Rianne’s POV

One drunken night was all it took for my CEO husband to get someone pregnant—his new intern.

The young woman was already three months along by the time I found out.

Nigel Morrison knelt in front of me, his eyes guilty, his voice pleading.

“Honey, I’m sorry. I drunk too much that night after the business dinner. That’s why I mistook her for you. I swear, it only happened once!”

“Please don’t be mad, honey. I’ll make sure she her aborts the baby. I’ll send her far away. You’ll never have to see her again, I promise!”

Like a fool, I believed him. After all, we’d been together for ten years.

Six months later, finally, I got pregnant through IVF.

I went in for a prenatal check-up—only to see my husband in the hallway holding that same intern in his arms. She was about to give birth.

When he saw me, the first thing he did was pull her behind him to protect her from me.

“Honey, she was so young when it happened. I took her innocence. I have to take responsibility.”

“I know I can’t give her anything, but I want the baby to stay with her. For the sake of what we’ve had all these years, honey, please—don’t make this harder on her than it already is.”

I stared at the man I’d loved for a decade, and for the first time, I felt exhausted.

I didn’t cry. I didn’t make a scene. My voice was steady when I said, “Alright.”

But that day, I didn’t go to the checkup. Instead, I booked an abortion.

While waiting in line, I called a number I hadn’t dialed in years.

“I’ve decided I need a new husband. Are you in?”

——

There was silence on the other end. But after a long pause, I heard a breathless voice.

“Are you serious? I swear, don’t joke like that. You know I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

I kept my voice steady.

“I’m serious. Come pick me up in Inverness in three days. Bring your papers—we’re getting married.”

Right after I hung up, the hospital speaker called my name.

When my doctor saw me, her mouth opened, closed, then opened again.

“Mrs. Morrison… you want to terminate the pregnancy?” Her hands gripped my chart tighter. “After everything we did to get here? If you go through with this, you realize your chances of another pregnancy are nearly zero, right?”

As she tried to stop me, my mind drifted back to the scene I caught in the hallway.

I saw Nigel gently holding that young, beautiful girl. His face was lit up with joy—glowing with pride and excitement, like a first-time father.

Her belly was round and full, so much bigger than mine.

Before I knew it, tears that I’d been holding back started to well up. With red eyes, I signed the consent form.

“Yes,” I told the doctor. “Do it. The baby’s father… is dead to me.”

My doctor gave me a sympathetic look but didn’t try to talk me out of it. She scheduled the abortion for two days later.

As I walked out of her office, I passed the ultrasound room.

Through the glass, I saw Nigel pressing a kiss to the young woman’s belly.

She let out a surprised squeal—it must’ve been cold—then blushed and snuggled into his arms. A nurse nearby smiled and said how sweet they looked, like the perfect couple.

Nigel nodded. “She’s still young. She needs me for a lot of things.”

The softness in his voice cut straight through me.

He used to talk about me like that. Once upon a time. But now, all of that gentleness belonged to someone else.

I couldn’t look anymore. I turned and walked away, barely holding myself together.

The tears didn’t fall until I was finally alone in my car.

Nigel and I had started from nothing, just a young couple trying to make it in the world.

We used to share a tiny basement apartment, barely ten square meters. But back then, it felt like enough… because we had each other.

He promised I’d be the only one for him for life.

I always knew words like that were fragile. But I chose to believe him anyway.

Step by step, the company grew. But after years of drinking during client meetings, the damage had been done—it became harder and harder for me to get pregnant.

Worse, on the very first day I began IVF, I saw him… with that young woman, pregnant with his child.

The first thing he did was fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness, saying it was an accident.

Rianne’s POV

It was just a moment of recklessness, nothing more, that led to that forbidden night.

But standing there, I felt like I’d forgotten how to breathe until I realized I’d bit down hard on my lip.

After what felt like forever, I finally forced the words out, swallowing the pain in my chest.

“I forgive you, Nigel.”

What he didn’t know was—I’d only ever forgive him once.

So when I ran into him today, I knew—our marriage was over.

Once I’d gathered myself, I headed straight to the law firm and drafted the divorce agreement myself.

By the time I got home, the sun was already setting. Nigel rushed to the door, his arms wrapping around me like nothing had happened.

“Honey, where were you? I called you so many times, but you didn’t pick up.”

As he leaned in, a sharp, heavy scent hit me—strong perfume.

It was Black Opium, the one I hated most.

I gently pulled away and said, keeping my tone light, “It’s nothing. I just stopped by the law office.”

He frowned. “Next time just have Renz go for you. No need to trouble yourself with something so small—”

I cut in, “Nigel. I want a divorce.”

He froze, staring at me like he didn’t understand the words.

“What did you say? You want to divorce me?” he repeated.

“All this because of something so minor? I told you—it was an accident. It didn’t mean anything. Harley’s the one insisting on having the baby. I figured, since you can’t conceive, we could raise the child together. Once the baby’s born, I’ll bring him home for you. Then I’ll send Harley abroad. It won’t change anything.”

The moment he said I should raise his child with another woman, my chest tightened.

My hand instinctively moved to my lower belly as I replied, “I’m not joking, Nigel. This is the divorce agreement. Take a look.”

His face turned cold.

“Come on, Rianne, are you really throwing a fit over this? I’ve already explained everything, haven’t I? Honey, nothing will change. We have a child now—isn’t that what we always wanted?”

