I stared at Mortimer, my mind drifting back to a time long before him.

Before I ever met him, the man who called himself my father used to string me up from the ceiling beam. He'd sit there eating his dinner, watching me dangle with an amused look on his face.

"You're too stupid to survive out there. I'm doing this to unlock your potential."

"Tough love builds strong kids. Everything I do is for your own good."

I heard those words for so long that I started to believe them.

So even after Mortimer rescued me, I still picked up a little knife like an idiot, trying to use the self-harm that man had taught me to "unlock my potential."

Mortimer rushed over, knocked the knife out of my hand, and said:

"Everything he told you is garbage! Bad people dress up cruelty as kindness all the time, but as long as you listen to your heart, you'll know the difference."

"If your heart hurts, then walk away from that person. Don't listen to a single word they say!"

I lowered my head and pressed my hand gently against my chest.

It hurt so much.

Mortimer, you taught me that yourself.

When my heart hurts, I should walk away.

I wiped my tears, pulled the ring off my trembling finger, and threw it on the floor.

"You've changed!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "I'm leaving. I'm leaving you!"

Mortimer froze for two seconds, then let out a cold laugh.

"Leave? Sure. But where exactly would you go? To prison, to visit your abusive father?"

"Don't be naive, Nora. The moment you walk out that door, you won't even be able to feed yourself."

A phone alarm cut through the argument.

He glanced down at the screen.

"I need to take Maud to her prenatal appointment."

Our eyes met. His were filled with nothing but impatience.

"Nora, I've been good to you all these years. All I'm doing is having a child with someone else. Stop making a scene."

The door slammed shut. The force of it shuddered through my chest, again and again.

He remembered that today he had to take Maud to her appointment. But he forgot that today was also my birthday.

He forgot that ten years ago, on this very day, he'd promised to celebrate every birthday with me for the rest of my life.

Back then, he wasn't the powerful Mr. James who commanded boardrooms.

He was just one of many illegitimate children in the James family.

Because he hadn't gotten a perfect score, his own mother had locked him inside a storage room in the school gym.

He was claustrophobic. In that pitch-black little room, his cries grew more and more agonized.

Neither Mortimer nor his mother knew that there was someone else locked in that room—me, skipping class.

"H-hey, don't cry. I'm right here with you."

He sounded so pitiful that I couldn't help wanting to comfort this stranger, this boy I'd never met.

I even held out the little cake I'd saved up six months to buy.

I just wanted him to stop crying.

After he ate my birthday cake, he wiped his tears and made me a promise:

"Nora, from now on, we're friends. I'll celebrate your birthday with you for the rest of our lives."

After that day, I became his safe harbor when he needed to hide from his harsh mother, and he became my courage to stand up against my abusive father.

Hand in hand, we stumbled our way through growing up together.

Then later, he took control of the James family.

All those refined, brilliant, well-connected women his family lined up for him—he turned down every single one.

No one expected him to marry me.

Everyone said he was just doing it to spite the James family.

Even I couldn't help saying:

"Are you sure about this? I'm... I'm not smart enough..."

He slid the ring steadily onto my finger and smiled, so gently.

"Exactly. You're too foolish. That's why the only way I'll ever feel at ease is if I marry you and keep you right by my side, where you'll never be out of reach."

When Mortimer decided to marry me, it wasn't without resistance.

Kent's fury. His mother's hysteria. Even the powerful families he'd turned down, closing ranks against him.

But he simply took my hand, steady and sure, and said:

"Nora, you don't know this, but that year when I was locked in the equipment room, I wanted to end it all."

"You're the one who pulled me back. From that moment on, I swore I'd be with you forever."

"I can lose everything. Everything except you."

Because I was too slow, too simple, he used to say his love for me out loud, making sure I heard every word.

And because I was too slow, too simple, he didn't even bother hiding the affair.

I stared at the wedding portrait on the wall, my eyes hollow.

The chime of my phone dragged me out of the memory.

It was Maud.

Nora, did you and Mortimer have a fight? He wasn't in the best mood when he got here.

But don't worry, he's happy now. Our baby is perfectly healthy.

In the photo she'd attached, Mortimer was listening intently to the doctor's instructions. He'd even pulled out a notebook, writing down every word.

He used to be that attentive with me whenever I was sick.

Another sharp stab through my chest.

Leave. I have to leave. Now.

That was the only thought left in my head.

I choked back a sob and dialed a number.

"Mom, I'll go with you."

"Really? You're finally willing to forgive me! Where are you? I'll come get you right now. We'll start the immigration paperwork today."

After we submitted all the documents, I went back to the villa with a set of divorce papers.

Standing in the foyer, I could already hear laughter drifting from inside.

Mortimer had brought Maud home.

"I heard eating more fish makes the baby smarter."

"Don't worry about that. You graduated from Stanford. With the mother's genes right there, this baby won't be anything less than brilliant."

