Chapter 1

Tags: Smart Female Lead, Revenge & Face-slapping, Plot Twists, Forbidden Affair, Cold-blooded Male Lead, Karma

I had been with my boyfriend for three years.

After living together for a year, he felt my family was asking for too much support toward our future home, so he secretly poked a hole in the condom.

I ended up pregnant, only for his young stepmother to scheme and cause me to miscarry.

It wasn't until later that I discovered his gorgeous stepmother was actually the one who got away—the first love he had pined over for years.

I had been dating Mark for three years and living with him for one. This Thanksgiving, I brought him home to meet my parents.

"Serena, your family is asking for way too much," Mark grumbled as soon as we got back to our apartment. He loosened his tie with obvious irritation, his brow furrowed as he slumped onto the sofa.

Mark was great in almost every way, except he loved to complain whenever he had a drink in him.

"It’s not like my parents aren’t contributing anything," I countered. "Is eighty-eight thousand dollars for a down payment really that unreasonable? Besides, my parents offered to buy us a car."

I wasn't about to indulge his bad attitude. I picked up his jacket from the couch where he had tossed it and hung it on the coat rack.

"Are your parents marrying off a daughter, or are they selling you?" The alcohol seemed to hit him harder. He squeezed his eyes shut, looking thoroughly miserable. "If I can't cough up eighty-eight grand, does that mean we’re calling off the wedding?"

My eyes stung, and a tear slid down my cheek.

I grabbed the dirty socks he had kicked across the floor and hurled them right at his face. "Talk to me when you're sober, Mark."

I took a shower and went straight to bed, ignoring Mark as he whined about his headache out in the living room.

In the middle of the night, Mark seemed to sober up. He crept into bed in the dark.

The faint scent of body wash drifted off his skin as he wrapped his arms around me. I woke up feeling groggy, but Mark was already whispering apologies into my ear.

"Serena, I'm so sorry. I drank too much. It won't happen again."

"I'll talk to my parents about the money. We can set up a dinner for both families. My parents and I can manage the eighty-eight thousand."

"My numbers at work have been pretty solid this year. I'll push harder, take on a few more projects, and once the year-end bonus comes through, we'll get married."

Swayed by his sweet talk, my annoyance melted away, along with my sleepiness.

Sensing that I was no longer angry, he began running his hands over me.

I gave him a halfhearted shove, gesturing toward the nightstand for protection.

He scrambled eagerly into the bathroom, came back, and we spent the rest of the night tangled in the sheets.

The next morning, I woke up with an aching back. Mark had already left for work. Surprisingly, he had cleaned up every trace of the night before, even taking out the trash and kitchen compost on his way out.

Over the next few days, Mark hovered around me like a devoted puppy. He even cooked dinner every evening.

"Mark, I hate spinach," I complained.

"It's good for you, babe. Eat up."

When I refused, he took off his apron, sat down next to me, and fed me bite by bite.

A month passed like this, and we were intimate far more often than usual.

"Mark, I need to see a doctor tomorrow. I've been feeling so nauseous today, but nothing comes up. I have zero appetite."

Mark's eyes lit up. He immediately rubbed my back, soothing me softly. "It's okay. I'll take the day off tomorrow to go with you. After the clinic, we'll pick up some gifts and visit your parents."

The next day, Mark took me to the clinic early in the morning. That was when I was told I was pregnant.

"That's impossible... We always used protection, and I even took emergency contraception sometimes..." I sat on the waiting room bench, anxiously tugging at Mark's sleeve.

"Maybe this baby is a blessing in disguise. Don't overthink it, babe. I can provide for you and the baby."

"But I'm not ready for this. My career is finally taking off..."

"You took so many emergency pills before; that's already tough on your body. An abortion would take an even bigger toll. Take a deep breath. Let me go with you to talk to your parents, okay?"

I nodded, wrapping my arms around him, feeling completely drained.