After eight years of marriage, I finally get pregnant with Claude Frey's child.

It's my sixth round of IVF, and my last chance. The doctor says I can't put my body through it again.

I'm overjoyed, ready to share the good news with him.

But a week before our anniversary, I received an anonymous photo in the mail.

In it, he was bending down to kiss another woman's pregnant belly.

That woman is his childhood sweetheart, the one his family watched grow up. She's gentle and well-mannered, and the kind of daughter-in-law every parent dreams of.

The funniest part is that his entire family knows about her pregnancy, except me. I'm just the punchline in their joke.

It turns out that the marriage I've been holding together despite all my wounds is nothing but a carefully crafted lie.

Fine.

I don't want Claude anymore, and I'll never let my child be born into a world built on lies.

I book my ticket to leave on our eighth anniversary. It's also the very day he's supposed to take me to see the sea of roses.

Before we got married, he promised me a sea of flowers all my own. But instead, I find him in front of the rose garden, kissing his pregnant childhood sweetheart.

After I leave, he starts searching for me everywhere.

"Don't go, please?" he begs. "I was wrong. Don't leave."

He finally remembers the promise he'd made to me and plants the most beautiful roses in the world in that garden.

But I don't need it anymore.

"Ms. Angelina Scott, you went through six rounds of IVF to have this baby. Are you really going to give it up?"

"I'm sure."

After a sleepless night, my voice was hoarse, but my mind had never been clearer.

The procedure was scheduled for a week later, exactly on our wedding anniversary.

A breaking headline popped up on my phone.

"Claude had spent a fortune buying a luxurious estate and personally filled it with roses, once again declaring to the world that he loved only Angelina."

Comment after comment poured in, all marveling at the so-called love story.

I only felt the irony.

The moment I confirmed my pregnancy, I couldn't wait to share the good news with Claude Frey.

But instead, I got a message from an unknown sender.

In the photo, Claude's childhood sweetheart was smiling sweetly, while he kissed her rounded belly, his face lit with happiness.

The child I'd endured the agony of six rounds of IVF to conceive suddenly felt like a cruel joke.

The door opened just then.

When Claude saw my red, swollen eyes, he immediately panicked. "What's wrong? Did the IVF fail again?

"Don't cry. Even if we never have kids, it doesn't matter. Having you is enough for me."

How fake.

Especially when the child he had with his mistress was about to be born.

He didn't notice the change in me and just lowered his voice to comfort me, "Honey, our anniversary is in a week. I've planted a whole sea of roses just for you."

I stared at him in a daze, but I didn't argue with him. I didn't even let him see how much I was hurting.

Because I knew he would never let me go with his influence.

So, I had to gather all the evidence I could and divorce him. "I've got an anniversary gift for you, too. I'll give it to you in a week."

"Really? I can't wait." His face lit up with joy.

"Don't cry anymore. Go wash your face. I'll take you back to the Frey residence for dinner."

Claude's mother, Alicia Hawk, never liked me. These days, we only saw her at the end of the month when we went back to the Frey residence for dinner.

"Angelina, don't take whatever my mom says later to heart," he said, holding my hand.

The moment we walked in, I heard Alicia's laughter. "Oh my, this baby is so adorable."

I froze in place. It was the very woman from that pregnancy photo standing beside her.

When Alicia saw me, her smile disappeared. She handed Claude a sonogram photo.

"Look, Mabel's baby has a nose that looks just like yours."

A flicker of panic crossed Claude's eyes, and his tone carried a faint warning.

"Mom, don't joke around. That's Mabel's child. How could he possibly look like me?"

His father, Alex Frey, also stepped in to caution her. "Stop saying every kid looks like your son. Angelina's right here. Watch your words."

My heart turned to ice, and my hands trembled uncontrollably.

Claude's whole family knew about Mabel. I was the only one they kept in the dark.

I sat down at the table mechanically, while Claude fussed over me.

"Honey, the shrimp is fresh today. Let me peel some for you." Claude's expression was calm, treating me just like he always did.

"Claude, you're so good to your wife. I'm so jealous. I love shrimp, too. Can you peel some for me?"

Mabel Lowe suddenly spoke up provocatively.

Claude ignored Mabel's request. "If you want to eat it, peel it yourself. I only peel shrimp for my wife."

I swallowed down the wave of nausea rising in my throat. "Give them all to her. I don't want any."

That was when Alicia set down her fork with a sullen face.

"Angelina, you've failed IVF six times, haven't you? Since Mabel's here, why don't you learn from her?"

Mabel lowered her head shyly.

"I don't really have any experience. My boyfriend and I did it for the first time, and I got pregnant. Maybe we're just healthier."

Alicia smirked. "Of course. Angelina's five years older than you, and her body can't compare to yours.

"I'm thinking of having Mabel move in. She's pregnant now, but her family is not around. The housekeeper could look after her, too."

The moment she finished, Claude refused outright. "No!"

Alicia's eyes turned even colder toward me, making veiled jabs with her words.

"What's the matter? Is someone jealous seeing other people being pregnant while she's infertile herself?"

The tension at the table was thick. Mabel stood up with teary eyes.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault. Please don't fight because of me. I'll just leave."

Claude instinctively got up to follow her, then caught himself and stopped.

