Chapter 1

The first time Christopher Gardner cheated on me, he came to me while dragging his mistress along. His eyes were red when he told me I could do anything I wanted to her. Since I loved him deeply, I had decided to forgive him for his unintentional mistake. The second time he cheated on me, I sent the woman overseas, warning her to never come back. On the night of our engagement, Christopher choked me and pressed a dagger against my belly. His eyes were bloodshot as he questioned, "Where's Lyn? Did you know she's pregnant? "I didn't control myself, so you can take it out on me if you want. But Lyn is still young. She shouldn't be putting up with all this. "I'm begging you. As long as she can give birth to the child safely, I'll never see her again. "Aren't you afraid of labor pain? We'll only have the child Lyn is carrying now, okay? Don't worry. You'll be the child's only mom. You have my words." The tip of the dagger pierced through my belly, blood trickling down. I stared at him, smiling, as I revealed Evelyn Smith's whereabouts. As the door slammed shut, I took out my phone with my trembling hand and called a particular number. "You're right this time. Could you still help me?" On the other end of the line, the man cursed while sounding helpless. "You should've said this earlier. I've already left the country, so how am I supposed to help you? "Ms. Sullivan, you've always been smart, but you got cheated by the same man twice. Is it because you're too intelligent that you lose the ability to control your feelings?" I pressed hard on the wound on my belly, and my voice grew increasingly hoarse. "I'm sorry. I owe this to you. I'll offer you 30 percent of the profit in our next collaboration. Is that fine?" The man on the other end of the line was instantly intrigued. "Send me the time and location. I'll make sure to be there on time Come to me if you ever have this kind of deal next time! It's a fair deal." Then, I sent the full wedding proposal to Samuel Howell. The next instant, he replied with an "okay" emoticon. The room we had prepared for the wedding was now a mess after Christopher crashed it. The messy room reflected my mood. After taking care of my wound, I staggered my way out of the villa. Just as I finished checking into the hotel, Christopher called again. The sound of an airplane's engine was loud, but through his tone, I could still tell that he was trying to suppress his anger. He said, "Wen, I'm now on a flight overseas. I can't stay with you tonight, but you should get a good rest. I'm sorry that I got too worked up just now. I didn't mean to hurt you. Is the injury bad? Should I get the private doctor to check on—" "It's fine." I cut him off coldly. Christopher's tone instantly became solemn. "Wendy, didn't I tell you that what happened between me and Lyn was an accident? Someone spiked my drink, and I thought she was you. Now that it has happened, I can only go find her. I can't let the Gardners' child be born outside the country, right? "Didn't you forgive me once in the past? Why do you have to throw a fit over it this time? The wedding will be held in a week. You'd better calm down tonight." I stared at my chat history with Samuel and apathetically said, "Forget about it. I'm not marrying you. Christopher Gardner, I told you I have zero tolerance for anything that's wrong." Just as I was about to end the call, he infuriatingly said, "You're not marrying me? Are you kidding me? The engagement party just ended. The whole world knows the arranged marriage between the Gardners and the Sullivans. Why are you bringing this up now? Are you using our marriage to threaten me? "Wendy, we grew up together. You know me well. I wouldn't have betrayed you if someone hadn't framed me! "They said we shouldn't make the same mistake thrice, but I only did it twice. Once the child is born, I had swore that Lyn will never show up around you again. Is this still not enough?"