Chapter 2

A week after the surgery, Ethan still hadn' t set foot in Chloe' s hospital room.

"Are your family members very busy?" the nurse asked kindly as she changed Chloe' s IV bag. "They haven' t come to see you at all."

Chloe' s gaze drifted to the wall, to the room next door. She wanted to say, yes, very busy. Busy taking care of another woman.

The doctor had told her to start walking around to help with her recovery. But every time she shuffled down the hallway, she had to pass Ashley' s room. And every time, she saw the same scene: her husband, Ethan Miller, tenderly caring for her best friend.

There was no point in saying anything. The divorce papers were signed. Once the cooling-off period was over, they would be strangers. She dismissed the nurse with a weak smile and focused on getting stronger.

On the day she was discharged, she passed Ashley' s room one last time. The door was slightly ajar. Through the gap, she saw Ethan patiently coaxing Ashley to drink some soup.

"Sweetie, drink a little more. You need to get better quickly."

Ashley made a show of resisting, but the smile on her face was pure happiness. After she finished the soup, she seemed to remember something.

"Uncle, you should go check on Chloe. She' s your wife, after all. I' m afraid she' ll get the wrong idea if you don' t."

Ethan' s handsome brow furrowed in displeasure. He spoke calmly, but there was an edge to his voice. "You had a serious car accident, and you have no other family here. You call me uncle, so of course it' s my job to take care of you."

"She' s your best friend," he added. "She' ll understand."

Ashley' s parents had died in an accident when she was young, and before they passed, they entrusted her to the Miller family. The two families had a long history, and based on their generation, Ashley called Ethan 'uncle.'

No one ever expected that this seemingly normal uncle-niece relationship was hiding something so sordid. At least, Chloe never had. When she was pursuing Ethan and constantly hitting walls, it was Ashley who encouraged her, telling her that Ethan was just tough on the outside, but soft on the inside.

Chloe had believed her. She walked right into their trap.

Her nails dug into her palms, her body trembling with a fresh wave of pain. She turned to leave, but Ashley' s voice, soft and tearful, stopped her.

"It' s because of this that I can' t bear to keep hurting her. I…"

"Ashley! Don' t say that ever again! You haven' t hurt anyone!" Ethan' s voice was a soft scolding as he tucked the blanket around her.

Ashley turned her head away, tears streaming down her face, making her look fragile and pitiful. "But I don' t want to stay here and keep being a bother. The Miller family will never accept me anyway. Why don' t you and Chloe just… just pretend to be a loving couple…"

Her words were cut off. Chloe watched, frozen, as Ethan leaned down and kissed her. It wasn' t a gentle kiss; it was forceful, passionate, as if he was trying to melt her into himself.

After a long moment, he pulled back, holding her tightly. His voice was trembling.

"I told you, marrying her and pretending to be a loving couple was the only way. Besides you, I will never touch another woman."

Ashley pushed him away, her voice rising. "But your parents keep pressuring you to have a child! You can' t really have a sexless marriage with her forever!"

Ethan' s jaw clenched. "If it comes to that," he said, his voice low and hard, "I' ll have her do IVF. We can have a child that belongs to you and me. In short, I will never, ever touch her."

Outside the door, Chloe felt a pain so sharp it stole her breath. She knew he didn' t love her, but she never imagined this. After seven years of loving him, after giving up a kidney for his real love, he still didn't even see her as human. He wanted to use her body as an incubator for their child.

A sharp shout from inside the room ripped through the air.

"Who' s there?!"

The door to the hospital room flew open.

Ethan stared out into the empty hallway, a frown on his face. He must have imagined it.

He didn' t know that in the split second before he opened the door, Chloe had ducked into an empty room across the hall. She waited until his door was closed again before she finally, shakily, walked away.