Chapter 1

Trapped in this oceanfront villa for four agonizing years, my old iPad suddenly chimed with a Cloud Note notification.

The title read: [The Choice at Eighteen].

It was a cloud diary I wrote ten years ago as a naive high school girl.

In it, that young girl asked the future with wide-eyed hope:

[Is it worth giving up my spot at the Paris Opera Ballet Academy just to help Julian launch his startup?]

Every single word was soaked in the blind devotion of a girl in love.

I stared at the screen for a long time before slowly lowering my gaze.

My eyes landed on my broken, disfigured, and twisted feet.

Just an hour ago, right in front of me, in our marital bed.

Julian had pinned his twenty-year-old intern, Chloe, beneath him in a storm of lust.

Chloe had even deliberately left a positive pregnancy test on the floor.

A cold, bitter smirk tore across my lips as I pounded out a reply in the memo:

[RUN! Before he breaks your legs, get on that plane to Paris!]

The second I hit send, the screen froze.

Immediately after, a new notification flashed up.

[Eighteen-Year-Old Summer: Who are you? Julian just gave me a promise ring.]

My pupils shrank violently.

My heart skipped a heavy beat.

Ten years ago, this cloud server didn't even exist.

How could she possibly be replying in real time?

Before I could wrap my head around it, the bedroom door was kicked wide open.

A wave of cheap, sickening perfume flooded the air.

Julian strolled in with his arm wrapped around his intern secretary, Chloe.

Chloe was wearing my silk nightgown.

She leaned against Julian's chest, her eyes darting straight to my crippled feet.

"Julian, Summer's feet look so gross."

Julian frowned in pure disgust.

"Don't look at them. She's sickening."

I clutched the old tablet tightly in my hands.

"This is my bedroom."

Julian let out a mocking bark of laughter.

"The whole damn mansion is mine. You belong to me, too."

"If you don't like it, crawl your ass out."

I pointed at the plastic stick on the floor with its two glaring pink lines.

"Take your trash with you."

Chloe shrank behind Julian's back with practiced timidity.

"Summer, please don't be mad at Julian."

"It's all my fault. I forgot to take the morning-after pill."

"But the baby in my tummy is innocent."

Another classic performance from a manipulative home-wrecker.

Nausea churned in my stomach. I glared directly into Julian's cold eyes.

"You're actually bringing a bastard into this house?"

Julian released Chloe and strode over to me.

His bespoke leather dress shoe came down hard, grinding right into the top of my right foot.

Right where he had shattered the bone with his own hands three years ago.

The bone had long healed crooked and disfigured.

"Shut up."

"Chloe is twenty. It's the perfect age to bear my children."

"Look at you. You can't even stand."

Blinding agony shot from my foot straight to my brain.

Cold sweat beaded instantly across my forehead.

Three years ago, all I did was secretly submit a resume to teach beginner ballet.

In a blind rage, he took a golf club and shattered both of my legs.

He said my entire universe was only allowed to contain him.

Ten years ago, it wasn't like this.

Ten years ago, I twisted my ankle during rehearsals.

Julian carried me on his back for three miles in the rain to get to the ER.

Outside the emergency doors, his eyes were bloodshot as he swore on his life.

He promised he'd never let anyone harm a single hair on my head.

Now, the monster who destroyed me was him.

"Get your foot off me."

I squeezed the words out through clenched teeth.

Instead of pulling away, Julian pressed down even harder.

Chloe covered her mouth and giggled playfully.

"Julian, you're so mean."

"She's already a cripple. Don't be too rough on her."

She swayed over, bent down, and picked up the pregnancy test.

Then, she deliberately set it on the armrest of my wheelchair.

"Give us your blessing, Summer."

"Once my baby is born, I'll make sure he calls you Auntie."

I swung my hand and knocked the test away.

The plastic stick struck Chloe right in the shin.

"Ouch!"

Chloe shrieked and dramatically collapsed onto the floor.

She clutched her flat stomach with both hands.

"It hurts... Julian, my stomach hurts so bad..."