Chapter 1
On Halloween night, while my mother-in-law was pressuring me to have a second child, my husband’s young assistant showed up uninvited with a baby in her arms.
“Nancy saved my life, Mrs. Carter. I’ve already given birth to a son for her. Could you please stop pressuring her now?”
“Nancy, isn’t it better that I offered myself to him than let him cheat with some filthy woman? I did it so you wouldn’t have to suffer through childbirth again!”
Everyone’s awkward gaze landed on me.
For a moment, it felt as if someone had slapped me across the face.
But she took my silence as an accusation, and her tears fell even faster.
“Your husband had his way with me everywhere, from the office to his bed, all so you could have a happy marriage. And you still blame me?”
My husband pulled the crying girl into his arms to comfort her. When he looked at me, his eyes were ice-cold.
“Chloe did this to repay your kindness. She’s even willing to be separated from her own child!”
“Are you really so heartless that you can’t even thank her?”
The sheer absurdity of it washed over me. As I looked at him, my heart slowly went cold.
He seemed to have forgotten something.
Everything he had today came from me!
Perhaps my expression was too rigid, because Ethan Carter paused and softened his tone.
“Nancy, you’re the one who sponsored Chloe and brought her out of that impoverished mountain town. You’re practically sisters. What difference does it make whether you give birth or she does?”
He took my hand, his voice so gentle it was cruel.
“It’s Halloween. Don’t make an ugly scene. Look at our daughter. You’re scaring her to tears.”
I looked at my daughter beside me. Her little face was flushed, her eyes full of tears as she called for me, confused and worried.
Only then did the dull, aching pain crash into my chest. Fighting back the emotions threatening to break me, I yanked my hand out of Ethan’s.
“Don’t touch me!”
The atmosphere around the table froze. His expression hardened.
“Nancy, since you can’t calm down, I’ll have the driver take you back.”
“I’m spending tonight with my family. I won’t be going with you.”
His family?
I almost laughed through my tears as I stared at every face around that table.
“None of you have anything to say? Don’t forget—you wouldn’t have any of this without me, Nancy Bennett!”
Ethan had been a penniless nobody. I had insisted on being with him, no matter the cost. I had poured the Bennett family’s influence and resources into building the Carters into the rising business dynasty they were today!
Just moments earlier, before pressuring me for a second child, my in-laws had been smiling and praising me for everything I had done for the family. They had even promised Sophie a big Halloween gift!
But now their expressions changed. Holding their precious grandson, they scolded me.
“Nancy, that’s not fair! Everything the Carters have today is because of Ethan’s talent. What does it have to do with you?”
“We have an empire now. How can we settle for one little girl?”
“If you ask me, you should thank Chloe. She gave us a healthy baby boy. The Carter family finally has an heir!”
They even took it further and teased my daughter.
“Sophie, look at your baby brother. You’d better behave from now on, or Grandma and Grandpa will only love him. We won’t want you anymore!”
My daughter was only five, still so sensitive and vulnerable. Her little mouth trembled before she finally threw herself into my arms.
“Mommy… I don’t want a baby brother. Please don’t stop loving me…”
My heart shattered. I immediately gathered her small body against me and fixed my eyes on Ethan.
“Ethan Carter, you’d better not regret this!”
Then I turned and left without another moment’s hesitation.
On that bitterly cold Halloween night, my husband of six years threw me out.
Only after I had soothed my sobbing daughter to sleep did I finally let my tears fall.
I buried myself beneath the covers and broke down, sobbing so hard my chest hurt without making a sound.
Six years. Six whole years.
From a rundown slum to the mansion he lived in now.
Just yesterday, Ethan had been inside me, kissing me as he whispered that I was the only woman he would ever love.
So why? How could sincerity be faked? How could his love change so easily?
My heart hurt so badly I could barely breathe. Then my phone rang.
The moment I answered, I heard Chloe’s soft, tearful voice.
“Ethan… What are you doing? I’m trying to call Nancy to apologize…”
Wet sounds and muffled moans followed. My body went rigid as Ethan let out a breathless laugh.
“Apologize? She loves me too much to leave me. Give her a couple of days, and she’ll come crawling back in tears. Be good, Chloe. Spread your legs…”
His voice dropped as he said each word.
“Besides, who else would want a woman without a uterus? Does she even count as a woman anymore?”
The blood in my veins turned to ice.