Chapter 1

1.

The day Chloe Linwood married Leo Vance for the third time, the New York winter was as cold as her fingers clutching the divorce papers.

He leaned against the car door, his expression a familiar, gloomy tenderness she had seen twice before. "This time, I'll change. I swear," he said.

"Fine." She slid into the driver's seat and rolled down the window. "But if I catch you one more time―"

"There won't be a fourth time," he interrupted, his voice as sincere as it was after the avalanche in Aspen, when he’d held her and whispered, "We're going home."

But she knew he couldn't change.

So when he claimed he had an "emergency business trip," she followed him through the late-night streets, all the way to Queens.

There, she saw a little girl covered in bruises leap into his arms.

She heard the girl cry out, "Daddy."

And she saw a weary, worn-out woman stand on her toes to kiss him―her husband, who was supporting another family.

Just then, a message from the hospital confirmed it on her phone: Early pregnancy, six weeks.

There would be no fourth time.

But this time, she decided, she would take everything from him.

…

Two years into their second remarriage, Chloe was in Aspen, Colorado, searching for artistic inspiration when an avalanche nearly claimed her life.

When Leo heard the news, he ignored the mountain closure and severe weather warnings, charging into the wilderness alone with rescue gear.

Using the GPS from their linked Apple Watches, Leo found a barely conscious Chloe.

The snow was blinding that day. He had searched for so long that his face was purple from the cold, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

"Baby, we're going home," he rasped.

Chloe stared at him, a storm of emotions swirling inside her. To have someone risk everything to save her in a life-or-death moment… maybe he truly was the one.

After the mountain rescue, their marriage entered a honeymoon phase.

Leo reined in his wild habits. For an entire year, there were no scandals with other women. He became a model of fidelity, avoiding parties and nightclubs. When his friends teased him, he would laugh and say he was "scared of his wife," always making sure to be home before 10 p.m.

Their bond grew stronger. Leo poured all his energy into loving Chloe.

He confessed his love under a setting sun on a yacht in Miami. He played the piano and sang for her at a Napa Valley winery. He swore he would love only her, high above the ground in a hot air balloon in New Mexico.

Their love affair burned brightly across the country.

Until one late night, the harsh ring of his phone shattered the peace.

Leo’s face fell as he took the call. He immediately booked a flight back to New York.

"It's an emergency at the office. Baby, I have to fly back tonight. You stay here and have fun."

He left her with a deep kiss and turned to leave.

Chloe touched her tingling lips, an uneasy knot forming in her stomach as she watched him go.

"Leo Vance, you better not be lying to me."

Calmly, she checked out of the hotel and booked the next flight, following him.

The next afternoon, Leo drove his car into a modest, middle-class neighborhood in Queens.

Soon, a little girl covered in bruises ran out and threw herself into his arms. Behind her followed a stooped, exhausted-looking woman.

Leo’s usual gentle demeanor vanished. He grabbed a baseball bat from his trunk and stormed into the house.

Chloe got out of her car and watched in horror as Leo, like a man possessed, brought the bat down again and again on a middle-aged man.

"You married Sara and you treat her like this? You dare touch Lily? I'm calling the cops right now!"

Chloe trembled, unable to believe her eyes. She had never seen Leo so out of control. And for a middle-aged woman and a little girl? Who were they to him?

A wave of nausea washed over her, and she bent over, gagging.

It was only then that she remembered―she’d forgotten her birth control during their honeymoon phase. Could she be pregnant?

A flicker of joy ignited within her. She looked up, wanting to share the good news with Leo.

But the scene before her made her pupils constrict. Her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and no sound could escape.

The woman, Sara, stood on her toes and pressed her lips to Leo's.

"Thank you, Leo. I can't thank you enough."

Leo turned his head slightly, so the kiss landed on his cheek. "Sara, I'll always be here for you."

Watching Leo embrace another woman, Chloe felt a chill seep into her bones. A sense of ridiculous, inevitable truth washed over her.

"Leo Vance… you cheated again."

She should have known. You couldn't tame a playboy. He was an addict, and other women were his drug.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chloe turned, got back in her car, and drove straight to a clinic. She had to get rid of this child. Then she would divorce Leo. This time, there would be no reconciliation.