Chapter 1

At our wedding, Milton Stephens had a sudden attack of intermittent amnesia.

He abandoned me, dropped to one knee, and publicly confessed his love to his childhood friend in front of everyone.

Our friends rushed to talk him down.

"Seven years together, and Yvonne Carter is your bride. She's due in just a few months. Milton, don't lose your mind at a moment like this!"

Milton let out a scoffing laugh, unbothered.

His buddy couldn't stand to watch and pulled him into the dressing room.

"Are you really planning to fake amnesia whenever it suits you, and turn Yvonne into a laughingstock?"

Milton was silent for a moment, then finally said in a low voice.

"Maud Fox has depression. She loves me, and I'm the only one she depends on. I have to show her open, unmistakable favor, or her condition will only get worse."

His buddy found the whole thing absurd.

"And what about Yvonne?"

"She's six months pregnant now. If you trample on her like this, and she can't take it once she learns the truth..."

Milton didn't hesitate.

"Yvonne's always been sensible. As long as there's the amnesia excuse, she'll talk herself into being fine."

I froze in the doorway, gripped by an exhaustion I couldn't put into words.

So the so-called rare illness was nothing but Milton's ridiculous excuse to favor another woman.

And I had foolishly believed it for seven years.

Milton was right. I would talk myself into being fine.

But once I was fine.

I didn't want the babies anymore. And him, I didn't want either.

...

I walked back into the wedding hall and took the microphone from the emcee's hands.

"I'd like all of you to witness this. This wedding ends here and now."

"From this day on, Milton and I go our separate ways. Not one thread between us anymore."

Milton came out of the dressing room, heard my words, and showed no reaction at all.

He walked over to Maud and coaxed her in a low voice.

"Little princess, would you be willing to run away from a wedding with me?"

The whispering in the crowd swelled all at once.

I calmly passed over the stares fixed on me from every direction, walked up to my mother, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

After taking my mother to a hotel and getting her settled, I called a cab to the hospital.

When I scheduled the abortion, the nurse's tone turned hesitant.

"Are you sure about the appointment?"

"You're carrying twins. The procedure is very hard on the body. You may never be able to conceive again afterward."

I lowered my eyes, my fingertips tightening bit by bit, then slowly releasing.

At last I nodded. "Yes. I'm sure."

I know better than anyone how pitiful an unhappy childhood is.

I couldn't drag innocent children into a family doomed to be joyless just because I couldn't bear to let go.

I closed my eyes for a moment and walked toward the operating room.

Right before the anesthesia, a post popped up on my social feed.

Maud had shared a photo.

She'd put on the wedding gown I'd changed out of and taken a picture together with Milton.

The caption read—

Depression isn't so frightening after all. There will always be someone who chooses me, over and over, and heals my pain.

Right.

Maud's unhappy childhood had Milton's firm, repeated choice to heal it.

And my misfortune, buried under his lie of so-called amnesia, stretched from my own childhood all the way into the next generation.

I touched my rounded belly.

And suddenly a bitterness filled my mouth that was almost unbearable.

When I came out of the operating room, I was bleeding far more than most, and they kept me in the recovery area under observation until the afternoon before they let me leave.

Forcing myself to hold on, I found a lawyer and had the property division agreement drawn up.

By the time I got back to the wedding home, I was so drained I could barely stand.

Bracing myself against the doorframe, I opened the door, and my steps stopped short.

Inside, Maud was lounging against the sofa, wearing my silk nightgown.

It was the couple's sleepwear I'd bought, the one I'd meant to wear on my wedding night.

Seeing me come in, her expression was serene, and she spoke with the air of the lady of the house.