Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In the seven years from our college days to marriage, Grant cancelled fifty-two trips with me.

Every single time, he brushed me off with the same old excuses. He said he was slammed with hospital projects, stuck on emergency business trips, or tending to a sick relative. He always promised he would make it up to me next time.

I believed him fifty-two times.

That was until last month, when I found a leather travel journal in his study.

Tucked inside were fifty-two flight tickets to the exact same coastal city, paired with fifty-two photos of him and his childhood sweetheart, Chloe.

The caption on the first photo read: "She said she wanted to see the ocean, so I dropped all my work to take her."

The thirty-third photo read: "She got drunk tonight and told me her greatest regret in this life was not starting a family with me."

The fifty-second photo was dated on our fifth wedding anniversary―the day he blew me off yet again.

Scrawled across the back in his neat handwriting were the words: "She is pregnant. I am going to be a father!"

I wiped my tears in silence, drafted a divorce settlement, and booked a one-way ticket to Antarctica.

This time, I was going to see the world on my own.

……

Grant came home at midnight, reeking of expensive bourbon.

The moment he stepped inside and saw the photos and the divorce papers laid out on the coffee table, he froze. The color drained from his face.

I slid the pen across the glass table toward him, keeping my voice completely calm.

"Sign it."

"I have zero interest in sharing a man with someone else."

Grant refused to touch the pen. He rushed over and dropped to his knees before me, grabbing my hands desperately.

"Chloe has been dealing with severe depression lately. She threatened to end her life if I didn't show up. I couldn't just stand by and watch a girl I grew up with do something crazy…"

"A girl you grew up with?"

A cold scoff escaped my lips.

"What kind of sweet sister ends up in your bed and carries your baby?"

He scrambled to defend himself.

"It's not my baby! She wrote that as a silly joke! Cora, I swear to God, there is nothing improper between us!"

Seeing my deadpan expression, he furrowed his brow, his eyes welling up with a wounded look.

"We have been together for seven years. Do you really have this little faith in me?"

I was sick of his lies, so I pushed the pen forward again.

He let out a strained laugh.

"Fine. I'll call her right now, and we'll clear this up face-to-face."

Grant pulled out his phone, dialed her number, and put it on speaker. She picked up almost instantly.

"Chloe, did you write all that nonsense on those photos on purpose? Your sister-in-law is furious!"

On the other end of the line, Chloe paused before letting out a soft, aggrieved sob.

"I'm so sorry, Grant. I was just teasing. I had no idea she would find out…"

"From now on, no matter what happens to you, I'm not coming. Stop trying to drive a wedge between us!"

With that, he hung up decisively.

He looked up at me with pleading eyes.

"You see? It was just a misunderstanding. We cleared it up. Cora, you can hit me or yell at me all you want, but please, don't talk about divorce."

If this were the past, I might have fallen for his act.

Except none of that mattered anymore.

The undeniable fact was that all fifty-two photos were taken on the exact dates he was supposed to take me on vacation.

How was I supposed to let that go?

How could I possibly believe that the child growing in Chloe's belly wasn't his?

Seeing that I remained silent, Grant braced his hands on the sofa beside me and leaned in, trying to wrap his arms around me to carry me to the bedroom.

"You're just exhausted lately, honey. It makes you overthink things."

"Let's have a baby of our own. Once we have a child, you won't have time for these silly doubts."

I turned my face away to dodge his kiss and slipped out from under his arms, my voice chillingly detached.

"You're sleeping in the guest room tonight."

Grant's face turned paper-white. He lowered his head and forced a bitter smile.

"That's fine. I will prove myself to you. Tomorrow, I'll make sure she terminates the pregnancy."

I watched him slowly rise and walk toward the guest room with heavy steps.

That night, I didn't sleep a wink.

When I finally got out of bed, it was barely five in the morning.

I walked toward the kitchen and saw the man who used to make me breakfast every day standing by the counter, speaking into his phone in a low, tender whisper.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I will definitely be there for your next ultrasound."

"I'm sorry for snapping at you last night. You know how stubborn Cora is. If I didn't put on a show, she would actually divorce me. Did you like that Versace purse I sent you?"

"Alright, alright. I'll buy plenty of designer clothes for our little angel, too."

I froze in the hallway.

In that quiet morning air, my heart shattered into dust.

I quietly backed away to my room and finalized my flight booking to Antarctica.

This time, I was never going to be soft-hearted again.