Chapter 1

My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, leaving her with only three months to live.

Before she passed, she told me her final wish was to see me and my husband have a child.

She had no idea that my marriage with Asher Vance was already a hollow shell.

To fulfill her dying wish, I threw away my pride and begged him.

Asher only sneered at me. "To get a child, you'd even curse your own mother with a fake illness? You really are the most selfish woman I know."

Later, at my mother's funeral, I touched my pregnant belly and called him. "Are you really not coming to my mother's funeral?"

He replied coldly, "What does that have to do with me? By the way, Sienna is back. Make sure you get rid of that baby."

But much later, Asher stood before me with bloodshot eyes, begging for a single chance to atone for his sins.

1. After finishing my mother's funeral, I sat on the edge of the bed, completely drained.

The lights were off. I couldn't maintain my dignified facade anymore and let out a muffled, choked sob.

Three months ago, my mother was diagnosed with cancer.

She grabbed my hand with her withered, skeletal fingers. "I'm worried about you and Asher. If I could see you two have a child before I go, I could die in peace."

Her eyes were clouded but filled with a desperate plea. I swallowed the words stuck in my throat and nodded heavily.

But she didn't know that Asher and I were already strangers living under the same roof.

I lied to her, saying he was too busy with work to come home, but the truth was simpler. Asher just didn't want to see me.

When I finally brought up the idea of a child, he laughed with pure sarcasm.

"Elara Vance, are you trying to use a kid to chain me down now?"

Despite his words, he reached out and pulled at my clothes. My dignity fell to the floor along with my dress.

There were no kisses, no tenderness. There was only a cold, mechanical collision.

When it was over, Asher said, "Sienna is coming back soon. Don't cause any trouble."

I lay on the bed with my back to him, my tears soaking the pillow.

When did this marriage become nothing more than a legal document?

When I first met Asher, the girls at the office called him the "Melancholy Prince."

I fell for him at first sight, captivated by his brooding mystery and refined grace.

To make him smile, I used to spend hours every day making him intricate paper stars and sketches.

To have something to talk about, I forced myself to learn everything about his hobbies.

When I found out he liked the guitar, I didn't hesitate to sign up for lessons.

Later, I was the one who proposed, and he actually said yes.

Everyone at the company said the prince had finally come down from his tower for love. They told me how lucky I was.

But six months ago, Asher changed.

He stopped talking to me about music and became chillingly distant.

I thought I had done something wrong until I saw a name on his phone: Sienna.

Only then did I realize why he was always so melancholy back then.

Sienna Sterling was Asher's first love, the one who got away. She had broken up with him to study abroad.

During that time, he was drowning in the pain of her departure.

And that was exactly when I had fallen for him.

My interest in the guitar was only because Sienna had played for him once.

He had always believed he and Sienna were over for good.

Until six months ago, when she sent a message saying she was coming home.

The marriage I had struggled so hard to maintain like a desperate clown was nothing compared to a single text from her.

...

When I was two months pregnant, my mother passed away.

At the funeral, I called Asher and asked, "Are you really not coming to my mother's funeral?"

He let out a short, mocking laugh. "Stop playing games."

I touched my stomach, feeling a wave of bitterness. He never believed a word I said.

"By the way, Sienna is back. Go ahead and end that pregnancy. We're getting a divorce sooner or later anyway."

A sharp, stabbing pain radiated from my heart. It wasn't winter, but I felt like I had been plunged into a lake of ice.

Handling the funeral had already exhausted me, but Asher's attitude was the final blow.

I gently stroked my belly and whispered, "Little one, your daddy doesn't want you..."

But I did.

I had already lost my mother. I couldn't lose my baby too.

My company didn't allow pregnant women to work in my specific field, and I knew I couldn't hide it forever. I resigned immediately.

I never expected to run into Asher right outside the office building.

He was looking at Sienna with such tenderness, gallantly pulling out a chair for her at a cafe.

Once upon a time, he used to look at me that way too.

But what about now?

Sienna noticed me first. She whispered something to him, causing Asher to look over.

His eyes were filled with disgust. He frowned and mouthed three words to me.

"Don't cause trouble."

Those three words made my blood run cold.

A wave of nausea hit me. I covered my mouth and ran toward the nearest restroom.