Chapter 2

He breathed a sigh of relief, his smile growing more evident.

"I knew my darling would be so understanding. Marrying you was truly my lucky break."

I turned my head, hiding the redness welling up in my eyes.

For so many years, after each of my miscarriages, he comforted me, saying it didn't matter if we didn't have children.

Yet countless times, he'd casually mention how adorable his brother's children were.

But he valued my understanding nature,

Certain I'd continue to endure this torment for his sake.

In the middle of the night, while Ivor slept, I took his phone and went to the study.

The password was Ms. Fallon's birthday.

The wallpaper was a solo shot of Ms. Fallon in her wedding dress.

Opening the photo gallery, I found its entire 100GB memory crammed with pictures of Ms. Fallon.

The very first photo was from the day I introduced Ms. Fallon to Ivor and Zoran.

I remember pulling them together for a group photo. Ivor had acted cool, looking reluctant.

But in this picture, it had been cropped to show only him and Ms. Fallon.

The rest of the photos were just the same.

Even Ms.Fallon posted lovey-dovey photos on social media, but Zoran was always cropped out, leaving only half the picture.

The ribbon-cutting ceremonies for Ivor's family projects, the celebration parties, and all those moments I never knew about.

The two of them, looking glamorous and surrounded by crowds, his gaze always tenderly fixed on Ms. Fallon.

Trembling, I opened their chat history.

He replied instantly to every single message from Ms. Fallon.

The large sums he transferred all contained Ms. Fallon's birthday numbers.

Even the final payments for business deals ended with her birthday digits.

Our wedding day was even set for her birthday.

I asked him if we could change the date.

He said it was a specially calculated auspicious day, telling me not to overthink it.

But now, I understand it wasn't a coincidence.

Even if he wasn't marrying Ms. Fallon, he wanted to make her the true star of the wedding.

In five years of marriage, he never let me disturb him during work hours.

Once, when I was pregnant and in pain, I called him for help. He flew into a rage.

I felt hurt, but I understood the pressures of running a company.

It's only now I realize - it wasn't that work was important, it was that I wasn't important to him.I chuckled self-mockingly and stopped reading.

I called my best friend, a medical doctor who had just returned from studying abroad.

"In three days, help me with a surgery."

Three days to say goodbye to this lie was enough.

I set a countdown alarm to remind myself.

Gazing at Ivor's handsome sleeping face,

The cruel truth played on loop in my mind,

Tears soaked my pillow as I lay sleepless all night.

The next morning, I sat at the dining table waiting for him.

He came out of the room with his usual gentle smile.

"Vivienne, why are you up so early? Pregnant women need extra sleep."

I smiled noncommittally.

My phone rang.

He caught a glimpse of the word "OB/GYN" and asked suspiciously:

"Why is it a text from the hospital? Is something wrong with the baby?"