Chapter 1
Chapter 1
After five years as DINKS, Olivia’s husband Nathan suddenly brought home a pair of twins.
He asked her to raise these twins as if they were her own flesh and blood, and even planned to leave his billion–dollar family fortune to them.
Olivia thought Nathan had changed his mind about their child free lifestyle, so she headed to the hospital to have her IUD removed to prepare for
pregnancy.
But the doctor’s next words froze her blood–her uterus had been removed five years ago!
“Some women are born without a uterus, but Mrs. Reed, that’s not your case,” Dr. Morgan said, her face grave. “Your uterus was surgically removed.”
Olivia was completely stunned. Five years ago, she had only undergone one surgery.
That was the surgery to insert an IUD, which her husband Nathan Reed had accompanied her to.
Getting an IUD doesn’t typically call for general anesthesia, but Olivia had always been a wimp about pain. Nathan spoiled her rotten back then, so he threw his weight around–all that old–money influence–and pressured the hospital into knocking her out completely…
Was that when they took her uterus?
No way. Nathan had been right outside the operating room the entire time. No hospital would dare pull something like that.
While Olivia was walking through the hospital corridor in a daze, she caught her sister–in–law Diane’s voice echoing from around the corner.
“Jesus Christ, Nathan, you’ve gone too far! Bringing those two of your illegitimate children home is one thing, but now you’re even moving your mistress Claire in too? What, are you two planning to hook up right under Olivia’s nose?”
“Come on, Di, it’s not like that,” Nathan shot back, his face darkening. “Claire and I aren’t screwing around. She saved my life once. I’m just paying back
a debt.”
“Oh please! You ‘paid your debt‘ by knocking her up with twins? Men can’t be such jerks, you gotta have some principles.”
“It wasn’t what I wanted,” Nathan snapped. “Claire’s dad was dying of cancer. His dying wish was to see his daughter married with kids.”
“I owe Claire my life. Giving her a baby was the least I could do. I had no choice.”
“Another ‘debt,‘ huh? So that’s why you secretly married Claire behind Olivia’s back, then tricked your actual wife into what she thought was IUD surgery, only to have them remove her entire uterus and transplant it to Claire so she could bear your kids?”
Those words struck like lightning from a clear sky.
Olivia felt dizzy and could barely stand.
The person who had her uterus removed was actually her husband??!
“Look, Olivia’s terrified of pain–childbirth would destroy her,” Nathan continued, his tone maddeningly reasonable. “If she’s not using her uterus anyway, Claire might as well have it.”
“Everything’s worked out perfectly. Claire gave birth to twins, our Reed family has its heirs, and Olivia was spared nine months of hell and a delivery room nightmare.”
“As for Claire–she’s terminal. Stage four. Maybe a week left. After everything she’s done for me, including giving me children, I can’t just let her die alone in some sterile hospital room.”
Nathan’s face took on that self–sacrificing expression Olivia once found so noble. “Look, what I did might seem extreme, but everyone wins here.”
0.0%
Chapter 1
“Just keep your mouth shut around Olivia, okay? Claire’s only got a month. After that, this whole mess would go away.”
Olivia didn’t remember how she got back home.
She just felt cold. The home that was once warm now felt as cold as an ice cellar.
Every corner of their place showcased memories of Nathan and her. She had always believed that Nathan was the man who loved her most in this world.
They’d kissed beneath the Northern Lights in Iceland. They’d skydived hand in hand over the Grand Canyon. They’d explored underwater caves in Bali, holding each other as they swam through bioluminescent waters that looked like submerged galaxies.
Nathan came from New England old money–the kind of wealth where the family patriarch forbids “reckless endangerment of the heir.” But Olivia lived for adrenaline, so Nathan defied them all to adventure with her.
“For you, I’d risk everything,” he once whispered, holding her close on a cliffside in Santorini. “If death came for me while I was by your side, I’d welcome it with open arms. In this lifetime and the next, there’s only you.”
Those passionate declarations now only left a bitter taste in Olivia’s mouth, like milk gone sour.
Tears streamed down her face as she stared at their wedding photo on the mantel. She couldn’t stand another second surrounded by these lies. With shaking hands, she lit the gas fireplace and began burning those photos one by one.
As she was burning them, Nathan suddenly returned home. With him was Claire, looking weak and wearing a hospital gownL
“Olivia, this is Claire, you know her, my mentor’s daughter,” Nathan said, not noticing what Olivia was burning. With a gentle smile on his face, he lied smoothly.
“My mentor and his wife have both passed away. Claire is all alone now, and she has late–stage lymphoma…”
“She doesn’t have much time, and I couldn’t bear to leave her alone in the hospital. So I brought her here to make her comfortable.”
“Don’t worry–I’ve hired round–the–clock nurses. You won’t have to lift a finger. Hell, you can pretend she doesn’t even exist if you want.”
Every word made it crystal clear: her husband had made his decision without her, as if Olivia’s feelings or thoughts were completely irrelevant.
“Fine,” she said, throwing the last photo into the flames. She watched as the paper curled, blackened, and disintegrated.
Just like her marriage.
(1)
(0)
