Chapter 1

I walked into the house just in time to see my son fall from the sky, crashing to the ground right in front of me. 

A sickening thud. 

A tiny body, broken and bloodied. 

Agony s wallowed me whole.

I blacked out on the spot. 

Aiden Walker lost his mind.

He carried me straight to the hospital, screaming for a doctor, sending the entire ER into chaos. 

When I woke up, I ripped out the IV, ignoring the sharp pain radiating through my body, and ran out of the room.

I had to find my baby. 

Then I heard them.

My husband and his friend, talking in the hallway. 

"You could've saved him!"

"How the hell could you just stand there and watch him climb out that window?"

"He was your son, Aiden!" 

"Marie's husband can't get it up."

"I promised her I'd give her the best night of her life."

"She was just hitting her peak-I couldn't let her down." 

My world crumbled. 

Not only had he and his precious Marie been screwing in my house, but they stood there and let my son die. 

The happy little family I thought I had? 

A lie.

His friend, Mason, looked torn. 

"But the truth always comes out."

"What if Mia finds out?"

"And listen, man-if you still want to keep your marriage, stop bringing Marie Wilson into your damn house." 

"Mia wasn't supposed to come back so early."

"Marie just wanted a little thrill-it won't happen often." 

"The AI bot walked in and recorded everything. Wipe its memory." 

"And… Mia just lost her son. She's gonna be a wreck."

"Program the AI to monitor her emotional state."

"If she acts off, I want to know immediately."

"I don't want her grieving alone." 

Mason let out a long sigh.

"Whatever, man. You can always have another kid."

"You'll be a father again someday." 

Aiden fell silent for a moment.

Then, he sighed. 

"She won't be having any more kids."

"While she was unconscious, I told the doctors to remove her uterus." 

Mason's eyes went wide.

"Aiden-what the hell? Don't you want your own kids?"

"I mean, even if Mia had another baby, it wouldn't stop you from being with Marie." 

Aiden exhaled slowly. 

"Marie's husband is infertile."

"She can never have kids of her own."

"Seeing my son… it crushed her. She was devastated."

"I couldn't let her go through that again." 

"That baby was never supposed to happen."

"Now, Mia and I can be child-free."

"No kids, no responsibilities. She'll have an easy life." 

I looked down, lifted my hospital gown- 

And saw the fresh scar across my abdomen. 

So that's why I was in pain. 

The wound was stitched up cleanly, but to me, it was monstrous. 

I had been robbed of the right to have children. 

A fresh wave of grief crashed over me.

My body shook. Tears poured down my face. 

I couldn't hold back the sobs. 

They must've heard me. 

Footsteps rushed toward me. 

Then-Aiden's voice, filled with worry. 

"Baby, why are you out of bed?" 

In a heartbeat, he scooped me up. 

"You passed out from grief."

"You collapsed on some metal wiring-it pierced your stomach."

"The doctors just finished surgery." 

His eyes were full of tenderness, concern.

But I couldn't feel it anymore. 

I was numb. 

Distantly, I whispered, "Where's my son?" 

A shadow crossed Aiden's face. 

"I… I didn't want you to see him like that. I had him cremated." 

He took a deep breath, voice thick with guilt. 

"Mia, I'm so sorry. I should've protected him."

"I was working from home… I was exhausted. I fell asleep. I-" 

Something inside me snapped. 

Whatever love I had left for him- 

Gone. 

Aiden gently placed me back in bed, tucking the blankets around me like I was made of glass. 

"Are you in pain? Don't cry too much, sweetheart."

"It'll hurt your eyes. The most important thing is for you to heal." 

He took my hand, pressed his lips against it. His eyes were red. 

"The doctors said… because of where the metal pierced you, they couldn't save your uterus." 

"But, Mia-" He cupped my hand in both of his, voice breaking.

"Even if we can't have more kids, I'll never leave you."

"I'll take care of you for the rest of my life." 

Even knowing the truth, my body still tensed at his words. 

