When I'm at the hospital for a prenatal checkup, I find out that the husband of the woman sitting beside me is Rupert Hensley, a renowned businessman.

It's such a coincidence. Rupert is my husband, too.

As we chat, I learn that her husband isn't with her because he's out of town for a meeting. This is even more coincidental—my husband is also out of town for a meeting.

After a long silence, I decide to get an abortion instead of going for my prenatal checkup.

It's only when I later ask for a divorce that I remember he and I never registered our marriage in the first place.

"Sorry, honey. Please don't be mad. I'll bring you a gift when I get back."

I stared at the text on my phone and let out a long sigh.

After five years of marriage, Rupert Hensley and I had finally been blessed with a child. Today was supposed to be the first prenatal checkup, but he was away on a business trip and couldn't make it.

Every other expectant mother outside the doctor's office had her husband by her side. I couldn't help but feel the sting of being alone.

"Are you here by yourself, too?" asked the woman beside me.

Before I could respond, she continued, "My husband's on a business trip and couldn't make it. But he promised to make it up to me with a Hermès bag when he gets back."

She flicked her long hair over her shoulder, and I saw her profile. Her words might've sounded like complaining, but the smile on her face said otherwise.

She went on and on about how great her husband was to her while I listened in silence. When she mentioned her husband was the CEO of a pharmaceutical company—Rupert Hensley—I froze.

My husband was also the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, and his name was also Rupert Hensley. A sense of unease washed over me.

Tentatively, I asked, "When did your husband… leave for his trip?"

"On the 8th. He went to Harborview City. He wanted me to join him, but I'm too far along, so flying's a hassle. Otherwise…"

She kept talking, but I couldn't hear a word. My ears were ringing.

Rupert also went to Harborview City on the 8th. Were we married to the same person?

I forced myself to stay calm and gave her a strained smile. "Do you mind showing me a picture of your husband?"

The woman seemed thrown off but smiled proudly as she pulled out her phone. She scrolled through her pictures and showed them to me. "This one's from our six-year anniversary."

Six years? Rupert and I had only been married for five years. What did that even mean? Was I the other woman?

In the photo, Rupert stood behind her, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her.

She kept scrolling through more pictures—some of just the two of them, others with their family.

"Oh, and here's one from when we went horseback riding," she said.

As she carried on, a chill ran down my spine, and my chest tightened with a sharp ache.

"I'm not feeling well… I'll head out for now," I said.

That photo took me by surprise. I shoved her phone aside, and before I knew it, tears clouded my eyes.

I tried to keep my cool and got up to leave when her phone rang with a video call. The name "Darling" popped up on the screen.

She picked it up, and the voice on the other end sounded excited. "Hey, honey! Did you finish your checkup? How's the baby? Is everything going okay?"

Rupert's face appeared on the screen. His familiar, tender gaze still held the same warmth and devotion I knew so well.

We'd been married for five years, but now he called someone else "honey". It hit me hard, and I could barely hold it together. For the first time, it felt like my life was just one big, cruel joke.

But I had something to confirm. I held on to the last bit of reason, went to the restroom, and called Rupert. His phone kept going to the voicemail.

I knew he was still on a video call, but I couldn't stop myself from trying again and again. Half an hour passed, and he still didn't answer.

The only text I got from him was on WhatsApp, saying he was busy. I could feel my heart breaking as I read those words.

I forced myself to lift my phone, snap a picture of the woman sitting outside the doctor's office, and send it to Rupert.

Less than five minutes later, he called me back.

"Honey, let me explain this." He sounded panicked, as if afraid I'd get mad. The way he wanted to explain himself sounded more like he was owning up to his fault than anything else.

"So, she's actually your wife, then?" My voice cracked, and I could barely get the words out.

"No, she's not… Mavis Sanger is just a friend. She messes around a lot, so don't take her seriously," Rupert explained, clearly on edge.

His words cut right through me. I'd never doubted him after all the years we'd been together, even with him being gone for work all the time and hardly ever around.

And now, he was giving me such a lame excuse. It was just ridiculous.

"She showed me your anniversary photos and those of you two together. She said she's married to you for six years, Rupert!" I felt worse with every word, and my voice was shaking.

"I…" Rupert wanted to explain, but I hung up on him without a second thought.

Suddenly, a sharp ache twisted through my belly as if trying to remind me of something. Tears began to slip down my cheeks uncontrollably. I gently ran my hand over my belly.

After a long while, I walked past the ultrasound room and headed the other way.

The nurse told me that getting an abortion needed a family member's signature and recommended I talk it over with my family before making a decision.

I rested my hand on my belly and said firmly, "That's not necessary. I've already made up my mind."

