Chapter 1 Chapter 1 All a Fantasy

This was the first time I had ever laid eyes on Ashley Summers, the delicate and fragile class belle I had only heard about from Nicholas Graham's friends. She looked frail, and a bandage was wrapped around her wrist. Yet, despite her weakened state, nothing could dim the unique air she carried with her. She was like a flower weathering the storm, fragile but unyielding in her grace. I had seen her once in a university graduation photo, standing next to Nicholas. In that picture, she was leaning slightly toward him with a sweet smile playing across her lips. I had even joked with him, teasingly asking if he had fallen for the girl in the photo. He pulled me close that day, holding my hand tightly as he got down on one knee and promising that it was always me whom he loved. Now, as I absently stroked the wedding ring on my left ring finger, a wave of bitterness washed over me. It was followed swiftly by a surge of nausea that twisted in my stomach, rising like bile. Without another thought for the two people standing at the door, I rushed to the bathroom and vomited. When I finally looked up at the mirror, the woman staring back at me had red, swollen eyes and a sickly pale complexion due to the relentless waves of morning sickness. I also saw the reflection of a man standing behind me, his face hard and unreadable. He massaged his temples with his hand, and when he spoke, his voice was calm, but there was no room for argument. "Ash hasn't been well lately. She's going to stay here for a few days." I said nothing but just turned back to the sink and turned on the tap to wash away the last bits of bile in silence. I had known for some time that Nicholas had been seeing Ashley behind my back, but I never imagined he would bring her into our marital home, which I had designed. … A month ago, my best friend Lily sent me a photo of Nicholas flying a kite with another woman. At the time, I had just found out I was two months pregnant, and the breakfast he made for me before going to work in the morning was still sitting on the table. I remembered brushing off the image, defending him immediately, thinking it was probably just a work thing or maybe he was with a client. Perhaps he had simply run into some girl who couldn't get her kite in the air. In my mind, I had already crafted hundreds of excuses for him. Back then, I truly believed him when he said he would love me forever. Even later, when I found lipstick that wasn't mine on the passenger seat or saw an opened gift box that hadn't been for me, I would still come up with reasons to justify his actions. It was all because I loved him. I had loved him for ten long years. Even now, even as he brought Ashley into our home under the pretense of helping her recover, I still clung to some foolish hope. I had always believed that trusting one's partner was the secret recipe to making a relationship last. However, the heavy ache in my chest and the way Nicholas looked at Ashley with such concern seemed to remind me that the vows he made at our wedding had long since faded from his memory.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Divorce

Ashley had been moved into the sunniest room in the house by Nicholas. It was the very room I had deliberately reserved when I designed it to be a nursery. Now, it was being used by a woman who was a complete stranger to me, arranged there by the man I loved. I stood in the living room, listening to the cheerful laughter that echoed from the crevice in the door. So many times, I wanted to burst in and tell that heartbroken woman that Nicholas was mine, but I couldn't. After all, they were only friends. He had reassured me of that, saying he was just showing her some compassion. If I objected, I wouldn't be the understanding and reasonable Luna Cromwell that I was supposed to be. I absentmindedly placed a hand on my still-flat belly and glanced at the sky gradually darkening outside the window. I then grabbed my phone and headed out to buy groceries. Ever since we found out I was pregnant, Nicholas had repeatedly urged me to quit my job and focus on taking care of our baby. He promi

Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Time to Make Changes

Nicholas went back to bed in the middle of the night, stinking of sweat and dirt, after he had finally gotten Ashley to sleep. I turned away from him, hoping that sleep would come soon. I didn't want to argue about what had happened today, but he wasn't going to let me off that easily. "Luna, I know you're not happy about Ash staying with us, but I already promised her she could stay for a while. Don't worry, she won't be here long. She's in a fragile state right now, and she needs someone to take care of her." I gave a muffled response. "Do whatever pleases you." The next moment, I felt his hand resting on my waist, and he began to caress me in slow circles. His breath became heavier at the same time. Something inside my mind snapped, like a bomb going off. The man I had loved for a decade was now someone I barely recognized, someone who had become rotten from the inside out. "Nicholas," I said, my tone cold and sharp. "Have you forgotten I'm pregnant?" After a brief pause, h

Chapter 4 Chapter 4 He Was the Perfect Match

At noon, I was right in the middle of sipping on some porridge when I received a video call from my mother. Her eyes filled with sorrow the moment she noticed my pallid face and the bowl of porridge in my hands. This was the longest period I had ever been away from home. Never had my parents and I ever been apart in my twenty-seven years of life until now. With a note of concern and frustration in her voice, she asked where Nicholas was and how I could be suffering so much during my pregnancy. I didn't know how to begin telling her everything that had happened recently. To my parents, Nicholas was the perfect match. We had grown up together. He was dependable, honest, a graduate from a prestigious university, and held a stable job. He was everything they could hope for in a son-in-law, and we had been in love. Remembering all this made my tears sting the corners of my eyes. In the end, I brushed off her questions with a few vague responses and quickly ended the video call. They h

Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Played Like a Fool

"After everything we've been through, only you're still waiting for me." The picture showed the back of two people sitting side by side, gazing at the sunset by the beach. Settling in Wavecrest City was Nicholas' idea. He said he loved the vastness of the sea and the city. I used to think it was simply because he had spent four years here during university and couldn't bear to leave. Now, I finally understood what he meant. Maybe there truly was something between them back in university. Maybe all of his friends knew but me. No wonder the day before our wedding, I noticed the best man repeatedly trying to say something to me but stopping himself every time. And then, there was Nicholas, who was so drunk that night that he passed out and never made it back to our bridal suite. I wasted no time and called one of his old university roommates, asking to meet at a café not far from my apartment. Half an hour later, I was face-to-face with the very same best man who was trying to tell m