Chapter 1

Ever since I got pregnant, Caleb St. Claire worked from dawn until dusk, claiming he was doing it for me and our unborn child.

I felt so bad for his exhaustion that I started a secret side hustle as a psychic in the underground back-alley markets.

I never expected to see Caleb standing right in front of my stall.

He wrote down my exact birth details and asked me to calculate the destiny of the baby I was carrying.

Thinking he was just a worried father, I told him the child was destined for a life of great fortune and luck.

The next second, he wrote down the birth details of his childhood sweetheart.

"I need you to swap the destiny of my wife's child with this woman's child," he said coldly. "Do it so she never suspects a thing."

I did the math in my head.

His mistress's child was cursed to die within three months of birth.

1.

As usual, Caleb showed up at the mill gates right on time, holding a single red rose while he waited for my shift to end.

"Wren, did the little one give you any trouble today? Are you feeling okay?"

He had a gentle smile as he rubbed my belly, placing the flower in my hand.

My coworkers watched us with envy, and I could hear them whispering behind my back.

"Mr. St. Claire is so romantic. He picks her up every single day and never forgets the flowers."

"You couldn't find a man like that if you searched with a flashlight. Wren, you're the luckiest girl in this town to marry him!"

I forced a bitter smile but didn't say a word.

If I hadn't run into him at my psychic stall in the back-alley, I would have believed I was the happiest woman alive.

But now I knew the truth―Caleb had someone else in his heart.

And for that person, he was willing to sacrifice the very life of his own child.

Caleb lingered for a moment before pulling a small charm out of his pocket and tucking it into a silk sachet.

"I went to the Mount Aspen Monastery today to get this for you and the baby," he said, beaming. "The monk said it wards off evil and ensures you both stay healthy."

My hand trembled as I gripped the sachet, and I fought back tears as I spoke.

"Was it hard to get?"

He smiled tenderly, hanging it around my waist. "The monk just had me transcribe some scriptures for a month to show my sincerity. Anything is worth it for you and the baby."

I laughed at the absurdity of it all. "You're so thoughtful."

He responded with more sweet talk and honeyed words.

Caleb was lying; that charm didn't come from any monastery.

I was the one who wrote it at my psychic stall. I gave it to him just to see if he was truly heartless enough to go through with the destiny swap.

At first, I held onto a sliver of hope.

We had been together for six years; surely he couldn't be that cruel to our own flesh and blood.

But reality hit me like a thunderbolt. He wasn't just doing it―he was planning to keep me in the dark forever.

When we got home, I saw charms hanging all over the headboard. Caleb was following my instructions to the letter.

Before I could even ask, he took the lead in explaining.

"Didn't you say you were feeling unwell lately? I asked the master for more charms to see if they'd help."

Another lie.

Looking at his calm, handsome face, I wondered how many other lies he had told me while looking so deeply in love.

My heart twisted into a knot, making it hard to breathe.

I pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "I thought you never believed in this superstitious stuff?"

I clenched my fists as a single thought played on loop in my mind.

Caleb, if you just admit it now, if you say you were just possessed by a moment of madness, I'll forgive you. We can still have a chance.

A flicker of guilt crossed his face, but he regained his composure almost instantly.

He knelt before me and kissed my hand with what looked like pure devotion.

"Wren, it kills me to see you hurting. For you, I'm willing to believe in anything, even if the chance of it working is tiny."

What a romantic sentiment. Everything he did was supposedly for my own good.

Tears finally spilled over. Caleb leaned in and kissed them away, pulling me into a protective hug.

"You're such a baby, getting so moved by something so small," he teased.

I had cried so many times out of gratitude for the things he did. He naturally assumed these were tears of joy.

He was wrong. These were tears of mourning, because I had already decided to leave him.

I wiped my eyes and forced a jagged smile. "I won't cry so easily anymore."

Especially not for you.

Caleb, I'm done wasting tears on a man like you.