I could hear Mavis' voice from outside the door as she spoke to the doctor. "Not at all! I haven't had any morning sickness since I got pregnant. Maybe the baby feels bad for me and doesn't want me to feel miserable."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I remembered the day I found out I was pregnant. Rupert's eyes were red from tears of joy, and he was so excited that he could barely speak.

That moment was still so clear in my mind. But now, everything had fallen apart so quickly because of him.

The doctor frowned as he looked at my test results. "Getting pregnant is tough enough considering your condition. Going through with the abortion could make it even harder for you to conceive later on. You should really think this through."

"Go ahead. I've already made up my mind," I said.

My heart had sunk so deep that I couldn't even bring myself to think about what might happen in the future. I couldn't give this child the family it deserved, so I had to end this before things got any worse.

The anesthesia kicked in fast, and my vision went fuzzy. Before I knew it, the surgery was done. I clutched my belly and stumbled out of the operating room, disoriented and empty, like I wasn't even really there.

The discomfort in my body was overwhelming. As soon as I got home, I collapsed on the bed and drifted off.

I was jolted awake by a noise in the middle of the night. I turned toward it and saw Rupert, who was supposed to be away on a business trip. He was sitting quietly by the bed, staring at me.

When he saw I was awake, he moved closer and tried to pull me into his arms. I pushed him away.

"Let's get a divorce, Rupert!" My voice trembling with the weight of each word.

He went still, his hands frozen in the air.

I watched his face go from confused to shocked and finally to a cold, serious look. "Do you even hear yourself?"

The look on his face hit me like a ton of bricks—we'd never actually registered our marriage.

Back then, he always said he was too busy, and eventually, it became one of those things we never got to. We had a small wedding, and over time, I convinced myself the paperwork didn't really matter.

But now it finally clicked. Rupert never wanted to register our marriage because he was already married to Mavis! If he filed for another marriage, it'd be bigamy.

So, I'd been the other woman the whole time. And now, I didn't even have the right to ask for a divorce.

Rupert and I met at a party.

It happened to be my 20th birthday, and Dad threw a huge celebration at a fancy hotel, inviting all the big-name families, including the Hensleys.

Rupert was five years older than me. He had already taken over his family's company after college.

He showed up that day looking sharp, with good looks and a cool, distant vibe that made everyone stop and stare. Many wealthy families jumped at the chance to introduce their daughters to him.

From the moment I saw him, I couldn't help but be drawn to his calm, mysterious vibe. I'd never met anyone who looked as good as he did.

What really got to me was how kind and gentle he was beneath that tough, distant front he put up.

One day, I happened to catch him feeding a stray cat. The look in his eyes was unlike anything I'd ever seen. It was so tender and pure, like something out of a dream.

That moment stuck with me, and I just knew I wanted to be around him. But I never had the courage to tell him how I felt.

Then, one evening, as we were walking together, he suddenly turned to me and asked, "Do you have feelings for me?"

I froze, my face turning beet red.

Everyone knew how I felt about Rupert. So how could he not? He had to have noticed, but maybe he'd ignored it all this time.

"Well, I feel the same way. If you're up for it, maybe we can see where this goes."

I couldn't really read Rupert's face under the flickering lights and had no clue he was already married.

I thought maybe fate was finally on my side—that the guy who'd always been so cold and distant had suddenly opened up about his feelings. It felt surreal.

Caught up in the rush of it all, I said yes right away.

I'd even met what I thought were Rupert's "parents" before. But now, I'm starting to think they were just actors he hired to throw me off—they didn't look anything like the people in Mavis' photos.

When marriage came up, they just went along with whatever Rupert said, agreeing with everything he proposed.

When we finally had the wedding, he didn't invite any friends or family. Instead, he took me out of the country, and we quietly got married in a little chapel.

Looking back, I could see how far he went just to keep me in the dark.

The tension in the room was almost suffocating. I looked at Rupert, my voice thick with emotion as I said, "Let's just end this!"

He didn't expect me to bring it up again, and his face went grim. "I'll never agree to that. You're the one I actually love, honey! I only married Mavis because my parents forced me to. I have no feelings for her!"

"Don't call me 'honey.' We're not married, and you make me sick," I snapped, disgust flooding through me. I shoved him away as hard as I could.

But he grabbed me again, pulling me into his arms. "Janet, please, just hear me out. I've been apart from her for so long. There's nothing between us, I swear. You've got to believe me. We might not have made it official, but doesn't it count if we love each other?"

Anger boiled up inside me, and I felt I was about to lose it. I shoved him away again and slapped him hard across the face.

He clutched his cheek, staring at me in shock.

I let out a bitter laugh. "You have no feelings for her? You've been apart from her for so long? Then tell me, Rupert—where the hell did her kid come from? Or are you seriously going to claim it's someone else's? Rupert, you're the CEO of a company. Do you honestly believe the crap you're saying?"