On our wedding anniversary, Gifford Habsburg slapped me—for his first love.

He sneered at me, saying, “I never thought you could be so cruel!”

With my cheek swollen and burning red, I called another man and said yes to his proposal.

But when I showed up with a new lover after the divorce, Gifford lost his damn mind. He dropped to his knees, begging me to reconcile with him.

This time, though, I wasn’t looking back.

…

On our wedding anniversary, I had a wonderful surprise—I discovered I was pregnant.

It had been five years; my husband knew better than anyone else how much I had suffered and endured to carry this child.

I couldn’t wait to tell him, so I hurried home. But when I pushed open the front door of the villa…

The vase in the living room was shattered, torn, and vivid red rose petals were scattered all over the floor.

I especially bought them early in the morning, planning to celebrate with him tonight.

The couch cushions were rumpled and tossed aside; Gifford’s coat lay carelessly on the coffee table. He was standing by the window with his back to me.

“You’re back,” he began, turning around. His eyes were filled with suppressed anger.

“Dakota just called,” he continued. “She told me you went to her house and set her bedroom curtains on fire.”

“I—what? I didn’t—” I began to protest.

Before I could even process how ridiculous that accusation sounded, his hand struck my face.

The force knocked me half a step back. The pregnancy test slip flew from my hand, hit the floor with a sharp smack, and slid a few feet across the room.

“Gifford! Are you out of your mind? I was at the hospital all day! When would I even have gone to Dakota’s house?”

I covered my burning cheek. I could taste blood on my tongue.

“Don’t you dare lie to me, Austria!” he bellowed, striding toward me and jabbing a finger at my nose. “She’s pregnant! And because you couldn’t have a baby, you got jealous—so jealous you tried to burn her bedroom down and hurt the child she’s carrying!”

He heaved a sigh. “God. I never thought you could be so cruel!”

I watched him lambast me in Dakota’s defense, my hand still covering my face. For a moment, I froze in disbelief.

“Burn her house? My god, Gifford, I didn’t realize you could be this absurd!” I couldn’t help but scoff. “Today’s our fifth wedding anniversary. Is this your gift to me?”

I had come home full of joy, ready to tell him about the baby, and instead, he hit me for Dakota’s sake.

“So you’re saying, your wife, who lives with you day in and day out, means less than someone’s accusation? You really believe Dakota over me? You actually think I’m a monster who’d set someone’s house on fire?”

Suddenly, my belly churned; I covered my mouth, my fingers digging into my palm to steady myself and fight off the pregnancy-induced retching.

The surprise I had planned to announce tonight now felt like a shard lodging in my chest, stabbing pain through my ribs.

“Isn’t it true?” he demanded.

“You’ve never gotten over what happened years ago. For god’s sake, it was an accident, Austria!” he snapped.

Gritting his teeth, he added, “I understood how you felt as a new mother then, so I turned a blind eye to how you treated Dakota all these years.”

His voice rose. “But I never imagined you would go so far as to burn her alive!”

The sting in my cheek still throbbed, and his words stabbed through me. Suddenly, memories I had buried deep surged up without warning.

Three years ago, on a snowy night, I’d been outside the ER holding my feverish baby, crying until I passed out.

Dakota, the nanny who was supposed to watch my child, was nowhere to be found.

When the doctors issued a critical condition notice, Dakota stumbled in, reeking of alcohol.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave the window open. I didn’t know the child had been exposed to the cold all night. If I had known it would be this serious, I would rather it had been me.”

Her eyes rimmed red, but when she looked at me, the corner of her mouth curled with a hint of triumph.

The way she fixed her gaze at me said everything—she had done it on purpose!

And so I lost it; I raised my hand to slap her.

But Gifford grabbed my arm and shoved me hard.

“Austria! What’s wrong with you?” he scolded. “She said it wasn’t on purpose! She already feels bad enough. Stop being unreasonable!”

I stared at him in disbelief until I had no tears left to shed.

“Gifford,” I choked out, “that was our child. He left us when he wasn’t even a year old...”

When the memory faded, my chest tightened, and a sharp spasm of pain clenched my lower belly.

My face went pale as I realized what was happening—something was wrong with my baby!

“Gifford… My belly… It hurts…”

I clung to his trouser leg, my voice trembling beyond control. At that point, tears and fear tumbled down my cheeks.

“Help me… Please, call the hospital… Please…”

I could barely finish saying it before the pain eclipsed my speech. For a moment, his expression softened, and he reached for his phone on the coffee table.

At that exact moment, it rang, shrill and insistent.

