Chapter 2

02

I watched that video again, frame by frame.

Using the delivery slip visible in the background, I managed to find her name and her social media handles.

Her name was Lina, and she was a lifestyle micro-influencer.

Her feed was a curated gallery of a perfect, secret romance.

【My boyfriend took me to a Michelin-star dinner today. He says pretty girls deserve to be spoiled.】

【Checking into a themed boutique hotel. A little naughty, but so thrilling. Even while pregnant, I have to bloom for my man.】

【Seven months along! Daddy tells the baby a bedtime story every single night.】

I scrolled through every post, piecing together the timeline of my own life's destruction.

Every time Lucian said he was on a business trip, or working late, or at a corporate mixer, he was with her.

My phone vibrated. It was a text from Lucian.

【Honey, I'm stuck at the office again tonight. Go to sleep without me, don't wait up.】

Immediately after, a notification popped up for a $520 transfer into my account.

Then came a sixty-second voice note.

"I miss you so much, Elara. But knowing how much you support my career gives me all the motivation I need. When this project is over, I'm all yours."

This was his signature move. The same tenderness he had used for a decade.

We had gone from college sweethearts to a married couple, supporting each other through everything.

But after we got married, I had three pregnancies. None of them made it past the first trimester.

To fix my body, I saw specialists and drank bitter herbal supplements until I was sick. I threw up, wiped my mouth, and drank them again.

Lucian would sit beside me, tears in his eyes, looking heartbroken.

"Sweetheart, let's stop trying for a baby, okay? You're enough for me. I just want you."

He said it so convincingly that I truly believed he didn't care about having a legacy. I thought he loved me more than a family.

But looking at the dates, he was already keeping his little canary in a cage. She had gotten pregnant right around the time I lost my last child.

I had slept beside him for ten years, and only now did I see the cold, calculated monster behind the mask.

I opened my contacts and found a number a friend had recommended months ago. It was for a private investigator.

"Weston, I need you to tail two people for me tonight."

I sent him the address and the photos.

"Got it," Weston replied. "I'll get everything on record."

Late that night, my phone finally rang. It was a folder of photos.

"They really like taking risks," Weston messaged. "They're getting busy in the car, even with her being that far along."

I immediately accessed the remote feed for our car's dashcam.

On the screen, a man was draped over a pregnant woman in the backseat of our SUV.

His eyes were full of lust, but he was careful to avoid putting weight on her protruding stomach.

Lina wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "I'm huge right now and you still won't leave me alone? Is the old woman at home really that boring?"

Lucian laughed and gave her a playful squeeze.

"She's dull and tasteless. Like an old hen that can't lay an egg. You're much more fun, my cute little mama-to-be."

Lina giggled and kissed him deeply.

"Obviously. But you can't really blame her for being an empty nest. Not when you've been slipping those low-dose pills into her vitamins every morning."

"If she actually managed to have a kid, how would I ever get a clean divorce? Our baby isn't going to be a secret forever."

A wave of violent nausea hit me.

I sprinted to the bathroom and retched until my stomach was empty.

The pain was gone, replaced by a cold, sharp hatred.

I had spent years blaming myself for the losses. I had cried over the tiny lives I couldn't protect.

And all the while, it was my husband. He was the one killing my children.

He watched me suffer, watched me grieve, and played the part of the grieving father while ensuring my babies never blocked the path for his mistress's child.

I dug my nails into my palms so hard they bled, barely holding back the urge to go downstairs and end them both right then.

Near dawn, I heard the front door open.

Lucian crept in quietly. When he saw the living room lights on, he froze.

"Elara? Why are you still up?"

He hurried over and pulled me into an embrace.

He smelled like fresh soap. He had showered before coming home.

How meticulous. No wonder he had managed to hide this for so long.

"Couldn't sleep without me?"

He stroked my face with a look of pure concern.

"Look at these dark circles. You need to rest. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

"Once I'm officially named CEO next week, I'm taking you to the Maldives. I'm going to make it up to you."

The Maldives.

He had just taken Lina there three months ago.

I looked him in the eye, my voice perfectly flat.

"You've been working so hard. Go get some rest. I need to use the car today to run some errands."