An accident changed everything. My husband, his childhood friend and I were all drugged at the same time. Sam pulled me into our bedroom, quickly cured me and without a backward glance, rushed off to Celine’s room—his childhood friend—and didn’t return all night.

By dawn, Celine lay dead beside him and my stomach had flattened. I had lost our child.

In a single night, one life was gone and another destroyed.

Those who knew the truth whispered that I must have played a hand in it, that Sam had failed to save Celine because of me and that losing my child was my karmic punishment.

Everyone expected Sam to divorce me.

Yet he bought me a lavish seaside villa. People assumed he had forgiven me, that I had somehow escaped disaster.

But I could no longer endure the charade. At Sam’s birthday banquet, in front of everyone, I demanded a divorce.

“She got a seaside villa and he didn’t blame her for losing the baby, but she still wants a divorce? Has Tania lost her mind?”

“Mr. Freight dotes on her, so why is she acting out now?”

Sam gazed at me with tender eyes. “Honey, you’re the only one I love. Why do you still want a divorce? Is the seaside villa I bought not expensive enough?”

I sneered at the silver key hanging around his neck. “But I don’t love you. We must divorce.”

“Sam, I want a divorce. Let’s finalize the property division in seven days. We’ll meet at the City Hall after that.”

I stood up and publicly announced my divorce at Sam’s birthday banquet.

After announcing it, I tried to leave, but Sam hurriedly grabbed my arm.

“Tania, it’s my birthday today. Can you not say things like this? I’ve already lost Celine—I can’t lose you too.”

My mother was the first to rush over, panting with anger as she held me back. “Tania, look how good Sam is to you. The three of you were drugged at the same time. Even though you interfered, he never once blamed you.”

My mother-in-law’s face was full of reproach. “Tania, how can you be so heartless? Losing the baby isn’t his fault—you didn’t protect it yourself.”

For a moment, all the eyes around me were filled with contempt.

In their minds, it was my recklessness that caused Sam’s childhood friend’s death and my own loss of the child was simply karmic retribution.

“Tania, don’t you think the seaside villa I bought isn’t enough?” Sam pleaded with genuine sincerity.

I narrowed my eyes, my gaze locking on the silver key around Sam’s neck and thought of that seaside villa.

After Celine’s death, Sam would often disappear into the basement for an entire day. But one day, something changed. In the master bedroom of the villa, a massive portrait of a beauty—tall as a person—was hung on the wall.

Upon closer inspection, the features of the woman in the painting bore a striking resemblance to Celine.

From that moment on, Sam would stare at the painting with an almost obsessive fascination. He ate in the master bedroom, worked in the master bedroom, slept in the master bedroom—and even when he held me, his eyes would involuntarily drift toward that portrait.

The portrait and the silver key seemed to be Sam’s lifeline, yet they kept me awake at night, leaving my body weaker by the day.

But for the sake of the child in my womb, I had to stay strong. I had to see the divorce through and claim everything that was rightfully mine and my baby’s.

I looked at Sam coldly. “We must divorce.”

Suddenly, Sam scooped me up in his arms. My weakened body made my head spin, but he carried me straight to the master bedroom of the seaside villa.

He pressed me gently against the edge of the bed, then dropped to one knee before me, cupping my face in his hands. His eyes were full of pain and longing.

“Tania, I love you. Tell me… why? Why do you insist on divorcing me?”

I jerked my head to the side, avoiding his touch and sneered. “Love me? Sam… then give me that silver key you always carry with you. Give it to me now.”

The silver key never left his side. If my guess was correct, it was connected to the secret behind the portrait in the master bedroom.

Sam’s body froze instantly. “What do you want that for? It’s just an old keepsake.”

“Afraid to give it?” I scoffed. “Is this what you call loving me? You can’t even part with an old key? Sam, your love is cheap and fake!”

The tender, pleading look on his face vanished completely, replaced by something dark and twisted. He suddenly stood up. “Fine. Do you want it? I’ll give you the key—but I hope you don’t regret it!”

He yanked the delicate chain from around his neck almost violently and handed it to me. Without hesitation, I took the key and moved toward the eerie portrait on the wall.

Beneath the painting was an extremely discreet keyhole. The silver key fit perfectly.

Click.

The entire portrait, along with the thick wooden panel behind it, silently slid inward, revealing a narrow gap—a hidden passageway.

What made my blood run cold was what I saw at the entrance of the hidden passage: a delicate, fragile figure in a white nightgown, standing there timidly.

And that face… it was exactly the same as the deceased Celine’s!

Sam hurried toward the figure and gently lifted her into his arms, carrying her out of the hidden chamber. “Tania, let me introduce you. This is Raline. You should understand how important she is to me.”

Raline? Ra… line?

A wave of revulsion hit me. Sam had truly sunk into obsession—he had gone so far as to find a living double and hide her in the villa’s secret room.

He stroked Raline’s hair tenderly and commanded, “Tania, go to the kitchen and make something for Raline to eat. Keep it light—her health is always fragile.”

I sneered and refused outright. “Sam, why on earth should I cook for your mistress?”

Raline flinched slightly, then looked at Sam with a fragile, pitiful expression. “Sam… it seems she doesn’t want to make me food.”

Sam’s face darkened. “I’ll say it again—go make something for Raline.”

“I’ll say it again too. It’s impossible,” I said, standing my ground and meeting his gaze without fear.

Smack!

A sharp slap landed on my face without warning. I clutched my cheek, staring at Sam in disbelief.

A flicker of hesitation passed through his eyes, but then his fingers gently pressed back onto my still-flat stomach.

