Chapter 1

"Caleb…" The coy, breathless voice from the room next door grated on Noelle Spencer's ears. She curled her hands into a fist, the nails biting deep into her palm and stinging. Still, it didn't hurt as much as the ache in her chest. Each throbbing of her heart made it harder and harder for her to breathe. That day was meant to be the day that she, in her heartbreak, ended her life. Two months earlier, the Ashfords had received a piece of devastating news. The plane carrying her husband, Conner Ashford, and his older brother, Caleb, had crashed. Caleb had returned alive, but Conner had died in that tragedy. That night, Noelle had cried until she passed out. Then, after a month of mourning, she no longer wished to go on. She'd saved up her sleeping pills for over a month, but the thought of dying in the Ashford residence without Conner felt unbearably lonely. So, she decided to take the pills at his grave. As she was on her way there, she passed through the garden and overheard her mother-in-law, Yasmine Clark, and Caleb speaking. "Conner, it's been over a month, and Sabrina isn't showing any signs of pregnancy. Could she have an issue too? You've been pretending to be Caleb just to give her a child, yet she hasn't been getting pregnant. "Your wife wasn't fertile either… Our family must be cursed." Noelle nearly collapsed among the flowerbeds. Her hands gripped the edge of the planter, and as if struck by lightning, her mind struggled to catch up with what she'd just heard. Soon, her consciousness started fading away as she pressed a hand to her mouth to keep herself from sobbing. Conner didn't die—it was Caleb who did. And just because she'd been too weak to conceive in all their years of marriage, the Ashfords had arranged such a sordid trick. Still, Noelle refused to accept the truth. The Conner she knew would never do something like that, so it had to be Yasmine's doing. After all, she just wanted the Ashfords to have an heir. But Conner's next words shattered that illusion of hope. "I've taken Sabrina for a checkup. She's fine. Pregnancy just takes time, and I've been trying my best." Trying? He certainly had been. Night after night over the past two months, he'd never stopped. At first, Noelle had assumed that it was grief that had made the couple cling to each other more. But now, she saw it for the pure revulsion it was. Conner continued, "Mom, please don't talk like that in the house. Sabrina might not take it well if she overhears. "She's always been timid and delicate. If she learns that Caleb's gone, she might not even survive the news." So, it seemed like Conner hadn't been forced, after all. He'd just been protecting Sabrina Harper. Noelle finally fell to the flowerbeds with a bitter laugh. So, Sabrina might not live if she learned the news of Caleb's death. But what about her? So much for being timid and delicate, and so much for not taking the news well. This was the man she'd loved for years! She felt like she deserved a hard slap for even thinking to die at Conner's grave. While Noelle had feared that Conner would be lonely and cold in the afterlife, he had fretted over Sabrina's grief and that she might not be able to bear the news of Caleb's death. He'd even gone as far as to abandon his wife and step in as a substitute to give Caleb an heir! Silent tears streamed down Noelle's cheeks as she tightened her grip on the bottle of pills. Memories of their loving days played out in her mind like a slideshow—until Conner reached over to switch the slideshow off. Soon, Noelle returned to her and Conner's shared bedroom. On the nightstand sat a photograph of them on their honeymoon in Etheland. In the photograph, her smile was so bright and filled with joy. But now, her tears couldn't taste any bitterer. For the past two months, she'd fallen asleep each night clutching that photo frame. In retrospect, that was absurdly laughable of her. Suddenly, Noelle grabbed the frame and smashed it into pieces. However, what she was destroying wasn't just the frame, but also their five years of love and three years of marriage. Just then, she received a call from the Spencer residence. Fearing that Noelle might take her life over the grief, Mary Anderson, her mom, had called every night to soothe and calm her down. Tonight was no different, except that Mary sounded hesitant. "Mom, just say it. We're mother and daughter, so quit beating around the bush." So, Mary went straight to the point. "Noelle, it's only been two months since Conner passed, and I'm afraid you'll be upset. But life has to go on, doesn't it? "The Coles came by today to honor an old promise." The Spencer and Cole families had once arranged a marriage between their children, but when the Spencers had fallen on hard times, they knew better than to cling to a match now far beyond their league. So, when Noelle met Conner by chance and fell in love with him, the Spencers never brought up the marriage to the Coles again. Mary continued, "I know you can't move on in such a short time, and I won't force you either…" But before she could finish, Noelle cut in and said, "I'll marry him."