Chapter 1

The news of my fiancé's secret child broke the night before our wedding.

Ford Sterling didn't even wait for me to demand an answer.

"It was just an accident, Evelyn. Just focus on the rehearsal dinner," he said casually.

"Besides, your father is in the final stages of cancer. Ending this merger now helps no one."

That night, he skipped our dinner. Instead, he posted a photo of a swaddled infant on his private feed.

When I facetimed him, he was bottle-feeding the newborn.

"I'm busy with the baby, I don't have time for you. Our family needs an heir, and this child is my priority."

He wiped a drop of milk from the baby's chin. "Don't worry. I'll send him to a boarding school in Europe once he's older."

"You'll just need to play the mother during holidays. You'll always be the mistress of the Sterling estate."

I stared at the diamond ring on his finger, a match to mine, and let out a cold laugh.

"Ford, the engagement is off."

He scoffed. "Stop being so dramatic over a little thing like this. Don't be childish."

I hung up and dialed a private number―Ford's father, Cyrus Sterling.

"I heard you're looking for a new wife? Why not consider me?"

I stroked my stomach and smiled. "The Vance women are famously fertile. I can give you as many sons as you want."

Why let Ford be the sole heir? I was about to give him a few brothers to keep him company.

1.

On the other end of the line, Cyrus's gravelly voice crackled. "Evelyn, what kind of nonsense is this?"

I chuckled, my voice dripping with mockery. "You've seen the news. Your son is filthy, and I'm done with him. I'm serious, Cyrus. I want a trade-in."

Silence stretched for several seconds. Then, his voice wavered.

"I can't discuss this over the phone. I'm coming to see you now."

"Great. I'll be waiting," I replied.

I curled my lips into a smile. My eyes burned with a predator's light.

Cyrus was only in his early thirties. Because of a genetic fertility issue, years of IVF had failed him.

That was why he had adopted Ford from a distant branch of the family.

The only reason the Sterling family wanted a Vance bride was our legacy of perfect fertility.

It was whispered that women in my family never missed. We almost always carried multiples.

Whether my father was sick or not, this union was a necessity for the Sterlings.

I just hadn't expected Ford to be so stupid.

After five years together, he thought I would just swallow the insult of a bastard child.

I've never been the type to suffer in silence.

The doorbell rang shortly after I hung up.

Cyrus stood at the door, his gaze dark and conflicted.

Before he could speak, I grabbed his tie and yanked him into the foyer.

"Evelyn, you..."

I didn't let him finish. I silenced him with a kiss.

My fingers traced the collar of his shirt, then slipped beneath the silk.

My actions were my answer. There was no hesitation.

I was showing him that I wasn't playing games.

I felt him struggle for a moment, torn between duty and desire.

But eventually, he succumbed to the heat.

Afterward, he held me close, his voice still raspy.

"I have business to handle overseas tomorrow. I'll be gone for a while. Wait for me."

"What about... the wedding?" I asked.

He looked down at me, his eyes unreadable.

"It stays on schedule. I'll be back. You are the only daughter of the Vance family, and the only woman fit to be a Sterling."

After he left, I tried to sleep, but my phone buzzed incessantly.

It was Ford. He sounded as entitled as ever.

"Evelyn, get over here. Luna is exhausted. You need to help with the baby while I take her to an auction to cheer her up."

He wanted me to babysit his mistress's child? His brain must have been rotting.

"Ford, I'm not your maid or your nanny. You've got the wrong number."

He paused, then sighed. "Evelyn, Luna suffered to give this family a child for your sake too."

"He carries the Sterling blood. As the future matriarch, shouldn't you learn how to care for him?"

His logic was absolutely deranged.

A mocking laugh escaped my throat. "Your logic is so touching it's giving me hives, Ford."

"We're over. Whoever you breed with or whoever nannies your brat is none of my business."

"Don't call me again. Ever."

I hung up before he could utter another word.

I tried to go back to sleep, but I was too wired.

I opened a news app, and a notification popped up immediately.

【Sterling CEO Drops Millions on Jewelry for Secret Love!】

The photo showed Ford holding Luna at a high-end auction.

The way he looked at her was so tender. It was a look I had never seen in our five years together.

My heart felt a tiny, sharp prick of pain.

On my birthdays, he always had an assistant buy a random bag or some gems.

He never picked them out himself. He certainly never tried this hard to make me smile.

They say a man's heart is where his money is. It seemed Ford had never loved me at all.

I decided to go to the bridal shop to clear my head.

But when I pushed the door open, I froze.