### Chapter 1

My husband was an honest man who didn't know the first thing about romance. No diamond ring at the wedding. Not a single flower in five years. In bed, he was a plank of wood.

When I finally got pregnant and asked him to come to my prenatal checkup, he frowned like I was asking too much：

“Next time, okay? I've got to keep grinding so you and the baby can have a good life.”

My friends all said the same thing：“Professor Sanchez stays in the lab until midnight every night earning formula money. He's loyal, he doesn't mess around. You should be grateful.”

I told myself the same thing. He just wasn't wired for romance.

Then I walked out of the hospital alone after my checkup, and my feet stopped dead.

Across the street, Frederick Sanchez was carefully helping a young actress into a Bugatti.

This man who had shared a cramped old apartment with me for five years was dressed head to toe in couture, a Patek Philippe on his wrist, every hair in place.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine roses nearly buried Vanessa Sterling whole. He leaned down and kissed her.

That face—always so flat and indifferent—wore an expression I had never once seen: reverent, doting, utterly tender.

I stood frozen on the sidewalk, one hand over my five-month belly, tears blurring everything.

That night, I logged into a second account and pulled up the feed Frederick had blocked me from.

A ten-carat diamond ring, slid onto her finger as he knelt. A year's worth of travel photos spanning the globe……

He was never a poor professor. He was never cold by nature.

His generosity, his romance, had simply never been meant for me.

I wiped my eyes and made a phone call：

“I accept the offer. I'll lead Westfield Group's ten-billion-dollar project.”

In five days I would fly across the ocean and disappear from his life.

1.

It was the blocked feed that finally showed me: my husband wasn't just a university professor. He was a partner in a major corporation.

His annual salary wasn't the pittance he'd told me. It was tens of millions.

A year ago, Vanessa Sterling had visited his university to research a role. That was how they met.

Good-morning and good-night texts every single day since.

She was often away on location, but she sent him everything：shopping trips, coffee runs, glamorous on-set photos.

No matter what she posted, Frederick never left her hanging.

One photo, ten thousand dollars. A reward for sharing her day.

And when I shared something with him? The same line, every time：

“Audrey, I'm in class. We'll talk when I'm done.”

To keep Vanessa happy, he threw luxury goods at her like money was nothing.

On my birthday, he'd also given me something once. A bracelet. He said it had cost him two months' salary.

I cried so hard that day. I was so moved.

Now I knew the truth. It was a freebie Vanessa had tossed in the trash.

Had he been laughing at me the whole time? His pathetic, gullible wife?

Then came the thousandth photo in the feed. Frederick on one knee, sliding a diamond ring onto Vanessa's finger.

“I'll protect your future. That's my promise.”

I looked down at my own bare ring finger, and the pain drove through my chest like a thousand needles.

My hands shaking, I tapped the latest update.

It was Vanessa's positive pregnancy test.

My mind went blank.

Frederick had given her a supercar to celebrate：

“Only the finest things are worthy of what you're going through to carry our child.”

And my “reward” for being pregnant?

Hand-washing his underwear for five years straight so he could save a few dollars.

Footsteps at the door. Frederick was home.

He'd changed back into his threadbare old button-down, fraying at the edges. Behind those black-framed glasses his face still looked honest, decent. But now all I could see was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

When he noticed my red-rimmed eyes, he paused, then quickly crossed the room and pulled me into his arms.

“What's wrong? Did something come up at the checkup?”

I didn't answer. He sighed and leaned in to kiss me.

“One of my grad students made a mess in the lab. I had to clean it up.”

“How about French food tomorrow? We can call it a makeup dinner for our anniversary. Sound good?”

The heavy perfume still clinging to him hit my nose and my stomach turned.

“Don't bother. I'm not worthy of anything that expensive.”

I turned away from his lips and stepped out of his arms.

Last year on this same date, I sat in a restaurant waiting for him for five hours. When he finally picked up the phone, his voice was nothing but irritation：

“Didn't I tell you I'm running an experiment? Stop bothering me.”

As if he'd completely forgotten what day it was.

So he remembered after all. Only this time he felt uneasy enough to think about "making it up to me."

“Audrey, what is your problem? I'm shelling out for a big dinner and you're still not satisfied? What exactly do you want from me?”

Pure annoyance on his face, as if I were the one being unreasonable.

I had followed this man for years without so much as buying myself a decent piece of clothing.

