Back then, I'd rested my hand on my belly, on the child growing inside me, and decided to give Richard one more chance.

But now I knew. I was done with this man.

Richard was still making excuses.

"Vera, I told you, that was the last time."

"She's already gone. Can you please stop making a scene?"

"Didn't we agree we wouldn't bring up divorce again?"

I looked at him and felt like I was staring at a stranger. The man in front of me had become nothing more than a liar with a mouth full of empty promises.

A sharp ache twisted through my lower abdomen. I couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore. I turned and walked back to the bedroom.

The front door slammed behind me hard enough to rattle the walls.

That night, I barely slept. My dreams were full of fragments from the past.

Richard and I had been an arranged match between our families. But against all odds, we'd clicked. We fit together in a way neither of us expected.

Still, I'd hesitated before agreeing to the marriage. In our circle, there were always mistresses and side pieces. It was practically an epidemic.

My parents respected my decision. They told me to think it through carefully.

It was Richard who got down on his knees in front of me and swore to God.

"Vera, I will never betray you. Not in this lifetime."

"I'm not like the rest of them. I'll treat you right."

"You'll be the only woman by my side. I swear it."

Those vows still echoed like they'd been spoken yesterday. But they'd long since become a joke.

When Brenda had shown up with her red-rimmed eyes, looking timid and pitiful, I saw the tenderness in Richard's gaze. The kind of tenderness that had once belonged only to me. He'd given it to another woman.

I confronted him through tears, even slapped him across the face. Hard. More than once.

All I got in return was his answer.

"Vera, this is how it works in our world!"

"Besides, I haven't even cheated!"

I broke. I stopped eating, stopped drinking. I started thinking about hurting myself.

One night, Richard jolted awake in the middle of the darkness and found me standing at the window, one foot already on the ledge.

He cried. He grabbed me and held on so tight I couldn't breathe, dragged me to the couch, then dropped to his knees on the floor and slapped himself across the face, over and over.

"Vera, I'll never say anything that disgusting again."

"I'll make Brenda leave. She'll never appear in front of you again. Not for the rest of our lives."

I looked at him like that, broken and desperate on the floor, and my heart softened.

After that, things between us seemed to go back to the way they'd been.

But something inside me had changed in a way I couldn't explain. My heart grew number by the day. Colder. Until there was nothing left but a hollow, aching silence.

Maybe I should have filed for divorce right then. But I found out I was pregnant.

The baby Richard and I had been hoping for over three long years.

When I woke, sunlight was already flooding through the windows.

I walked out to the living room and found the table covered with my favorite brunch spread. Richard stood beside it, wearing an eager, attentive expression.

"Vera, you must be starving."

"I got your favorite, from Grandfort's."

"Come on, eat something."

His demeanor was perfectly natural, as if yesterday had never happened.

He even pulled out my chair and set a place for me.

I sat down in silence and started eating. My body desperately needed the nourishment, and I didn't have the energy to pick a fight over it.

Once he watched me finish the meal, Richard visibly relaxed. He thought the storm had passed.

"Vera, I have a business trip coming up. I'll be gone for a while. Take care of yourself at home, okay?"

I nodded calmly.

"When you get back, we'll go file the divorce papers."

The color drained from Richard's face in an instant.

The cup beside his hand flew off the table as he hurled it against the floor.

His tone was laced with humiliation and rage.

"Vera, what the hell do you want from me?"

"I've already lowered myself for you. What more could you possibly want?"

"When did you become so aggressive?"

"Vera, I'm telling you right now—I am not getting a divorce!"

I looked at Richard, his face twisted and ugly with anger, and felt a strange calm settle over me.

The old Vera would have already been in tears by now.

Back then, she loved Richard.

She couldn't bear to let him go, even when his heart had already wandered. She'd rather tear herself apart than deny him another chance.

But now, I didn't want him anymore.

"Richard, I'm leaving. That frees up the spot for your precious Brenda."

"Why are you even angry?"

"I'm doing you a favor."

Richard's fury deepened.

"Vera! Stop being so unreasonable!"

"Yesterday, I told you it was the last time I'd see her."

"I did what you asked. I fired her. We won't cross paths again."

"What else do you want me to do?"

"Besides, I never cheated in the first place!"

"What do you want?"

"I love you. Only you. No one but you!"

I laughed.

I laughed at how shameless Richard Weiss truly was.

"Richard."

"Do you honestly think I'm stupid?"

"You came home late last night with red marks on your neck and perfume on your clothes."

"And today, a sudden business trip."

"Richard, honestly? You have no shame."

The room went silent.

Richard's chest heaved, his face cycling between white and green.

