Chapter 1

Just because my husband, Dominic Sterling, said he wanted my signature Honey-Glazed Pot Roast, I braved a torrential downpour while shivering with a high fever to bring it to him.

When I arrived at his office, soaked to the bone, he didn't even try to hide his flirting with his assistant, Lexi.

The moment he saw me, Dominic's face darkened with annoyance.

"Why didn't you just wait until I was dead to bring it? Luckily, Lexi already ordered me takeout," he snapped.

I opened my mouth to explain, but he snatched the container from my hands and dumped the meat into the dog's bowl.

Lexi leaned into his arm, acting all sweet and innocent. "You shouldn't feed that stuff to the puppy, Dominic. What if he gets an upset stomach from her cooking?"

Dominic didn't hesitate. He kicked the dog bowl over, sending the food flying across the floor.

He wrapped his arm around Lexi's waist and walked past me without a single look of pity.

"Clean up this mess before you leave," he ordered coldly.

In that heartbeat, the man I had loved for a decade lost all his light in my eyes.

1.

As I walked out of Dominic's office building, my legs felt like lead. My head was spinning, and waves of heat and cold crashed over me.

I tried to keep my eyes open, but the world turned black before my Uber even arrived.

When I woke up, the sterile smell of a hospital filled my nose.

The doctor stood over me, his brow furrowed in a stern scolding.

"Did you not know you were pregnant? Going out in a storm with a high fever is reckless."

"If you had arrived ten minutes later, you would have lost the pregnancy. You need to stay for observation."

My voice trembled as I whispered, "I'm pregnant?"

"Seven weeks along. We can already hear the heartbeat," the doctor said before leaving me alone in the quiet room.

My hand instinctively moved to my flat stomach. After eight years of marriage, this was our first child.

I had been waiting for this moment for six long years.

I reached for my phone to tell Dominic the news, but his call came through first.

"Sera, I thought I told you to clean the office before you left!" he barked through the speaker.

"Lexi almost slipped and fell because of the mess you left. What is wrong with you?"

In the background, Lexi began to sob softly. "Dominic, please don't be mad at Sera. It was my own fault for being clumsy."

Dominic immediately shifted his tone to a gentle, protective coo for her.

His words were like a bucket of ice water, completely extinguishing my joy.

Earlier today, he had texted me saying he missed my home cooking.

I had dragged myself to the grocery store despite a 102-degree fever to get the best ingredients.

I spent an hour over the stove, only to be met with insults and his foot on my hard work.

Watching him walk away with Lexi made me realize something painful.

The boy who used to tell me I looked most beautiful while cooking had died a long time ago.

"Lexi's leg is hurt. I'm staying over at her place to take care of her tonight. Don't wait up," Dominic said before hanging up.

A moment later, Lexi posted a photo on Instagram.

The caption read: "I told him it was nothing, but he insisted on applying the ointment himself."

The photo showed Dominic kneeling, focused intensely on a tiny bruise on her leg.

I remembered when I used to cut my finger in the kitchen. Even a tiny drop of blood would make him panic and rush for the first aid kit.

Now, I was pale and sweating in a hospital bed, and he couldn't care less.

I pulled up my messages and texted my best friend, who happened to be a top divorce lawyer.

"Joanna, please draft a divorce agreement for me."