Chapter 1

Prologue

I had only been home for three months after recovering from a long illness when my husband, Ethan, asked me to raise his mistress's illegitimate child!

He lied to me, claiming the baby’s parents were dead.

But I had known for a long time that the real mother was his mistress, Miki.

Since he was so convinced that I couldn't survive without him, I decided to keep playing the role of the devoted, loving wife. Behind his back, I quietly liquidated all my assets, preparing to vanish completely.

I finally made up my mind to let him go.

Yet, just as I was ready to leave, the clinic delivered a shock: I was pregnant.

Ethan, if you knew I was carrying your child, would you ever regret pushing me away with your own hands?

Clara's POV

I spent years confined to hospital beds just to survive and return to my husband, Ethan.

Only three months after coming home, Ethan sent me to his mistress's apartment to pick up some temporary guardianship paperwork for a newborn baby boy.

It wasn't until the paper bag was handed to me that the ugly truth hit.

Ethan wanted to use my name and status to give his mistress's baby a legal mother on paper.

The woman who opened the door had just given birth. The hospital wristband was still on her wrist, and she held an infant in her arms.

She glanced at me, didn't use my name, and simply smiled as she ushered me inside. "I’ve got everything packed and ready."

The apartment smelled sweet with the scent of baby formula. Matching pairs of slippers sat neatly by the front door, and the nursery at the end of the hall glowed with warm, star-shaped fairy lights.

It was styled exactly the way Ethan liked it.

I recognized the decorative pieces on the counter, the designer scarf draped over the chair, and the delicate pastries on the table.

Ethan had asked me to hand-deliver every single one of those items over the past few weeks.

I had thought I was running errands to help my husband. In reality, I had been furnishing a cozy love nest for him and another woman, piece by piece.

And now, he wanted me to bring this woman's baby into my own marriage.

The young woman handed me the thick paper bag, her tone airy and carefree. "The baby will be moved to the Miller estate in a few days. The paperwork has already been prepared under Ms. Clara’s name. Mr. Miller said the boy needs a mother on paper first."

I looked at the baby in her arms and didn't take the bag.

Seeing my hesitation, she quickly explained, "The birth mother’s identity has to be kept secret for now. Mr. Miller’s wife is barren anyway, so it works out perfectly for her to raise my child for a while. Once this rough patch passes, Ethan is taking me and the baby away with him."

Barren.

Raise her child.

In that single second, even the physical pain felt a beat behind.

I thought I had fought so hard to return to a home, but Ethan was merely waiting for me to get back so I could finalize the last legal paperwork of his betrayal.

Years ago, when Ethan hit rock bottom and lost everything, everyone abandoned him. I was the only one who grabbed a single suitcase and walked out of the Miller family estate with him.

Later, when he reclaimed his empire, my body gave out.

To stay alive and return to his side, I sold off everything I had ever hoped to keep for our future, enduring years of pain in hospital beds all alone.

Back then, every bitter pill I swallowed felt like one step closer to him.

Yet today, the man I nearly died trying to reach had already signed away our future to someone else.

The one thing I couldn't bear was watching him have nothing. But once he had everything, I was the very first person he made disposable.

"Are you okay?" The woman looked down, rocking the baby gently. "You look terrible."

"I'm fine."

I took the paper bag and even managed a faint smile. "Did Ethan leave any other instructions?"

Growing bolder, she pointed casually at the unsubmitted guardianship form. "The mother's name is left blank for now. Just take it back to him; he knows what to write."

That blank line was blindingly white.

His mistress had Ethan’s heart. The child was getting my social standing. The only person completely erased from Ethan’s grand plan was me.

I didn't reveal who I was. I slid the paperwork to the bottom of the bag. "Understood. I’ll make sure he gets it."

When I walked out of the apartment, she was still cooing softly to her baby. The star lights spilled through the cracked door, casting a patch of soft, warm glow onto the floor.

I had never asked Ethan for a room like that. I had never had the chance to hold a child of my own.

Now, he had given everything I was denied to someone else, and then dumped that woman's child in front of me, expecting me to feel grateful that our home was finally complete.

What stung even deeper was Ethan’s unshakeable certainty.

He knew all too well how deeply I loved him, and he was so convinced that I would never walk away that he didn't even bother telling a convincing lie. Instead, he made me carry out every humiliation with my own hands.

I used to mistake that familiarity for love.

I thought that having someone who knew all my vulnerabilities meant he would shield me from every blow.

But when that man stops valuing you, knowing you inside out just gives him the sharpest blade to twist in your heart.

Downstairs, the driver asked where to go.

I stayed silent for a long time before finally naming the address I had called "home" for so many years.

As the car pulled into traffic, I called the broker who had always managed my private assets. "Sell off whatever jewelry and properties are still in my name. Do it as quickly as possible."

He asked if I was in urgent need of cash.

Looking down at the guardianship forms resting on my lap, I murmured, "Yes. I’m leaving."

I didn't shed a tear, nor did I storm back to confront Ethan.

Starting today, I would still leave the porch light on for him. I would still cook warm meals when he worked late, and I would continue playing the part of the pampered, clueless Mrs. Miller.

I wanted Ethan to keep believing that I loved him so much I had no way out.

He treated me like a safety net that would never disappear.

Then I would let him lose that safety net completely—right when he felt the safest.

This time, what I was taking away wasn't money, and it wasn't pride.

It was myself.