Chapter 1

After a grueling natural birth with a severe tear and an episiotomy, I was finally wheeled out of the delivery room. The first thing I saw was my husband’s junior colleague holding my newborn baby.

She was leaning against the wall of the maternity corridor, standing incredibly close to my husband, Julian Vance.

"Clara, congratulations!" Chloe Miller chirped, looking up at me.

"Julian was in such a complete panic. He called me to come help. He said a moment like this really needs another woman around."

Julian smiled, his tone light and breezy as he chimed in.

"We really have Chloe to thank for this."

"I called her the second you went into active labor. Otherwise, I would've been completely lost. Look how great she is with the baby."

Before I could even find the strength to speak, the nurse pushing my gurney cleared her throat, asking my family to help move me.

Chloe stepped forward to help. In that split second, I noticed a delicate silver band on her right middle finger.

It was the exact same design as the engagement ring on my left ring finger.

When Julian proposed, he told me these rings were custom-made by a private designer. A one-of-a-kind set. Only two existed in the world.

My postpartum contractions were still throbbing, and my lower body felt like it was tearing apart. I reached my arms out, wanting to hold my baby.

Chloe instinctively took half a step back, casting a quick, hesitant glance at Julian.

Julian patted her shoulder and turned to me.

"Don't move, Clara. Just let Chloe hold her. It's not like she's a stranger."

I slowly pulled my hands back. I didn't say a word.

Only one thought echoed in my mind: I need a divorce.

"Let's get her to the recovery room," Julian said, gesturing to Chloe, completely ignoring my gaze.

As they walked, he leaned down and whispered something to her. Chloe giggled, pulling the baby slightly closer to her chest.

Walking side by side, they looked exactly like a pair of proud new parents walking through the maternity ward.

The tearing pain flared up again.

I bit my lip, refusing to make a sound.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the handrails of the gurney.

Once we reached the room, the nurses and aides worked together to shift me onto the bed. Every slight movement made me break out in a cold sweat.

Chloe stood by the window, holding the baby.

"She’s so beautiful. She has your eyes, Julian."

Her soft voice drifted over from the window.

Julian was pulling the privacy curtain back for me, but he turned around the second she spoke, his eyes crinkling with a massive grin.

"Right? I think she looks just like me, too."

He walked over, leaning in close to Chloe to look at the baby. Their heads were practically touching.

Chloe reached out a finger, gently stroking the baby's cheek.

That silver ring flashed in the light again.

I lay on the bed, feeling like the lower half of my body didn't even belong to me.

"Oh, by the way, Clara."

Julian suddenly turned to face me.

"Chloe loves the baby so much, and she’s been such a huge help. I was thinking of making her the godmother. What do you think?"

As he spoke, his hand rested naturally on Chloe's shoulder, his fingers spreading slightly. It was a gesture that carried an unsettling, possessive intimacy.

Chloe looked up at me with a faint, sweet smile.

"If Clara isn't comfortable with it, it's totally fine," she said. But her eyes weren't on me—they were locked onto Julian.

I squeezed the bedsheets, my nails digging into my palms through the cotton fabric.

I waited for the lingering wave of contraction pain to subside before forcing the words out of my throat.

"That ring on your finger."

My gaze locked onto her right middle finger, steady and cold.

"Where did you get it?"

The smile on Chloe’s face froze for a fraction of a second. She instinctively hid her hand behind her back, remaining silent.

Julian spoke up first.

"Oh, that?"

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I noticed Chloe really liked the style of that ring. Since I don't wear mine anymore anyway, I just gave it to her."

The engagement ring on my left hand suddenly felt like branding iron.

Three years ago, when he got down on one knee, his eyes red as he slid this ring onto my finger, I remembered every single word he said.

“I had these custom-designed. There are only two of them in the entire world, Clara. They belong only to us.”

Chloe shifted her shoulder slightly, completely hiding her hand beneath the baby's swaddling blanket.

She looked up, her expression perfectly natural again, her voice soft.

"Don't overthink it, Clara. Julian and I are just close friends. It was just a little gift."