Chapter 1 Chapter 1

I dropped a comment under her post: [Impressive! ] I even added a thumbs up emoji after it. Not even five minutes later, Rob called me. "This was all my mom's idea," he started. "She thinks IVF is too risky for you, too much to handle. When Anita has the baby, we'll raise it as our own." I let out a short, cold laugh and hung up. We'd been married three years—no kids. A doctor confirmed the problem was me. Blocked fallopian tubes. Treatments? Total flop. IVF was the only shot. I'm thirty now and wanted a child badly enough to endure the injections, the swelling, and the endless discomfort. And just when things started looking up, Rob decided to drop that bomb. No wonder Pamela, his mom, was dead-set against IVF. Now it all adds up. Anita Cooke was Rob's old neighbor from his hometown. She still visited her parents there but had moved to the city. Twenty-six, no boyfriend, and the way she stared at Rob when we ran into her? Don't think I didn't notice. I saw her game. But hey, Rob and I were married, so whatever fantasy she was cooking up didn't matter. At least, I thought it didn't. Never, in my wildest nightmares, did I think she'd agree to have his kid. Let alone already be pregnant. When did this even start? I just sat there on the couch, frozen. My head buzzed. The medical report I was holding? Now it felt like a slap right across the face. By the time Rob walked in, it was pitch-black outside. He flipped on the lights and froze when he saw me on the couch. "Why didn't you turn on the lights?" I didn't answer. Just stared. After a long, awkward pause, I finally said, "When did it start?" He frowned, all fake confusion. "What?""The kid. When was it conceived?" For a second, he just stood there. Then: "That night. The night you worked late." Of course. Three months ago, during one of those accountant-life special editions—late nights, endless inventory checks. I'd worked until two a.m., dragged myself home, and Rob wasn't there. When I called, his voice sounded off, and in the background, I heard a woman's soft murmurs. "Oh, I'm at a bar," he'd said, "with clients. First meeting ran long." I'd been dead tired and, honestly, he'd never given me a reason to doubt him before. So, I let it go. Big mistake. "So, it was that night," I muttered. "What the hell were you thinking? The second that baby's born, we're done.""You're overthinking this," he said. "She wanted a kid. You can't have one. This baby will be, like... ours." He stumbled over the words, getting more annoyed. "Why are you blowing this up? I'm thirty! What's so wrong with wanting a kid? "She's young, healthy, and willing to go through with it. "It's not like we're losing anything. So why are you making it a big deal?" I shot to my feet. "Rob Barne, this is an affair! "I can't have kids, and if you want one so badly, fine—divorce me and marry her! At least then, you'd be honest about it. "But what are you doing now? Treating Anita like some kind of baby factory? You think she'll just disappear after the baby's born? "Let me clue you in—she's not going anywhere. She'll walk right through that front door as the mother of your child!" I paused, trying to steady myself. "You need to figure out what you want. Because next month? I'm done. No more injections." His face went dark. "Fine! Don't do it. There are plenty of women who can have kids with me!" And with that, he stormed out and slammed the door. I just stood there, my whole body trembling. It took me a minute to realize my face was wet. I'd cried over him. Over this. 'Maya Lawson, when did you become like this?'

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

I took a deep breath, my fists clenched tight. This wasn't on me—it was them. 'The second that baby's born, I'll file charges for bigamy. Let him rot in prison.' Once the idea popped into my head, it stuck like glue. Rob Barne, you betrayed me first. Six years. We'd been together for six years—three dating, three married. I really thought we had something solid. Built on love, trust, the works. I remembered when I scraped my knee, and he'd lost his mind, acting like I'd practically amputated my leg. But when I was enduring injections, battling allergic reactions, swelling up like a balloon, losing sleep from anxiety, and shedding enough hair to clog a drain? He doesn't give a damn. Worse, he's got time to roll around in bed with Anita freaking Cooke. 'Why? Why do I deserve this?' Fueled by anger, I immediately contacted a lawyer. But the response shattered me. "Gathering evidence at this stage will be tough. Unless he openly admits the child is his, there's not much to go on," the lawyer said. "For a court-ordered paternity test, you'd still need to be living as husband and wife—and you'd need witnesses." The helplessness hit me like a sucker punch. The lawyer continued, "Why not just file for divorce? It's easier to gather proof of adultery during the marriage. You may not land him in jail, but you can hit him where it hurts—his wallet." I hung up, letting the idea settle in my mind. Eventually, I told the lawyer to draft the divorce papers. Evidence? I'd find that myself. Once I'd steadied my emotions, I went into Rob's study and powered up his computer. I'd never touched it before—I trusted him completely. Or, I guess, I used to. Thankfully, the password was our wedding anniversary. How ironic. Every time he typed it in, did he ever stop to think about the life we'd built? I combed through his entire computer but found nothing. Then I tried his email. Rob had always been lazy with passwords, using our apartment number plus his initials for everything. That little habit worked in my favor. And there it was: a trail of recent expenses from the past few months. Hotel bills, shopping malls, jewelry stores, clothing boutiques—it all added up to over twenty grand. Nothing he said had been true. Fighting back tears, I downloaded and saved everything. Once I had it all, I moved on to his chat app. Lucky me—his account was set to auto-login. The screen lit up with his conversations with Anita. The sheer volume was staggering, and as I started reading, my nails dug into my palms. Since my infertility diagnosis, Rob and I had barely talked. Our daily conversations had boiled down to whether he'd be home for dinner—yes or no. I'd chalked it up to him being busy. I'd even tried to be understanding. But here? Here, he was texting Anita non-stop, overflowing with enthusiasm. They didn't just talk about meeting up—they analyzed their time together in nauseating detail. Plans, feelings, positions, dirty jokes—it was all there. It was vile. And worse, it hit me how little I actually knew about the man I'd been sharing a bed with for years. 'Who even are you, Rob?' I forced myself to save the evidence, making sure to erase every trace of what I'd done before shutting everything down. Just as I stepped out of the study, Rob walked in. My heart nearly stopped, and I gripped my phone like it was a lifeline. He glanced at me, and for a split second, I saw it—guilt flashing across his face. Then he closed the distance and wrapped me in a hug. The tears came before I could stop them. "Maya," he murmured, "I didn't want this either. You don't understand the kind of pressure I've been under. My parents keep pushing for divorce. "But I can't. I just can't let go of you. "I've already talked to Anita. Once the baby's born, she'll leave. She's just a young girl. Pregnant and unmarried—she won't be able to raise the child on her own." The nausea hit me like a wave. I opened my mouth, ready to fire back, when there was a knock at the door. "Rob, are you there?" It was Anita!