Standing in the house I'd lived in for nearly ten years, I felt more like a stranger than ever.

When she saw me, Maud sprang to her feet.

"Nora, you're back."

The girl in front of me was poised, self-assured. Nothing like the gaunt, hollow-cheeked waif I'd found in that mountain village years ago.

Back then, she had just been accepted to Stanford.

But her father, a gambling addict, had already negotiated a bride price with some aging bachelor at the edge of the village.

He'd torn up her acceptance letter. Locked her in the house. On the second day, she reached out to everyone she could think of.

In the end, the only person willing to help was me, her anonymous sponsor, someone she'd never even met.

Three hours on a plane. Five hours on a bus.

I didn't feel the exhaustion. There was only one thought in my mind:

Save her. Save her.

And I did save her. But I was too slow to dodge, and her father, wild with rage, cracked a wooden stick across my back hard enough to send me to the hospital.

Because of that, Mortimer had never shown Maud a shred of warmth.

"You should have called the police, not dragged an innocent person into danger."

But later, he started inviting Maud to dinner on his own. He couldn't help mentioning it to me.

"She really is a rare talent. Thank God you brought her back when you did."

Now the two of them stood side by side, a perfect match.

"Nora, don't worry. I won't be staying here long."

Maud stepped forward and took my hand.

"It's just that the doctor said I was malnourished during the checkup, so Mortimer insisted on bringing me here for a proper meal."

I yanked my hand free and stared at her, bewildered.

"Is it me who's lost her mind, or is it the two of you?"

"You're both supposed to be the smart ones. So tell me, does carrying a married man's child feel like some kind of accomplishment?"

Maud shot Mortimer a wounded look.

"That's not... I didn't..."

Her brow crumpled, tears threatening to spill at any second.

Mortimer pulled her behind him, shielding her.

"Nora, I've already explained this. I just need a smart heir. That's all."

"You're too simple to understand, so just accept it. Can't you just listen to me like you always have?"

No.

You're the one who taught me that when something hurts, you leave.

I held out the divorce papers.

My eyes, clear and unwavering, locked onto his without blinking.

"This is where it ends between us."

Mortimer frowned at me.

"I'm never going to agree to a divorce. Maud isn't going to affect your position as Mrs. James. I don't understand what you're making a fuss about."

I ignored him and slammed the divorce papers down on the table.

Then I turned and headed upstairs to pack.

Mortimer scoffed, not taking it seriously.

He turned back toward the kitchen to check on the fish soup he was making for Maud.

And Maud followed me upstairs.

Her voice was dripping with sincerity.

"Nora, you've done so much for me. I never wanted to push you out and take your place."

"Mortimer chose me to carry his child precisely because he trusts that. Please don't overthink this."

But the moment the bedroom door clicked shut, her tone shifted completely.

"Nora, you really are pathetically stupid. Do you have any idea that the life you're living is something other people can only dream of?"

"From the very first time I laid eyes on Mortimer, I thought the same thing: you two don't belong together."

"You can't follow a single conversation about his work. You can't share his burdens. He even has to endure people in his circle laughing at him because of you."

"It was only a matter of time before he tossed you aside."

"Oh, and surely you're not so dense that you don't know how babies are made? Want to watch how we made ours?"

When she pulled up a video of them together, I couldn't hold back any longer.

I shoved her. Hard.

"You're disgusting! Both of you are disgusting!"

A smile spread across her face, one I couldn't read.

"Idiots really are easy to provoke."

Then she clutched her stomach and screamed.

"Mortimer! My stomach! Nora, why did you push me?!"

A second later, Mortimer burst into the bedroom.

He looked at me with nothing but disappointment.

"Nora Dickerson, what have you done?"

He didn't give me a chance to explain. He scooped Maud into his arms and carried her downstairs.

The sounds from that video still echoed in my ears, the two of them moaning, breathless.

I stared at the framed photo on the nightstand, and my eyes slowly began to burn.

My phone buzzed. A message about my flight.

Nora, I've already bought the ticket. I'm waiting for you at the airport.

I rubbed my stinging eyes and went back to packing, my hands moving on autopilot.

The family doctor arrived quickly.

By the time I dragged my suitcase downstairs, they had already finished examining Maud.

When Mortimer saw me with my luggage, the fury on his face became impossible to contain.

"So you really are planning to leave?"

He grabbed my wrist, rough and unyielding.

"Fine. I'll take you myself."

No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't break free. He dragged me into the car.

"You used to just be stupid. Now you're stupid and cruel."

When his eyes met mine, brimming with tears, Mortimer went quiet for a moment. His voice softened.

"Nora, do you have any idea how much pressure I took on when I insisted on marrying you?"

"My father is still pressuring me to this day. This child was a compromise, a concession from both sides."

"Can you just give me a few more months? Once the baby is born, I promise everything goes back to normal."

The tenderness in his eyes was no less than it had been all those years ago.