Chapter 1

1.

My husband and I were hosting a welcome-home party for my sister, who had just returned to the country.

When asked about her biggest regret, she swirled her empty wine glass and looked at my husband with misty eyes.

"I guess my biggest regret was not being brave enough to carry Alistair's baby to term," she sighed.

The room erupted into hushed whispers and shocked gasps.

I clutched the pregnancy test result in my pocket, my knuckles turning white as my lower abdomen tightened with stress.

Chloe suddenly snapped out of her daze and let out a soft, mocking giggle. "I'm just kidding! Alistair and I were just casual flings for a while back then."

"Don't mind me, sister. You're the one he married, and you're the one he truly loves."

All eyes were pinned on me and Alistair.

He immediately looked at Chloe, a flicker of dazed pity crossing his face.

He didn't even notice how pale I had turned or that my hands were shaking.

Chloe took a sip of her wine, acting as if she hadn't just sucked the oxygen out of the room.

"Speaking of which, Alistair used to have a terrible temper," she said intimately. "I was the one who trained him into the attentive man he is today."

"Now it's perfect. My favorite sister gets to enjoy all my hard work."

She blinked at me playfully. "Sis, does he still nag you for sex when you're on your period?"

"Does he still make you use your mouth to put the protection on?"

Alistair remained silent, offering no denial.

His silence felt like a confession.

He gave a helpless smile and placed a piece of prime rib into Chloe's bowl.

"Just eat your dinner. Since you're my sister now, be a good girl and take care of yourself."

He acted as if my humiliation was invisible to him.

The suffocating atmosphere didn't ease up despite Alistair's attempts to play it off.

One of Chloe's bridesmaids, seemingly oblivious to the tension, chimed in.

"That's right, Chloe. You're such a picky eater; you only eat what Alistair cooks for you."

"Back then, you lost the baby because you were being stubborn and refused to eat while he was away on business."

I stared at the food on the table, my mind going blank.

So that was the real reason Alistair suddenly started cooking for me.

We had been married for three years, and if it weren't for Chloe, I would have never known my husband even knew his way around a kitchen.

Chloe admired my ghostly pale face for a moment before speaking with fake innocence.

"I'm so sorry, everyone. I've been away for three years and I've had too much to drink. I'm speaking out of turn."

"I'll go wash my face and clear my head."

She stumbled as she stood up, accidentally knocking over a glass of red wine that soaked her silk dress.

Alistair stood up instantly, his movements practiced and instinctive.

"I'll take you to your old room so you can change."

I stood up, ignoring the dull ache in my stomach. "I'll help―"

Alistair frowned and pushed my hand away. "Don't make things more complicated. Chloe doesn't like strangers touching her things."

My hand froze in mid-air.

I remembered when I wanted to change the old curtains in the guest room after our wedding.

Alistair had snapped at me, saying it was a hassle and that my sister had liked that color. I never got to change them.

This house was covered in the fingerprints of another woman.

They disappeared into the guest room.

A few minutes later, Chloe walked out.

She was wearing one of Alistair's old button-down shirts, looking fragile and small in the oversized fabric.

She intentionally rolled up the sleeves, revealing a prominent men's watch on her wrist.

It was the watch Alistair wore every day, the one I had given him for our first anniversary.

She shook her wrist and smiled at me.

"Alistair's watch is so pretty. I borrowed it to match this outfit. You don't mind, do you, Sis?"

Alistair looked at her with a faint smile on his lips.

"Yeah," he told me. "It looks good on her."

In that moment, the pain in my lower abdomen spiked.

I dug my nails into my palms, forcing back the scream of agony that threatened to escape.

Watching their silent, perfect understanding, I felt the knife in my heart twist one last time.

I sat back down slowly and crumpled the pregnancy test in my pocket into a tiny ball.

I took a deep breath, my eyes turning cold. I decided that tonight, Alistair and I were going to have a final talk.