Chapter 1

1

I'm a family doctor, and my life took a very unexpected turn with the Aldridge family.

It all started with Edward Aldridge's accidental overdose on a new designer drug.

He was in critical condition, and somehow, I became the antidote.

I got pregnant, just like that. One and done.

We got married, and I gave birth to a beautiful set of twins, a boy and a girl, as bright as buttons.

But married life wasn't the fairy tale I'd imagined.

Edward forbade the kids from calling him Dad.

He spent his days clutching a photo of his first love, Amelia, and drowning his sorrows in booze.

Then, on our tenth anniversary, he set me and the kids on fire. We were trapped in the basement. No escape.

Turns out, Edward had resented me all those years for saving him.

He was convinced I'd taken advantage of him in his most vulnerable moment, a social climber desperate for a rich husband.

He blamed me for the rift between him and Amelia, claiming I'd driven her to a car accident that took her life.

I opened my eyes again, and it was the day of Edward's overdose all over again.

This time, I let Amelia have the "honor" of saving him. Me? I headed straight for the study…

......

"Dr. Williams, you need to go in! Mr. Edward's getting worse!" The butler's frantic voice echoed, but my body trembled uncontrollably.

The agony of burning alive, the kids' desperate cries from the basement… it was all too real.

"Dr. Williams?" The formality of the title felt strange. After marrying Edward, no one called me that anymore.

"It's Mr. Edward's birthday party. We don't know what happened," the butler added.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I was reborn.

"Lee, go get Miss Amelia. Edward, he's… he needs her." I took a deep breath and turned to the butler. "It's a love potion, Lee. He needs Amelia."

The butler's eyes widened. "But..."

"Go get her!" I insisted. "He'll be in serious trouble otherwise."

As Lee hurried away, I pressed a hand against my racing heart.

Last time, when I opened that door, Edward, like a rabid animal, attacked me.

Lee stood right outside, deaf to my screams.

I got pregnant, married Edward, and thought my happiness had begun.

But it was a nightmare.

He hated me, hated me for "stealing" Amelia, hated me for his lost love.

He ignored me, humiliated me, wouldn't even let the kids call him Dad.

Then came the fire.

My babies, screaming "Mommy" as the flames devoured us…

I swallowed the bitterness, tugged at my collar, and turned toward the study.

If I remembered correctly, Edward's father, Richard, had been drugged too.

The Aldridge men had a history of fertility issues. Edward, a test-tube baby, was their only hope.

But what if he wasn't the only son anymore?

I pushed open the study door. Richard was sprawled on the leather sofa, face flushed, tie loose.

Seeing me, he clutched at me like a drowning man to a life raft…