Chapter 1

The day before our wedding, my boyfriend had someone deliver a bouquet of roses to me.

Except what arrived was a bouquet of lisianthus—and a card from his ex asking him to take her back.

“I regret it. Don’t get married. Can we get back together?”

Daniel reached over and tore the card in half.

Naively, I thought he just needed some time to process it.

Until that night, when he handed me a check for five million dollars.

“She’s pregnant. I have to take responsibility.”

Daniel buried his face in his hands, looking genuinely torn.

I calmly took the check and asked, “Do you need me to leave now so she can move in?”

Daniel’s head snapped up.

He stepped forward and grabbed my wrist.

“No. The house is yours too. Consider it part of the compensation.”

I nodded and rested a hand over my still-flat stomach.

Daniel froze.

He probably hadn’t expected me to agree so easily.

I didn’t cry.

I didn’t make a scene.

I even calmly called the guests and told them the wedding was canceled.

The next day, I got the notification that the five million dollars had hit my account.

Then I called my best friend.

“Come out with me! I’m rich now!”

...

The bar was packed.

I stood beside our booth with my hands in the air, moving to the deafening music.

I didn’t look anything like a woman who’d just been dumped.

Anna shouted over the music, “Jessica, slow down! You’re pregnant!”

I waved the nonalcoholic drink in my hand.

“Relax.”

My phone suddenly buzzed against my palm.

I sat down and saw a new post from Maggie.

In the photo, she wore a white dress and leaned against Daniel’s shoulder. Matching rings gleamed on their hands.

The caption was painfully simple.

Five years lost. I hope every year from now on is with you.

I stared at the picture for a few seconds.

Daniel still wore that cool, distant expression.

But there was a softness at the corner of his mouth.

I touched my stomach and suddenly smiled.

So five years of one person’s life could be nothing more than a joke to someone else.

The moment Anna saw the post, her expression changed.

She snatched my phone away.

“Don’t look at that.”

I let out a mocking laugh and drained my drink in one gulp.

“Why not?”

My voice sounded so light, as if nothing had happened.

“It’s their big day. Shouldn’t I be happy for them?”

The moment I finished speaking, the crowd outside our booth suddenly went quiet.

Anna’s face changed instantly.

She slapped my shoulder several times.

Before I could turn around, someone grabbed my wrist.

The familiar strength made my heart jolt.

Whenever Daniel and I were intimate, he liked to pin my wrists above my head and tell me to relax.

I frowned and turned around.

Daniel stood there, his face dark.

His gaze swept over the glasses on the table before settling on me.

His voice dropped dangerously low.

“Jessica, do you even know what you’re doing?”

I looked down at his hand around my wrist and gave a quiet laugh.

“Can’t you tell? I’m having fun.”

“You’re pregnant and you came to a place like this? Are you insane?”

I looked up at him and pulled my wrist free.

“Daniel, don’t you think you’re overstepping?”

His expression stiffened.

His eyes turned ice-cold.

“Say that again.”

I met his gaze and spoke slowly, one word at a time.

“You already have a wife. Why are you worried about your ex?”

His body went rigid.

A second later, Daniel regained his usual composure.

“Enough. Come home with me.”

“I’m not going.”

I stepped back, avoiding the hand he reached toward me.

We’d been together for five years, and he had never cared enough to ask where I was.

It was as if whenever he needed me, I was simply supposed to be there.

Obedient.

Even now.

I looked at him and asked softly, “Daniel, you just got married and you’re already chasing me down at a bar. Does Maggie know?”

His expression darkened.

He might even have been angry.

“Do you have to talk like that?”

“Then how should I talk?”

I stared at him, still smiling.

“Should I wish you a happy marriage? Wish your happy family of three good health?”

“Or should I wish Maggie a safe delivery and tell my baby to be considerate enough not to get in your way?”

Daniel’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

Emotion churned in his eyes, nearly breaking through his control.

But in the end, he only said coldly, “Enough.”

The smile vanished from my face.

Daniel gave me no chance to refuse again.

He took off his coat, wrapped it around my shoulders, and half dragged, half carried me out of the bar.

Only when the night air hit my face did I realize my palms were slick with cold sweat.

The car ride was suffocatingly quiet.

I sat in the passenger seat while Daniel drove with a grim expression.

Neither of us spoke.

As soon as we got home, I walked straight into the bedroom and pulled out the suitcase I’d already packed.

Daniel followed me.

The second he saw the suitcase, he stopped.

“When did you pack that?”

I looked down at my phone and ordered a ride before lifting my head.

“While you were getting married.”

Daniel frowned like he was about to lose his temper.

But when his gaze fell to my stomach, he forced himself to hold it back.

“You’re pregnant. Stop putting yourself through this.”

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him.

“I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry. I won’t interfere with your happy life with Maggie.”

His face stiffened.

A trace of guilt flashed through his eyes.

“Jessica, don’t you want to have our baby?”

I didn’t answer.

Daniel went silent for a moment before lowering his voice.

“Keep the house. You don’t need to move.”

I paused.

For the five years Daniel and I had been together, I was used to his cold tone.

This was the first time he had ever sounded gentle with me.

I didn’t refuse.

I set down my suitcase and said with surprising calm, “Then thank you, Daniel.”

His frown deepened.

“Can you stop talking to me like that?”

I looked up at him.

“Then how should I talk to you?”

“Should I cry and beg you not to marry her? Or get on my knees and beg you to let me keep this baby?”

Daniel pressed his lips into a thin line.

He said nothing.

I looked at the man I had loved for five years, but my mouth still refused to admit defeat.

“Don’t worry. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

With that, I turned and dragged my suitcase back toward the bedroom.

As I passed Daniel, he suddenly caught my wrist.

“I’ll take you to the hospital tomorrow.”

I looked down at his hand.

Then I smiled faintly.

“Sure.”

He seemed surprised that I agreed.

I pulled my hand from his palm.

“You’ll feel better if you confirm it yourself.”