I didn't spare him another glance. I walked straight out the door.

Richard had apparently forgotten something.

When he'd gotten down on his knees and begged to marry me, swearing over and over that he'd be faithful, he'd signed a divorce agreement.

If he ever betrayed me, I could walk away whenever I chose.

Now, that agreement was his reckoning.

I left the home I'd shared with Richard and went back to my parents' house.

Mom and Dad lit up the moment they saw me walk through the door.

"Vera, what brings you here today?"

They came toward me, their faces full of warmth and concern.

"Wasn't your prenatal checkup yesterday? How's the baby?"

I couldn't hold it in any longer. The tears spilled over instantly.

"Mom, Dad—the baby's gone. I want a divorce."

My parents had no idea about Richard and Brenda.

Back then, I'd been drowning in resentment, pain, and indecision.

But I could never bring myself to pull the trigger.

I'd suffered through it alone, never telling them a word.

When they heard what I said, they both went still.

My mother's eyes turned red. She pulled me into her arms.

"What happened?"

"Are you in pain?"

I cried harder.

I told them everything about Richard and Brenda.

Our family's company had a partnership with the Weiss family's firm. A divorce would mean severing that tie completely.

My father slammed his palm on the table.

"Divorce him!"

"Vera, your mother and I are getting older. We don't have grand ambitions anymore."

"No partnership? Fine. We have more than enough to take care of the three of us."

"You don't need to suffer for anyone!"

Hearing my father's words, I broke down completely.

I stayed at my parents' house after that.

Richard called constantly. I never picked up.

All I wanted was the quiet to let my body heal before dealing with the divorce.

But then one evening, my father came home with a look of pure fury on his face.

"That little bastard Richard—he's really something else!"

It was from my father that I learned the truth.

Richard had started going after our family's company.

I couldn't hold back any longer. I stormed out the door, determined to confront him. The sheer audacity of that man.

When I arrived at the house I shared with Richard, I found someone else already there. Brenda James. The woman who was supposedly long gone overseas.

The moment Richard saw me walk in, his expression darkened. Brenda flinched and tucked herself behind him.

Richard's face turned even uglier.

"Vera, you have the nerve to show up here?"

I stared at him, my expression ice-cold.

"Richard, why wouldn't I? You've moved your mistress into our home, and I'm the one who should be ashamed?" My voice didn't waver. "Even if we're getting divorced, there's no reason to go after my father's company."

Richard's eyes went dangerously dark.

"Vera, consider it a warning. A punishment."

"How dare you lay a hand on Brenda?"

"She was already leaving."

I looked at him and felt nothing but disbelief.

"I laid a hand on her?"

"Richard, I wouldn't dirty my hands."

He raised his voice, sharp and accusing.

"If not you, then who? You hired people to kidnap her. To humiliate her!" His jaw clenched. "If I hadn't gotten there in time, Brenda would've been destroyed!"

His gaze was cold, his lips curled in contempt.

"You did swear once that you'd ruin her."

He was right. Once upon a time, when I was desperately in love with Richard and half out of my mind, I'd vowed to tear Brenda apart.

But that woman was gone now.

I shifted my gaze to Brenda. She cowered behind Richard, whimpering softly, the picture of a wounded bird. But the eyes that met mine over his shoulder were bright with provocation.

And just like that, I understood everything.

Brenda had never intended to leave the country. She'd never planned to go anywhere. Her retreat was nothing more than a calculated advance. The kidnapping, the humiliation, all of it was a performance she'd staged herself.

Richard was the only one who'd bought it.

Brenda tugged gently at Richard's sleeve.

"Richard, please don't fight with Miss Sullivan." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm fine. This is all my fault. I got too close to you, and that's why she's upset." She sniffled. "Don't worry. I'll leave. I promise."

Richard cut her off.

"Brenda, don't be afraid!" His tone shifted, fierce and protective. "I won't let you leave. You'd be alone in a foreign country where you don't know anyone. Who knows what could happen to you."

After soothing Brenda, he turned back to me.

"Vera, I'm going to arrange a position for Brenda at one of the branch offices. She won't be anywhere near us." His voice was matter-of-fact, as if he were discussing a business transaction. "Consider it compensation for what you did to her."

"Drop the scheming. I told you, you'll always be Mrs. Weiss."

Then his tone softened, almost gentle.

"I'll let this one slide. I know you only acted out because you care about me. People do reckless things when they're in love."

"The partnership between Weiss Group and Sullivan Corp will continue. I'll hold a press conference to stabilize things."

"We're about to become parents, Vera. Let's just... stop fighting. Please?"