He stared at me for a moment, and then he heaved a sigh. “I’m exhausted, honey. Can you stop being unreasonable?”

I almost laughed.

‘He cheats, and somehow I’m the one being unreasonable? Wow.’

I shook my head and placed the papers in front of him.

“Nope. It’s not fine,” I said firmly. “I feel dirty, Nigel.”

That one word lit a fire in him.

“Dirty? Do you even realize how many women would kill for a night with me? God damn it, it was just once! Why can’t you let it go?”

As he spoke, he ripped the divorce papers into pieces.

“I’m telling you—I won’t agree to a divorce. Never!”

“And look at yourself, Rianne. You’re thirty now. You’re not some young girl anymore. Who else would even want you besides me, huh?”

“Let’s pretend this never happened. And I don’t want to hear another word about it, you understand?”

He stormed out, slamming the door behind him, while I knelt, picking up the torn pieces from the floor.

Just as I finished, my phone buzzed.

It was a message—two pictures of engagement rings and a question about my preference.

I glanced at them and replied. [The one on the left.]

Then, without a second thought, I took off the wedding ring I’d worn for seven years and dropped it in the trash.

The next morning, I wrapped up my last tasks at the office. I was just about to leave when my assistant Ron Harvin came running in, saying a client had asked to see me.

He led me to a private lounge.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Nigel standing in the center of the room, holding a huge bouquet of roses.

The room was full of familiar faces—even his mother, who’d never liked me, was there.

He took a step forward, knelt in front of me, and looked up with guilt written all over his face.

“Honey… I’m so sorry. I lost it and said all the wrong things. Today is our seventh wedding anniversary. Please… give me another chance.”

Rianne’s POV

I just stared at Nigel, letting him kneel on the floor.

Probably seeing me not moved by her son’s surprise, Merida leaned close and muttered sharply in my ear.

“Come on. So what if he got another woman pregnant? Nigel already apologized. What more do you want?” She scoffed in impatience. “Dear, a woman needs to know when to stop pushing.”

I gave a bitter smile. I was about to say that I didn’t want anything—just a divorce—when Nigel noticed something.

His gaze dropped to my bare hand.

“Honey, your ring… Where’s your ring? Did you forget it?” His worry was replaced with a gentle smile, like that could smooth everything over. “It’s fine. I actually bought you a new one.”

He started checking his pockets.

Moments later, a sweet feminine voice called out behind us. “Here.”

I turned. Nigel was already walking past me toward her.

He gently steadied her by the waist when he asked, “What are you doing here? Didn’t the doctor say you needed bed rest?”

She gave him a sweet smile. “I saw the ring by the bed and figured you’d need it today, so I brought it over.”

Before Nigel could take the ring, her face shifted, looking uncomfortable. “I’m a little thirsty, Nigel. Can you get me some water?”

Just like that, he nodded.

While he rushed to find the server, the young woman walked up to me, her expression polite but pointed.

“Hi. I’m Luella. Luella Myers.”

Seeing me not smiling at her, she opened the small box right in front of me.

Inside was a ring—identical… to the one she was wearing.

‘What a coincidence, huh?’

“Nigel had this custom-made for your seventh anniversary,” she said, holding it out.

But I kept my hands steady at my sides, just taking a look.

The next second, the ring slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a soft clink. Then, without hesitation, she knelt—visibly pregnant—right in front of me.

“I’m sorry, Rianne,” she said, choking up. “It was my fault! I shouldn’t have slept with Nigel when I was drunk… I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“I don’t want anything from you,” she added. “I just want to have this baby. If… if it helps, I’m even willing to let you adopt him.”

Tears filled her eyes like she’d been wronged more than anyone in the world, and Nigel returned just in time to see the whole thing.

Suddenly, the glass of water in his hand slipped and shattered on the floor.

He rushed over, gently helping Luella up. When he turned to me, his face had a coldness that I had never seen before

“She’s about to give birth, Rianne! Don’t you get that?!” he snapped. “If you’re angry, take it out on me! Why are you picking on her?”

The way he looked at her—protective, gentle—it said everything.

Even though I’d done nothing, I’d already been cast as the villain.

What was the point of explaining?

As I turned to leave, Merida rushed up and actually slapped me across the face.

“You bitch! I thought you were decent! Turns out you’re heartless—making a pregnant woman kneel like that?” She scoffed. “I swear, if anything happens to that baby, I’ll never forgive you!”

I stumbled back from the force of her slap—right into the massive tower of red wine glasses behind me.

In an instant, the whole thing crashed down. Shards of glass rained over me, cutting into my skin as I hit the floor.

Nigel froze, instinctively stepping toward me.

But just then, Luella clutched her belly and cried out.

“Ahhh—my stomach! Nigel, the baby! Help!”

His body tensed. He turned back, scooped her into his arms, and rushed out the door without even glancing back at me.

I lay there on the floor, blood seeping around me, glass digging into my skin. From where I was, I could see the giant screen playing our wedding photo.

I remembered what he once said to me.

“Rianne, I have to marry you. And if I ever make you cry or bleed after we’re married… I’ll pay for it with my life.”

But now, at thirty, even as I lay there bleeding and in tears, he didn’t care.

‘What a joke…’

After a long while, I pushed myself up, wincing at every movement. I limped out, hailed a cab, and went straight to the hospital.