“Tell me… if I didn’t want this child, do you think it could survive until tomorrow?”

My whole body stiffened. He knew? I had been keeping it hidden so well.

He looked at my suddenly pale face. “If you don’t want to cook, then stay quietly in the guest room. Don’t scare Raline, or you’ll regret it.”

My body trembled uncontrollably. I couldn’t risk the child I had worked so hard to have again. Sam clearly didn’t care whether his own child lived or died; otherwise, I wouldn’t have lost my first one.

Reluctantly, I lowered my head and stepped out of the master bedroom.

When I opened the guest room door, an overpoweringly sweet and cloying fragrance hit me, making my head spin.

Didn’t he usually avoid scented candles?

But at this moment, I was too exhausted to probe the sudden, overwhelming fragrance.

I leaned against the door, sliding slowly to the floor, one hand pressed tightly against my stomach, the other sending a desperate text to Kendrick, my childhood friend. Right now, he was the only person I could trust.

The next day, Sam almost forcibly brought me to the city’s most prestigious auction house.

Alongside us was Raline, who had only appeared yesterday. She trailed Sam obediently, occasionally casting provocative glances at me.

A woman who looked exactly like Celine, standing next to me—his wife—was enough to stir endless gossip among the guests.

I kept my head down the entire time, wishing only to see this farce end.

Until a piece was presented: a translucent, dewy jade bangle. It was a piece I had always loved.

By some strange impulse, amidst the roar of bidding, I raised my paddle.

“All right, this lady bids 100.000.”

Almost the moment I raised my paddle, Raline tugged on Sam’s sleeve, her voice soft and coquettish. “Sam, the bangle is so beautiful… so green! I really like it.”

Sam turned his head, smiling at her with extreme tenderness and made a gesture. “100.001.”

I bit my lip and raised my bid again. “125.000.” This was almost the limit of the cash I could mobilize personally.

Sam responded without hesitation, calmly stating, “125.001.”

“Only one extra dollar? Mr. Freight is clearly doing this on purpose, humiliating the wife in public.”

“Looks like Tania is really falling out of favor. Mr. Freight never treated her like this before.”

“Is Mr. Freight still hung up on the past? This woman looks way too much like Celine.”

A ripple of suppressed gasps and stifled laughter spread through the auction hall.

He had successfully announced to everyone in the city that I had “fallen out of favor,” and that Raline—the substitute—held an unrivaled place in his heart.

I clenched my fists, refusing to raise my bid any further and silently stood up, heading toward the corridor.

I stood by the window in the corridor, taking deep breaths, trying to ease the suffocating pressure on both body and mind. But waves of dizziness still washed over me.

“Tania, why are you here all alone? You look so pale… are you feeling unwell?”

Raline was standing right beside me, twisting the green bangle on her wrist, wearing a feigned expression of concern. Yet in her eyes—the ones so uncannily like Celine’s—was nothing but vicious pride.

I remained silent, turning to leave.

But she reached out, blocking my way, her eyes full of naked provocation.

“Sam kept me in the master bedroom all night… he always says I’m the most like Celine. Every time he looks at me, he gets so passionate—much more than when he looks at you.”

“Tania, you probably don’t know yet… I’m pregnant too. Don’t you think Sam will love my child even more?”

A surge of fury, anxiety and physical discomfort hit me all at once. I pointed at her, trying to make her leave, but no sound came out of my mouth.

Everything around me began to spin wildly.

In the last second before I completely lost consciousness, I heard Raline’s triumphant sneer—and, in the distance, what sounded like Sam’s hurried footsteps.

I forced my eyes open, the first thing I noticed was the heavy scent of candles in the guest room. Turning my head slightly, I was shocked to see both Sam and Raline standing by my bedside.

Sam sat on the edge of the bed, his brow furrowed, a shadow of worry—or perhaps concern—lingering in his gaze.

“Tania, how are you feeling? Is there anywhere that still hurts—”

Before he could finish, Raline softly interrupted, “Tania, the doctor said you stirred the baby. You really don’t know how to take care of yourself and your emotions fluctuate so much. You have to rest properly in bed.”

“The doctor also said that it might have been because you didn’t take care of yourself that your previous child—”

Sam’s expression changed instantly. The concern in his eyes toward me was immediately replaced by displeasure and suspicion.

Raline shot me a provocatively triumphant glance, then dropped another bombshell. “Sam… I’m pregnant too.”

Sam whipped his head toward her, his voice overflowing with ecstatic joy. “That’s amazing! Are you feeling unwell at all?”

The smile on his face was genuine, the kind I had never seen when I was pregnant.

Raline lowered her head shyly. “I just found out… I was planning to tell you on your birthday, five days from now.”

Sam jumped to his feet, pacing back and forth, his face alight with delight—before he finally remembered that I was still lying on the bed, just fainted and also carrying his child.

He turned to me with impatience written all over his face. “Tania, just lie here and rest. Don’t go anywhere. You can’t even take care of yourself or the baby. Don’t cause me any more trouble.”

With that, he immediately wrapped his arms around Raline’s waist. “Come on, Raline. Let’s go to the hospital for a full check-up. We can’t risk even the slightest mistake.”

The room was left empty once more, with only me and the thick, nauseating scented candles lingering in the air.

I lay on the bed, my hand instinctively resting on my stomach, where another life was growing, just like Raline’s.

But at that moment, I was treated as if I didn’t matter at all.

Another wave of weakness washed over me. My instincts screamed that something was seriously wrong with my body. I quickly called Kendrick.

“Kendrick… please come to the villa and take me away. I’m afraid I can’t protect the baby. Take me to a private hospital.”