One French dinner. Compared to everything he gave Vanessa, what was that?

I was about to speak when his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, and every crease of irritation vanished.

“Frederick, the baby kicked me… my tummy hurts. Can you come stay with me?”

A sweet, breathy voice leaked from the speaker.

Frederick panicked. He turned and headed straight for the door.

Only at the threshold did he seem to remember I existed, not even looking back：“Emergency at the lab. I've got to go. Get some sleep.”

I watched the man and all his lies disappear through the door, and I laughed until the tears came.

Five more days. Then you won't have to sneak around anymore. I'll set you free.

Half an hour later, Vanessa's social media updated.

“How does this man love me so much~”

In the video, Vanessa was doubled over with morning sickness. Frederick, the germaphobe, caught her vomit in his bare hands without a second of hesitation.

I thought of a few weeks ago, when I threw up all over the floor. He didn't even try to hide his disgust.

I begged him to take me to the hospital. He yanked his hand out of mine：

“I have an important review today. If I miss it, I might not get promoted. Take a cab. Be good.”

### Chapter 2

I took a long breath and told myself：

It's fine. From now on, I'll love myself the way he never bothered to.

I saved every photo and every video. The next morning, I went straight to a divorce attorney.

Frederick didn't come home until the afternoon.

“Got stuck at the lab too late last night, so I just crashed there. We're having dinner at my parents' place tonight. Go get changed.”

He held out a new dress. It was beautiful, a designer label he'd never once been willing to buy me before.

The old me would have thrown her arms around him in delight.

I just took it quietly and murmured：“Okay.”

Frederick frowned, looking me over：

“You don't like it? That dress cost over a thousand dollars.”

Yes. Too late. No gift in the world could make me happy now.

He had no idea.

That morning, on my way to the law firm, I'd spotted him next door at the sales office, touring a condo with Vanessa Sterling.

A sprawling riverfront unit, tens of millions. Vanessa said “I love it,” and he swiped his card without blinking.

She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek, beaming. He smiled gently and smoothed the hair from her forehead.

The handsome professor and the beautiful actress. A perfect match.

If only this man weren't my husband.

I'd once dreamed of a home by the river too, even a tiny one.

I'd clung to Frederick's arm and begged：

“The view at night is so gorgeous. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could live there?”

He hadn't even looked up from grading papers：

“Do you have any idea what riverfront units cost? You don't even have a job. How am I supposed to afford that on my salary?”

I'd pouted and suggested a mortgage. He'd exploded：

“Audrey, I said no!”

“What's wrong with the apartment? You don't have the life for a rich wife, but you've sure caught the disease!”

So it was never about the price. And he knew exactly how beautiful the view was.

I was just the one who didn't deserve it.

I swallowed the pain twisting through my chest, pulled out my phone, recorded him buying that condo, and walked into the law firm.

That evening—the last dinner at the Sanchez house. Glasses clinked, laughter rose easy and warm around the table.

I stood up.

I pushed a divorce agreement across the table, right over the steak Frederick was cutting.

“Frederick. I want a divorce.”

The air at the table went dead.

“Being pregnant's made you lose your mind? Where do you get off talking about divorce!” Bertha Sanchez was the first to recover, her voice shrill and cutting.

Frederick's hand froze around his knife and fork.

A long moment passed before he looked up at me, brow creased deep：“What are you making a scene about now?”

“I'm not making a scene.”

I clenched my teeth and confronted him about Vanessa Sterling.

He rubbed his temples, looking thoroughly put-upon：

“Vanessa was just picking up some reference material from the lab. I helped her out a little, that's it.”

“You wanted a baby—I gave you one. So what exactly is your problem?”

One word. *Unreasonable.* And every grievance I carried was stuffed right back inside me.

Bertha's voice rose to a bark：“This is what happens when life's been too easy for you. It's made you completely out of control!”

Roland Sanchez rolled his eyes in open contempt：

“Everyone knows you've been living off my son since the wedding. Walk out that door, and you're just some used-up woman nobody else would want.”

Frederick's older brother set down his wine glass, voice dripping with scorn：

“A woman who acts up like this? Who besides Frederick could stand it.”

“That's enough.”

Frederick cut them off and turned to his parents：“Audrey is still your daughter-in-law. She's upset, that's why she's talking about divorce. Once I explain things, she'll calm down.”

