Chapter 1

The Pierce family brought out the old-fashioned discipline they reserved for the worst offenses. The 99 lashes left Daniel Pierce's back a mess of torn flesh and blood. Afterward, they locked him in the family chapel for three straight days. But there he knelt on the freezing stone floor, blood still seeping through his shirt, refusing to budge from his position. "I vow that Valentina is the only woman I'll ever love!" Valentina Frost cried when she heard about it, her heart breaking at the thought that someone could love her that much. Everything changed on his birthday. Valentina rushed home with the pregnancy report she'd just gotten back from the doctor, practically bouncing with excitement as she burst through the front door. The sight that greeted her in their bedroom was Daniel pinning Camille Lane beneath him on their bed, taking her with a raw desperation she'd never seen before. "Daniel... not so rough..." Camille whimpered. "I can't help it," Daniel growled, his voice barely recognizable. His movements became even more aggressive. "God, you feel incredible..." The pregnancy report slipped from Valentina's numb fingers. She stood frozen in the doorway, watching their bed rock violently. Camille's legs were locked around Daniel's waist, her face flushed and twisted between agony and ecstasy. The ceramic vase shattered, its crash echoing through the house as Valentina stumbled backward. Both figures on the bed spun toward the sound. When Daniel's eyes found hers, all the color drained from his face. "Val!" Valentina bolted. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she heard the chaos erupting behind her. Daniel scrambled to get off the bed, clothes rustled as they were hastily thrown on, and Camille's panicked sobs filled the air. She made it as far as the front yard before strong arms caught her from behind. "Val! Let me explain!" Daniel's voice cracked with panic as his chest pressed against her back. "It's not what you think!" Valentina fought against his grip, her nails digging deep into his arms. "Let me go!" "They drugged me!" Daniel spun her around, forcing her to meet his bloodshot eyes. "That night I got drunk, and they... they put Camille in my bed..." His voice dropped to barely a whisper, his eyes wild with desperation. "Afterward, I wanted to strangle her, but she got on her knees and begged me. She threatened to kill herself if I didn't give her just one child." Tears poured down Valentina's face. "So you felt sorry for her? And started sneaking around with her whenever I wasn't home?" Daniel squeezed his eyes shut in anguish. "She's Marcus' widow. I couldn't actually drive her to suicide. "I figured since the damage was already done, whether it happened once or twice didn't matter anymore. I thought if I could get her pregnant quickly, then we could finally..." Just then, the ground suddenly lurched beneath them. Screams erupted from all around the base housing. "Earthquake! Everyone, run!" As the earth shook violently, Daniel instinctively shielded Valentina with his body. But then Camille's terrified voice pierced through the chaos from inside the house. "Daniel! Help me! I'm bleeding... I think I'm pregnant, my stomach hurts so bad!" Daniel's entire body went rigid. At the same moment, a sharp pain shot through Valentina's abdomen. Her face went white as she grabbed Daniel's shirt. "My stomach... Something's wrong..." But Daniel didn't hear her. He had already let go, rushing back toward the house without a backward glance. Valentina's face went deathly pale. The next second, she watched in horror as a massive beam crashed down from the collapsing roof, falling straight toward her head. The impact sent excruciating pain through her skull before everything went black. She didn't know how much time had passed before she drifted back to consciousness, hearing the urgent voices of rescue workers through the haze. "Captain Pierce, both women are trapped under the debris! The aftershocks are coming any minute. We only have time to save one first. Who should we dig out?" "Save Camille first!" Daniel's voice cut through Valentina like a blade, without an ounce of hesitation. "She's pregnant!" … When Valentina finally woke up, dull waves of pain throbbed through her lower abdomen. A nurse stood beside her bed. When she saw Valentina's eyes open, she hesitated before speaking gently. "Ms. Frost, you were hemorrhaging badly when they brought you in. We... couldn't save the baby." For a moment, Valentina's ears rang as if the entire world had gone silent. Her baby was gone? That little life she had secretly cherished for weeks, the surprise she was going to share with Daniel on his birthday, had slipped away without a sound. Tears fell silently down her cheeks as she bit her lip hard to keep from sobbing out loud. The nurse sighed softly and quietly closed the door behind her as she left. The hospital room was eerily quiet except for the steady drip of the IV. After what felt like hours, the door opened and Daniel hurried in. His uniform was wrinkled and disheveled, his eyes bloodshot from days without proper sleep. "Val..." His voice was hoarse. "How are you feeling?" Valentina didn't look at him. She kept staring at the ceiling, her voice barely a whisper. "How's Camille? Is her baby okay?" Daniel paused. "It was a false alarm. She wasn't pregnant. She was just so terrified that she thought she was..." Valentina suddenly laughed, though tears continued streaming down her face. How absurd. He had abandoned her without hesitation for a child that didn't even exist. And their real child—their actual baby—was gone forever because of his choice. "Val..." Daniel reached out to touch her, but stopped when he saw how pale she looked. "Don't be like this. I thought she was pregnant, that's why I saved her first. But you're safe too, so don't be angry anymore, okay?" Valentina turned her head toward the window, staring at the bare tree branches outside. Safe? Her baby was dead. He called that safe? She was about to speak when the nurse pushed through the door. "Captain Pierce, Ms. Lane has been asking for you. She says she has a terrible headache..." Daniel's hand froze in mid-air before he slowly pulled it back. "Val, you rest up. I need to check on Camille. "She's really shaken up and can't be left alone. And don't overthink this, okay? I don't have feelings for her. Everything I did was just to get her pregnant faster..." Valentina closed her eyes and said nothing. She listened to his footsteps fade away down the hall. Only then did she finally bury her face in the pillow and sob silently. Her tears soaked through the pillowcase, but they couldn't wash away the pain in her heart. During the days she stayed in the hospital, Daniel spent all his time in Camille's room. The nurses kept commenting on how devoted he was to her, never leaving her side. None of them knew that his actual wife was in the room next door, having just lost their only child. On the day she was discharged, Valentina packed her things and went straight to the courthouse. The clerk looked up at her. "Ma'am, what can I help you with today?" Valentina slid the paperwork across the counter, her voice eerily calm. "I want to file for divorce."