Chapter 1

After eight years of being the secret woman behind the Oscar-winning Silas Sterling, he finally announced his retirement from Hollywood. In front of the cameras, he revealed he had a long-term girlfriend he loved dearly.

He turned to me with such tenderness and said, "Avery, I can't wait another second. Let's go to City Hall and get our marriage license tomorrow."

But the next day, I stood there for hours, surrounded by hungry reporters, and he never showed up.

On my way home, a speeding car slammed into me, throwing me onto the cold asphalt.

It was Silas behind the wheel, rushing to get his 'soulmate' Chloe to her birthday gala.

"Chloe, your birthday is my priority," he had told her over the phone, unaware I could hear. "Everything else comes second."

He didn't even step out of the car to check on the stranger he had just hit. He had no idea the woman bleeding on the street was the wife he was supposed to marry that morning.

By the time I reached the hospital, I had lost the child in my womb and every ounce of love I had for Silas Sterling.