Instantly the whole table rallied around his “defense” of me, praising him as the perfect husband, calling me an ungrateful waste of space.

They'd all forgotten. I have a PhD in AI engineering from an Ivy League school.

After the wedding, Frederick said he didn't want me in the public eye. And because I loved him more than anything, I became a full-time housewife.

What he never knew was that for years, the world's top tech companies had been reaching out to me. I turned every one of them down.

I never imagined that everything I gave up would become the knife his family used against me.

“Frederick's already protecting you. Quit while you're ahead and stop being so ungrateful!”

### Chapter 3

They thought I'd back down after all that.

I didn't.

I pushed the divorce papers closer：

“No explanations needed. Sign, Frederick.”

He stared for two full seconds, then let out a cold laugh：

“Don't be stupid. Walk out that door and you can't even feed yourself.”

I looked at the face in front of me, so familiar yet so foreign, and felt a disappointment I had never known before.

So even he saw me that way.

Then why was I still bending over backward for this?

I was about to speak when his phone rang at his waist.

He answered, and his expression shifted：“Don't be scared. I'm coming right now.”

Then he looked at me, impatient：

“Vanessa's being harassed by some guys. I have to go.”

“I've been good enough to you all these years. Vanessa and I are just friends. Don't you dare start this again.”

He swept the divorce papers into the trash and slammed the door on his way out.

Bertha watched him go and let out a sharp snort：“Ungrateful little wretch. Get out of my house.”

I didn't bother acknowledging the insults at my back. I walked straight out.

It wasn't until I reached the road that I realized Frederick had already taken the car to pick up Vanessa.

He couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt at all, yet he'd forgotten I was pregnant.

And he'd forgotten that five years ago, kneeling at my parents' graves, he'd sworn to protect me for the rest of my life.

Maybe the vow had been sincere at the time. Too bad hearts change.

The person who promised to protect me was the one who hurt me the most.

The area was remote. There wasn't a single cab to hail.

I stared down the pitch-black mountain road, clenched my fists, and started walking.

By the time my legs felt like lead, my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.

It was Vanessa.

“Did you and Frederick have a fight? He looked awful when he got here.”

“He's in a much better mood now, though. I took very good care of him.”

In the photo she'd attached, a man stood with his back to the camera, showering. Scratch marks streaked across his back, and the steam did nothing to hide that tall, familiar frame.

I saved the photo without a word and called a friend who worked as a private investigator.

“You said you had dirt on Vanessa Sterling? I'll buy it. Whatever it costs.”

“And dig into my husband's assets while you're at it.”

It took me a full four hours to walk home. The instant I turned the key, I heard laughter inside.

“Just relax and stay here. Nobody's going to bother you.”

Frederick's voice. Soft. Gentle.

I pushed the door open. Vanessa was on the couch. Frederick stood over her holding a bowl of something nutritious, spooning it carefully to her lips：

“The doctor said you unsettled the baby. Stay still—I've got it.”

I stood there, staring at the two of them, and a sharp pain pushed through my chest, as if the home I'd lived in for five years had really been theirs all along.

Vanessa spotted me and immediately stood：

“Audrey, you're back.”

She still had that flawless skin, that perfect face. She didn't look pregnant at all.

Meanwhile the hormones had wrecked me. My once-clear complexion had broken out, I'd gained over twenty pounds, and the face reflected in the glass cabinet was oily and hollowed out.

Frederick set the bowl down and glanced at me, his tone flat：

“Vanessa's apartment was tracked down by some obsessive fans. I told her she could stay with us a few days.”

Vanessa came over and reached for my hand：

“I was just so scared, and Frederick insisted on bringing me here. You don't mind, right?”

I shook her hand off and stared at her, cold.

“You're a celebrity. You think seducing a married man is something to be proud of?”

“That's not what this is, I……”

Vanessa turned to Frederick with wounded eyes, her lashes already glistening, a tear about to fall.

He pulled her behind him instantly and fixed me with a hard stare：“I told you, there's nothing between me and Vanessa. Can you stop with the pointless jealousy?”

The way he shielded her from me made me feel like I was the shameless other woman.

I swallowed the burn in my nose and pulled out the divorce papers I'd fished back out of the trash, every word deliberate.

“I'm not jealous. I'm giving you what you want.”

My eyes, steady and unblinking, held his.

“Audrey……”

His heartbeat stuttered without warning, and he reached for me.