Caleb's brow twitched. He gave a curt nod in agreement.

"Seriously?!"

Sarah leaped to her feet, growing even more frantic, as if she'd just unearthed a shocking secret.

The whole room exploded.

After all, during the seven years I pursued Caleb, everyone thought he hated my guts.

There were even rumors he was physically repulsed by me.

Jessica's ever-present smile was now incredibly stiff.

She hadn't expected me to bring up my history with Caleb, and she certainly hadn't expected Caleb to admit to it.

"So *you're* the famous ex-girlfriend!"

"Well, in that case, I suppose I should thank you. For letting him go, so I could have him."

As Jessica spoke, she brought over a glass of champagne to toast me.

One glass of champagne, one glass of orange juice.

I pushed the champagne away, my expression hardening. "Sorry, I can't drink."

"Why not?"

Jessica was relentless, pushing the glass back toward me. "I remember you used to pull all-nighters just to design the office for Caleb's company."

"Back then, you even taught me how to stay energized before a deadline."

In our senior year, Caleb founded his tech company.

For his sake, I rejected an offer from a top design firm on the East Coast and stayed in Seattle.

It was a fledgling company, struggling just to survive.

His pride wouldn't let him grovel for investments, so I was the one who had to do the begging.

Every design blueprint, every project bid, every dinner party to expand our network—I had fought tooth and nail for them all.

Caleb was undoubtedly grateful to me back then.

That was why he went to the courthouse with me and we secretly registered our marriage.

After seven years of a secret relationship, we began three years of a secret marriage.

Back then, Caleb would brew me coffee to keep me awake and hold me when I was exhausted and overwhelmed, coaxing me to sleep.

Even though we didn't have much money, he would remember every anniversary and buy me expensive gifts.

Except for public acknowledgment, Caleb gave me almost everything.

This was one of the reasons I so willingly endured our relationship.

I always felt that, on some level, he loved me.

Later, the company gradually made a name for itself, and Caleb firmly established his footing with his exceptional talent.

The company also began to expand.

Jessica joined around that time; I hired her myself.

Caleb had said, "I don't like you working such late nights. It's better if you find someone to share the load."

From that point on, I gradually retreated behind the scenes.

Jessica was a fearless newcomer who often took on extra work to prove herself.

I started teaching her how to complete designs efficiently, how to understand client needs, and how to maintain her standards under pressure.

She was talented and learned quickly.

And because she was cheerful, outgoing, and beautiful, she helped the company win several important design projects in a row.

Caleb was openly fond of her.

Besides the bonuses she deserved, Caleb started giving her extra rewards.

Expensive clothes, bags, and jewelry flowed into Jessica's pockets like water.

They started appearing together at the company, acting intimately as if no one else was around.

I threw a fit more than once, but it always ended with Caleb storming off with a grim face.

"Ava, stop being so paranoid."

"Ava, if you keep making a scene, there's no need for us to be together anymore."

That relationship, with me as the sacrifice, nearly cost me everything.

Looking at the glass of golden champagne in front of me, I looked up at Jessica.

"So you don't remember? You of all people should know not to push a woman into something she doesn't want."

With that, I put down my fork and pushed the wine glass aside.

"Caleb, if you can't control your own woman, don't bring her out to embarrass yourself."

Caleb's face darkened instantly.

He pulled Jessica back. "Stop making a scene."

"Sit down and eat. Even if you won't, the baby in your belly needs to."

As his words landed, the exquisite meal on the table suddenly tasted like ash in my mouth.

A wave of nausea churned in my stomach. I shot up from my seat. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

The moment I stepped out of the private room, the cold Seattle wind, laced with fine rain, seeped into my trench coat, damp and chilling.

I couldn't help but shiver, and the wave of nausea began to subside.

A child.

They actually had a child.

The same Caleb who claimed he didn't want a child while his career was taking off was now having one with another woman.

In ten years, I had been pregnant for Caleb twice, and both times, he'd made me get an abortion.

He didn't like using condoms and always had some excuse.

Every time, I was the one taking the morning-after pill, and if I still got pregnant, I had no choice but to go to the clinic.

His reason for not wanting a child was simple: career came first, and besides, he didn't like kids.

After every procedure, Caleb would buy me expensive gifts to appease me.

He always said we were still young, that we'd been so busy with our careers, we hadn't had enough time for just the two of us.

Perhaps because I loved him too much, a few words from him were always enough to make me forgive him.

The two abortions and the long-term stress had wrecked my body.

On our third wedding anniversary, I prepared a table full of food, wanting to have a talk with Caleb.

I wanted to keep that baby.

But I never got to see him that night.

Instead, I came home early to find him and Jessica tangled together, lost in each other, on the bed we shared.

"Ava, what the hell? Don't you knock!"

"Get out!"

Caleb snatched clothes from the floor to cover the woman in his arms. Jessica looked at me with wide, innocent eyes, like a startled deer.

That day, I stumbled out of the room, my world shattering around me.

I even remembered to close the door for them.

When Caleb came back that day, the house was a disaster.

I had thrown all the food and the cake on the floor. I had torn up every photo of us, and smashed everything I could get my hands on.

Caleb navigated the debris and sat down in front of me.

In the end, I was the first to speak. I asked him when it had started.

"You wouldn't want to know."

"Ava, isn't it good enough for you to just be Mrs. Caleb quietly at home?"

Caleb was as cold as ever, his words like blades of ice piercing my heart.

I snapped, calling Jessica right in front of him.

Caleb snatched my phone and smashed it to pieces.

"Are you crazy? If you dare drag Jessica into this, we'll get a divorce!"

The air froze.

I asked him with a bitter smile, "Caleb, does she really not know anything?"

Although Caleb and I had a secret marriage, anyone with eyes could see our relationship was far from simple.

Jessica had asked about us more than once; even a fool would have understood.

"At least I never told her."

Caleb's cold words were the final blow. In that moment, I felt my heart shatter.

"Ava, I'm warning you, if you cause trouble for her, we're getting a divorce!"

For the past three years, whenever I got upset because of Jessica, Caleb always threatened me with divorce.

Every single time, I had been the one to back down.

Except for that one time. I agreed.

"Caleb, let's get a divorce then."

Later, during the proceedings, Caleb proposed harsh terms to force me to compromise, demanding I leave with nothing.

Without hesitating, I signed the papers.

The divorce was quick. No cooling-off period, no drawn-out battle.

On the courthouse steps, Caleb warned me through gritted teeth not to regret it.

Caleb seemed certain that I would come back, that I would regret it.

But I didn't.

For five years, I rarely even thought of him.

If Sarah hadn't pestered me into attending this reunion, he and I would never have seen each other again.

A weight settled on my shoulder as a black suit jacket was draped over me.

A familiar cold fragrance wafted into my nose.

It was Caleb.

"Ava, it's been five years. I never thought you'd really stay away."

Without thinking, I shrugged the jacket off and handed it back to him.

"Come back to be your mistress?"

"Have you no shame, Caleb? Or are you just addicted to cheating?"

Caleb grabbed my wrist, his face grim. He lifted the hem of my trench coat.

Across my pale stomach was a web of faint, silvery lines.

"Ava, did you give birth to my child five years ago?"