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

What could Anita possibly want at this hour? The door opened, and she barged in, clutching her stomach like it was some tragic soap opera. Her face was flushed, and her voice wavered as she whimpered, "Rob, I'm sorry to bother you so late, but my stomach doesn't feel right." Rob's panic button lit up immediately. "What's wrong? We should go to the hospital!""No, it's fine. I just—" I cut her little act short. "If it's nothing serious, why are you knocking on our door? "If you need Rob to take you to the hospital, just say so. After all, the baby is part of the Barne family, right? "Rob, you'd better hurry and take her. You wouldn't want her condition to get worse—any complications could be a huge problem later." Anita froze, clearly thrown off by how smoothly I played along. Rob, too, froze. "Honey—""Go on," I said, keeping my voice calm and even. "The first three months of pregnancy are crucial. You wouldn't want anything to happen to the baby." Relieved, Rob nodded fast and helped Anita out the door. As they left, she shot me a look—smug and full of attitude I smirked right back. 'Sure, Anita, take the house. Take the guy too. Doesn't bother me one bit. But FYI? You're still just the homewrecker, no matter how you spin it.' Honestly, I couldn't wait to see how long she'd last with the "Mrs. Barne" title once the baby showed up. As they walked out, Rob scooped her up, all dramatic like some cheap rom-com scene. I didn't even blink—just whipped out my phone and started recording. I followed them out and hopped in a cab. Told the driver to follow their car. If anyone asked, I'd say I was just "concerned." But Rob didn't take her to the hospital. After driving around for a while, they finally parked in front of a hotel. I laughed, bitter tears streaming down my face. I called him. "How's she doing?" There was a pause. "Uh... she's fine. The doctor said we just need to, uh, monitor her condition.""Great. You keep an eye on her, then." I hung up before he could respond and took a deep breath. Time to go home. Rob didn't crawl back until the next morning, looking exhausted. I was already in bed when he finally climbed in, the mattress dipping under his weight. His arm snaked around my waist, and my whole body tensed like I'd touched something slimy. "Honey," he started. "I'm sorry. She had, uh, signs of a possible miscarriage, so she's staying at the hospital to protect the baby.""Got it." I said flatly. That threw him off. His hand kind of hovered awkwardly before he gripped me tighter. "Don't worry," he said, softer now. "Once she's stable, I'll send her to Mom's house." I sneered inwardly. 'Oh, so you can slip away to visit her even easier? Cute.' I shoved his hand off and turned over, done trying to force myself to sleep. After a beat, I got up and headed to the bathroom to wash up. Rob trailed after me, looking all kinds of uncomfortable. "Honey, I—""Don't," I cut him off. "This is what you wanted, right? No point in pretending anymore. Tell me, Rob, did you really take her to the hospital last night?" He froze, then nodded. "Yes." The panic in his eyes was quick, but yeah, I caught it. Fate has a sick sense of humor. Anita couldn't help herself—she sent me a video of their little stunt right after I got home. Her big "miscarriage scare"? Total performance art. The stomach pain? Just a lie to make things more exciting for them. 'Honestly, Rob, I expected better from you.' I turned to face him, keeping my voice steady but firm. "I can't have kids, and I definitely can't stay married to a cheater. Let's just get a divorce."