He answered, and in an instant, his voice shifted into worry.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

I didn’t hear the other end of the line, but his face drained of color as whatever was said grew more urgent. He hung up without even glancing at me and bolted for the door.

“Stop pretending, Austria!” he suddenly shouted from the doorway, his voice edged with threat. “If anything happens to Dakota or her baby, I swear, I’ll make you pay!”

After that, the door slammed shut with a force that made the room swim before my eyes.

The pain in my belly intensified, and the next thing I knew, warm fluid trickled down my thigh.

I glanced at the empty doorway, and a metallic taste rose in my throat.

That was my husband—the man I shared my bed with every night—leaving me for a fired nanny despite seeing something wrong was happening to my body.

As the world blurred, I found the phone on the floor and, with the last of my strength, I pressed a familiar number.

“Devon… please… save my baby….”

When the darkness swallowed me whole, I seemed to see that snowy night from three years ago again—the faint breathing of my baby inside the incubator, flickering, weakening… until it went completely still.

When I opened my eyes again, all I saw was the stark white ceiling of the hospital.

The sharp scent of disinfectant pierced my nose. Instinctively, my hand went to my lower belly.

A doctor noticed that I was awake and spoke softly.

“Congratulations. Your baby is safe for now, but you need to rest. You mustn’t be stressed again, or you might lose your baby.”

I placed my hand over my belly. The faint rise and fall beneath my palm felt fragile.

“Thank you, Doctor,” I murmured, then glanced around the room, searching for the person I desperately hoped would be there.

But apart from the doctor who had just left, there was no one else.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. “So it wasn’t him. Maybe the housekeeper brought me here.”

I laughed at myself. “Well, that’s better anyway. One less favor I’ll owe him.”

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, my phone buzzed on the bedside table. The screen displayed two messages from two different senders.

The first was from Gifford. His words were curt and commanding.

[Send over your Grandma’s moon necklace. Dakota likes it. Send it over right now.]

My chest tightened, the air catching in my throat.

That necklace… It was my grandmother’s dying gift to me.

[Gifford] I typed, my fingers trembling. [You know perfectly well that necklace was left to me by my grandmother before she passed. And yet, for Dakota’s sake, you’re asking me to hand over the last keepsake of the only person who truly loved me the most.]

I stared at the screen for a long time. Then, one word at a time, I deleted the message until there was nothing left but silence.

The second message was from Devon Ulmann.

I vaguely remembered calling him when I was half-conscious, begging for help.

I’d thought that after rejecting his proposal, we’d never cross paths again.

But in my most desperate moment, I didn’t expect that it was his number I had instinctively dialed.

[Sorry, I couldn’t stay to see you wake up. But don’t worry. Your baby is safe. If you need anything, call me anytime, and I’ll come to you immediately.]

[And hey, about what I said before? It still stands. If you ever change your mind, I’ll be waiting to marry you.]

My fingers hovered above the screen, unsure if I should reply.

Devon and I had grown up together, two children of powerful families, who everyone believed were destined to become in-laws one day.

But in the end, I chose Gifford—a man with nothing to his name—and turned down Devon’s proposal.

After our marriage, I secretly used my family’s influence and resources to help Gifford build his business empire.

Whenever he faced financial trouble, I’d invest in his company under someone else’s name.

It was no exaggeration that everything he had today… had been built on the sacrifices I made without him knowing.

Suddenly, the door burst open with a crash from a heavy kick.

“Austria! Are you dead or what?!”

Gifford stormed in, his voice full of anger.

His eyes darted to the phone in my hand, though he didn’t bother to see what was on the screen.

“It was just a necklace!” he shouted with a scoff. “You couldn’t even bother to reply? Don’t tell me you didn’t see my message!”

“I’m hospitalized,” I said hoarsely, my voice weak. My lower belly throbbed faintly with pain.

“Hospitalized?” He gave a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping over the bed with disdain. “Putting on a show for who, exactly? Dakota’s been crying from chest pains ever since you refused to give her the necklace—”

“That necklace,” I interrupted, my voice trembling, “is my grandmother’s heirloom, Gifford. You know exactly how much it means to me.”

“It’s just a necklace,” he dismissed. “Once you hand it over to Dakota, I’ll buy you a few others, whichever ones you like.”

He stepped closer, towering over me. “Listen to me. Have someone send it to her now. You owe Dakota that much. After all, you’re the one who set fire to her place.”

He gave a derisive snort. “And to think you’d go so far as to fake an illness just to stalk me to the hospital? Your shamelessness makes me sick.”

I didn’t argue this time. I only stared at him—the urgency in his eyes, the coldness in his voice.