"She doesn't need to go. I'll go." I looked at the scene with icy detachment and walked out.

Just as I stepped through the door, I received a friend request from Mabel.

"May 12th was our first time. Claude kept me in bed all day."

That day was when my fifth IVF attempt had failed.

I'd spent the whole night locked in my room, crying without eating or drinking. When I finally composed myself and opened the door, I found Claude sitting there, looking haggard.

I'd thought he was heartbroken for me, but it turned out that he had just come back from Mabel's bed.

What a joke.

All those injections I'd endured for IVF didn't hurt as much as my chest did at that moment.

"Why are you crying?" Claude had followed me out and pulled me into his arms.

"Don't be mad at my mom. She just wants a grandchild very badly."

On the drive home, his phone kept buzzing with messages, and every time we hit a red light, he'd be busy texting back.

When we reached the house, he patted my head. "Something came up at work. Wait for me at home, I'll be back early."

I didn't call him out on it. After he left, I accepted Mabel's friend request.

Her latest post was a photo of a sea of roses with the caption. "My love planted my favorite roses with his own hands."

My chest tightened. So, even the roses weren't planted for me.

Before we got married, he had promised to give me a field of roses all my own. But he was always busy, and I'd never brought it up again.

He suddenly prepared a sea of roses because someone else wanted it.

I hailed a car to the estate.

From a distance, I saw Claude standing with his back to me in front of the roses. And Mabel was in front of him.

"If it weren't for Angelina not being able to get pregnant, I never would've gone to you. She's my line in the sand. Don't ever show your face in front of her again."

Mabel's eyes brimmed with tears. "There's no need for you to care about me or the baby anymore!"

He softened his tone. "Don't cry. As long as you stay away from Angelina, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

She broke into a smile through her tears and threw herself into his arms. "I was told by the doctor that being intimate in moderation now will help with delivery later."

His voice grew hoarse with desire as he swept her up in his arms and carried her toward the estate.

Mabel looked over her shoulder at me with a provocative smile. She'd seen me all along.

Soon, the sound of her pleasure floated out from the window.

The estate he had promised me was where he was now sleeping with another woman.

I forced myself to watch it all and recorded every second.

Everything he was doing now was only pushing me away faster.

Six more days, and I'd be gone.

I left Wildrose Estate and returned home.

Claude didn't come back until the middle of the night.

I felt him wrap his arms around me while I was half-asleep. The air was thick with an unfamiliar perfume, mingled with the scent of roses.

The smell made me nauseous, and I started feeling a dull ache in my stomach. I pressed my hands to my belly, and when Claude saw it, he moved closer, trying to rub it for me.

My tone was sharp as I slapped his hand away. "You smell awful."

His expression shifted. He lowered his head, sniffed himself, then chuckled.

"It's the roses. I've been thinking about our anniversary, so I went to the rose garden again today. I'll go take a shower."

I couldn't be bothered to expose his lie. After all, he'd said he was going to the office earlier.

When he got out of the shower, he lay down beside me. But just as I was drifting off, the sound of his phone woke me.

"Did I wake you? I've still got some work to finish. You should go back to sleep."

I turned my back to him and pretended to sleep.

After a moment, his voice came, testing the waters. "Angelina?"

I stayed silent, and he eagerly slipped out of the room.

"Are you trying to seduce me by sending me pictures like that? I'll make sure you can't get out of bed tomorrow."

After he left, I got a message from Mabel.

"Aren't you feeling old and washed-up? Claude had me all afternoon, and now he's coming back for more. We're going to try some new positions tonight.

"By the way, I got pregnant with Claude after just one night together. It's pathetic that you have to rely on cold, sterile machines and still can't conceive."

A chill spread through me. I took screenshots and saved them, then lay back down.

For the past eight years, I'd always thought I'd met Claude too late, that life was too short. But with just one week left, it suddenly felt unbearably long.

The next morning, as I stepped out of the bedroom, Claude happened to be coming in from outside. "I bought you your favorite cheesecake."

Like a child showing off, he pulled a neatly wrapped cake from behind his back.

In the past, whenever he messed up and made me mad, he'd bring me cheesecake to win me over. And in the past, I'd always softened and forgiven him, simply because I loved him.

But today, what was this sudden cheesecake for?

Because he'd spent the night with another woman and felt guilty?

I picked up a fork and ate it. I wouldn't deprive myself just to spite him.

When he saw my calm expression, he finally relaxed. "I'll be right beside you working. Take your time."

I scrolled through my phone and saw Mabel posting an update.

"He's so good to me. I casually mentioned wanting cheesecake, and my boyfriend immediately bought it for me."

The attached photo showed cheesecake from the same shop as the one in my hand.

Seconds later, a comment from Claude appeared below. "As long as you know."

Not long after, Alicia commented, too. "He has to be good to you. You're carrying his baby. Unlike someone else who can't have kids."

Claude could see this comment.

I looked up to catch his reaction, but he was smiling faintly, completely unbothered.

I let out a short laugh and blocked Alicia's number. I'd been wanting to do that for a long time.

Before breakfast was even over, Alicia called him.

Her sharp voice rang through the phone. "What's wrong with Angelina? She actually blocked me!"

Claude frowned. "Angelina, Mom wanted to bring you food that helps with fertility, but she found out that you blocked her. Is that the case?"