1#01

1

I had just entered the house, clutching the pregnancy report I'd spent five years working towards, when I caught sight of my husband guiding his young female assistant into the nursery.

Holly Winter wrung her hands, bowed her head, and began to weep, intentionally showing the red marks on her neck.

"Alex, I have nowhere to go. Please allow Mr. Thornton to take me in," she begged.

Darrell Thornton grasped her hand, his voice sharp and defensive as he addressed me.

"She's the promising student you supported. She's freshly graduated and can't afford rent. You're a mature woman—don't make a big deal out of helping a young girl."

He gave me a cold look.

"Moreover, you're unable to bear children. We have plenty of spare rooms. What's the harm in letting her stay temporarily?"

I watched silently as he transformed the nursery we had prepared into her bedroom.

With a deep sigh, I made a phone call.

"Mom, is it too late for me to accept your previous conditions and return home?"

——

"Alex, have you finally come to your senses?" My mother inquired, her tone a mixture of astonishment and doubt.

"I'm telling you," she added, "before you come back, you must sever all connections with that man. If you don't, you won't receive a cent from the Wood family fortune."

I glanced down at the pregnancy report in my hands and smiled ruefully.

"Mom, I've reached a decision. Just give me a few days to sort things out here."

After ending the call, my legs suddenly weakened, and I barely managed to steady myself against the wall.

During the five years of my marriage, the Thornton family had repeatedly hinted at their desire for a male heir.

But medical tests had confirmed that conceiving would be challenging for me.

Overwhelmed by guilt, I visited numerous gynecological clinics and sought advice from countless traditional healers.

For years, I endured endless medications and examinations, my body burdened with bitter herbal remedies.

Yet throughout this ordeal, Darrell had brought the college student I had sponsored into his company as his "personal secretary," a role he conveniently described as a "life assistant."

And now, he had taken it further—bringing her into our home.

All my efforts over the past five years felt like a cruel joke.

"Alex, are you alright? Why are you sitting on the floor?"

Holly appeared wearing a white blouse and short skirt, leaning down to check on me.

As she bent forward, her movements deliberately offered a provocative view.

I stared at her coldly, watching her shameless display right in front of me.

I couldn't forget how, when she first learned I was married to Darrell—a rising star in the business world—she had publicly knelt before me in her university's auditorium, pleading for my help.

She looked so pitiful. Since she was my junior, I had covered all her education expenses, even providing an extra 2,000 dollars monthly for living costs.

Who would have thought her true aim was never my kindness, but my husband, Darrell?

Holly held a large box filled with infant toys and clothing.

"Alex, I looked through these items carefully, and they're all worthless," she said nonchalantly.

"Since you can't get pregnant anyway, let me help you by getting rid of this clutter that's just taking up space."

I touched my slightly rounded belly, a sharp pain piercing my chest.

These toys and clothes were the ones Darrell and I had selected together, one by one.

I remembered how he used to rest his head on my stomach, listening for nonexistent sounds.

When he looked up at me, his eyes shone with anticipation.

"I've heard that if we make the nursery beautiful, the baby will arrive sooner," he'd say.

"We'll definitely have our own child someday. I'll keep this room ready, and I won't let anyone touch it."

But now, I am pregnant.

And that very nursery—the one we had lovingly designed together—had been given away to someone else by the man who once vowed to protect it.

I stood up abruptly and grabbed the box from her hands.

"It's not your place to decide whether these things are useful or not."

Holly's large eyes instantly filled with tears, her voice quivering as she stammered,

"Alex, I know you dislike me, but no matter how much you blame me, someone needs to look after Mr. Thornton. You're so obsessed with having a baby that you completely ignore Mr. Thornton's feelings."