. Joshua crushed my dream of having a daughter.

I hated him.

I never wanted to see him again.

I spun around and headed to the bedroom. As soon as I sat on the bed, my phone buzzed.

Sean.

[Nadia, why aren't you answering me?]

[If you don't want to see the northern lights, we can pick a different place.]

Sean—my childhood sweetheart. He moved abroad after college, and my parents didn't want us together.

Over the years, he'd sent me a ton of messages. Invites to go surfing, hike mountain valleys, watch the sunrise over the desert...

So many chances—none of which I ever took.

Even that one message asking to get back together.

But no matter how much I ghosted him, Sean never gave up. He kept sharing bits of his life like I was still part of it. My chat app was packed with his unread messages.

I couldn't bring myself to look—couldn't reply.

Because I was someone else's wife.

I'd stuck to my morals while Joshua crushed my dignity and wrecked my body without a second thought.

My sacrifice? Just pain.

I broke down, crying hard enough to feel hollow by the end of it. After what felt like forever, I took a deep breath and finally opened Sean's chat, scrolling through everything I'd missed.

[Nadia, I graduated today!! Got my Ph.D.! Wish you were here to celebrate with me.]

[Hey, I found this shop with your favorite vanilla cake!]

[Nadia, did you get the gift I sent?]

[I miss you. A lot.]

His words hit me like a dagger to the heart—regret and longing tangled up in one tight knot.

My phone buzzed again. I glanced at the screen—Joshua had just sent me three million.

A message popped up right after:

[Honey, I know I was wrong. This three million is my way of apologizing—please don't be mad at me.]

I let out a bitter laugh. Seriously? Three million?

Did he really think that was enough to buy my forgiveness? To make up for the way he wrecked my life and my health?

Pathetic.

I was done sacrificing for him. From now on, I was living for myself.

I opened Sean's chat and typed:

[After watching the northern lights, I still want to see penguins in Antarctica.]