Chapter 1

1.

The little bird Gareth Huxley kept in his gilded cage was eight months pregnant and ready to pop.

He handed me the divorce papers. Again.

In our four years of marriage, this was the fourth time he had asked for a divorce for the sake of his mistress.

This time, I didn't say a word. I simply signed my name with a steady hand.

Gareth let out a sigh of relief. He even reached out, trying to be sweet as he made his hollow promise.

"Once the baby's legal paperwork for the trust fund is finalized, we'll get remarried immediately."

"Don't worry, Nora. To the rest of the world, the child will still call you Mother."

Gareth truly believed I would be like the last three times. He thought I'd sit at home, a loyal dog waiting for him to whistle me back.

Until a month later, when he finally called me.

"The estate paperwork is done. Meet me at the courthouse tomorrow morning. We're getting our marriage license back."

But a deep, lazy male voice answered the phone instead of me.

"Tsk. I'm not really interested in giving my kid a new step-dad, Ex-husband."

...

Gareth hadn't been home for a month. The first thing he did when he walked through the door was throw those papers at me.

"Lila is about to give birth. We need a temporary divorce to ensure the baby's legal standing in the Huxley estate."

No greetings.

No preamble.

Not even a fake attempt at showing he cared.

It was clear how desperate he was to be free of me this time.

I took a slow sip of my tea before I finally looked up at him.

"Gareth, do you even know what today is？"

A rare look of confusion crossed his handsome face.

Clearly, he had no clue.

I let out a soft, bitter laugh, my eyes falling on the legal documents.

"It's our wedding anniversary."

The irony was sharp.

For the past three years, no matter how much he played around outside, he always came home for dinner and a gift on this day.

This year, my gift was a set of divorce papers I knew by heart.

I had to admit, Lila Vance was different from the others.

Usually, Gareth swapped women like seasonal outfits. None of them lasted more than a month.

But Lila had been by his side for a full year.

He had even divorced me four times just to keep her happy.

The first time was when he first got a taste for her.

He showered her with millions in jewelry, but she played hard to get, claiming she'd never be just a mistress.

The second time was for her birthday. Gareth promised her anything she wanted.

She wished for him to be a single man.

The third time, she threw a tantrum about her status. Gareth followed the same script, using a fake divorce to coax her back into bed.

And today was the fourth.

All for the sake of that child in her belly.

A flicker of guilt finally touched Gareth's eyes.

"Nora, I'm sorry. Lila's been having a rough third trimester. I lost track of the date."

"I'll have my assistant pick out something special and send it over right away."

"Don't bother," I said, picking up the pen and signing the papers with practiced ease. "It's done. You can go now."

Even if he hadn't brought it up, I was going to.

I had planned to have one last quiet dinner with him before handing him the papers I'd prepared myself. I wanted a clean ending.

I didn't expect him to be so focused on his mistress that he'd forget our day entirely.

Seeing me sign so quickly caught him off guard. He looked stunned.

"Nora, you..."

I knew what he was thinking.

In the past, I always made a scene.

The first time, I trashed the entire living room.

The second time, I screamed until my throat was raw.

The third time, I threw a cup of hot tea right in his face.

Men are strange creatures. When you stop fighting for them, they don't know how to act.

A mocking smile touched my lips.

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted？"

Gareth stared at me for a long time. Once he was sure I wasn't going to explode, he relaxed.

"I'm glad you're finally being mature about this."

"The divorce is just a formality, you know that. You'll always be my real wife."

I suddenly felt curious. What gave him such absolute confidence that I'd keep taking him back？

So, I asked him.

Gareth blinked, surprised by the question.

But then he looked at me with those soulful, bedroom eyes of his.

"We grew up together, Nora. We're soulmates. How could you ever truly leave me？"