That look… It was the concern he had for Dakota, and the indifference he had for me.

“So you knew I was here all along,” I muttered. “And even knowing that, you’d rather believe I’m pretending, just so you can force me to hand that necklace over to another woman, is that it?”

He nodded impatiently, then sneered. “Haven’t you used enough tricks over the years? You think I’d still fall for them?”

A sharp pain tore through my belly again. This time, I had to grip the blanket tightly.

I knew then that if I didn’t give Dakota the necklace, Gifford wouldn’t let me go.

That was exactly why, all these years, that woman had the nerve to taunt and provoke me.

“As you wish,” I said finally, my throat dry, the words scraping out between clenched teeth. “I’ll send her the necklace.”

Giving in to what they wanted wasn’t surrender. It was survival… for the sake of the life still growing inside me.

“It’s in the bottom drawer of my vanity. Have someone pick it up.”

He froze for a moment, surprised by how quickly I gave in. Then, a smug smile flashed across his face as he turned to leave.

“Get out,” I said quietly, my tone calm but final. “Once she has it, tell her never to appear in front of me again.”

He paused at the door, glaring back at me. For a second, it seemed he wanted to say something. But instead, he just scoffed and slammed the door behind him.

Finally, silence returned to the room.

I picked up my phone again and quickly typed a message.

[Five days from now, come pick me up. I’ll have the divorce papers ready by then.]

After a pause, I added another line.

[You meant what you said, right?]

The moment I hit the send button, the pain in my belly seemed to ease a little.

Devon’s reply came almost instantly.

[I meant it. I’ll wait for you.]

At that moment, sunlight filtered through the window, falling warm and golden on the back of my hand.

‘This time,’ I told myself, ‘I will never look back again.’

I didn’t hesitate for a second.

As soon as I completed the discharge paperwork, I went straight home and started packing.

The sound of a key turning in the lock came just as I was stuffing a folded pile of clothes into my suitcase.

The zipper was only halfway closed, leaving a few of my favorite dresses exposed.

When Gifford pushed the door open, his gaze swept across the open suitcase, and his brows immediately drew together.

“Packing?” he asked, his voice carrying a note of suspicion.

Flustered, I pressed a knit sweater on top to cover the clothes inside and forced out a stiff smile.

“Mm, just changing seasons. I’m putting away the thick clothes.”

My heart was pounding so hard it hurt. Even my fingertips trembled, terrified he’d see through me.

He clearly didn’t believe it. He walked over, crouched down, and traced a finger along the edge of the suitcase.

“You usually let the housekeeper handle this kind of thing. What’s gotten into you to handle this yourself today?”

“Nothing,” I replied evenly. “Just wanted to keep myself busy.”

His gaze lingered on my face, probing, but he didn’t press further. After a pause, he stood up and said simply, “I’m going to take a shower.”

I let out a quiet breath of relief and quickly zipped the suitcase shut.

But when I looked up, I saw that he hadn’t gone to the bathroom. He was standing still in the living room.

Following his gaze, my blood ran cold. Lying on the dark carpet, glaringly white against the black, was the pregnancy test report I’d brought back from the hospital that morning.

It must have fallen during the argument we had then.

“What’s that?” His voice cut through the silence.

Before I could even think, I lunged forward and pressed my foot over the paper.

“Nothing… Just a receipt from the supermarket,” I stammered, turning around quickly, trying to keep my expression calm. “I was planning to use it for a return, but it slipped out of my bag.”

His eyes dropped to my foot, and his frown deepened. “A receipt? Let me see it.”

“No need!” My voice shot up, sharper than I intended, trembling with panic I couldn’t hide. “It’s useless anyway. I’ll just ask the housekeeper to handle the return later.”

I stepped back slightly, blocking his view. “Didn’t you say you were going to shower? You should go. The water will get cold.”

He stared at me for a few seconds, and I clenched my fists tight, praying he wouldn’t ask another question.

The air between us hung heavy for a moment until his phone chimed. Obviously, it was a message from Dakota.

He didn’t say anything else. He just turned around, grabbed his car keys, and walked out.

The sound of the door closing hit me like a release. My knees gave out, and I nearly collapsed onto the floor.

I snatched the pregnancy report from under my shoe, crumpled it tightly, and pressed it against my chest.

Back in the bedroom, I yanked the suitcase zipper shut with a hard click.

Staring at the door Gifford had just walked through, only one thought filled my mind.

‘Before I leave, I can’t let him find out I’m pregnant.’

With that, I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Devon.

[Change of plans. Come pick me up in three days.]