The tears wouldn't stop. 

Chapter 2

My baby was gone. 

He would've turned one next week. 

And the man responsible- 

Was his own father. 

Bitterness filled my chest. 

I turned my face away. 

"Get out. I need to be alone." 

Aiden hesitated. His lips parted, but then he nodded. 

"…Okay. Call me if you need anything." 

The door shut. 

The second he was gone, I grabbed my phone and dialed. 

"I need all the recorded data from the home AI system."

"Now. Before anyone erases it." 

Aiden's company developed AI assistants- 

But what he didn't know? 

The core technology came from Vertex Corp. 

And I? 

I owned Vertex Corp. 

We met outside my office building. 

Back then, he thought I was just a broke college grad looking for a job. 

He had no idea that by my sophomore year, I'd already launched my own company with a few classmates.

That I was already a CEO. 

I let him believe it. 

He spoke to me with fiery ambition about his startup dreams, two young hearts colliding.

I was drawn to his charm and passion. 

When I learned that his father had lost everything over a woman and spent years being belittled by his mother, leaving an unshakable scar on him, I decided to hide my true identity and silently support his dreams. 

Looking back now, all my efforts and devotion were wasted on someone who never deserved them. 

The records quickly popped up on my phone. 

The footage from the time my son was in danger cut through me like a knife.

Aiden and Marie were tangled up in our bed, their sweaty, naked bodies pressed together. 

Right next to them, in his crib, our son stirred from the noise and pushed himself up. 

He was in that stage where he was learning to walk, gripping the railing for support. After struggling for a while, he toppled over onto the floor. 

The two adults beside him didn't even flinch-they just kept going. 

He didn't cry.

Instead, he held onto the wall, his tiny steps shaky as he made his way to the window, climbing onto the ledge. 

"Danger! Danger!"

The home assistant's robotic voice blared. 

Aiden barely glanced at the window before turning back to the woman beneath him, holding her tighter, moving even harder. 

Tears blurred my vision as they splashed onto my phone screen. 

Our nanny had taken a two-week leave for a family emergency, so Aiden, worried I'd struggle taking care of our son alone, had brought home his company's latest AI home assistant to help. 

But it still had data logs from when it was used at his office. 

I scrolled through the history.

He'd asked it to book flights and hotels.

Last month, when our son had a fever and he was supposedly on a business trip, he was actually vacationing abroad-with Marie. 

Then, I found a file labeled "Marie's Red Diary." 

It contained records of her menstrual cycle-when it started, how heavy it was, whether she had cramps. Every single detail. 

But my cycle?

He never once cared enough to remember. 

My fingers trembled as I scrolled further-until I saw Aiden's face on screen, full of deep emotion, tears running down his cheeks. 

"Why? I know marrying someone I don't love has been hell for you."

"And on top of that, he's useless in bed-he can't even give you the basic pleasure you deserve." 

"It's all my fault."

"If only I'd tried harder, if I were strong enough, you would've married me instead."

"I would've never let you suffer like this." 

I never knew. 

I never knew just how deeply he loved Marie. 

Chapter 3

My heart felt like it had turned to ash.

I backed up everything on my phone. 

After a day in the hospital, I insisted on going home. 

Aiden carried me from the hospital to the car, then from the car into the house. 

The driver smiled.

"Mr. Walker really dotes on his wife. You're so lucky." 

Lucky?

My heart was already dead. 

But the moment I stepped into my son's room, it was like a knife twisting inside me all over again. 

Aiden noticed my swollen eyes and sighed. 

"I know you're hurting, but I'm hurting even more."

"We just… weren't meant to have him."

"Take one last look, then let's clear out his things."

"Keeping them will only make it harder." 

"Oh, by the way, I invited Marie over."

"She's an interior designer-she can help you redecorate." 

I stared at the empty, silent room. 

The rocking horse-our son had just started using it, though he still wobbled too much to hold himself up.

But he'd giggled so much, drooling all over himself. 

The slide-I had it custom-made, hoping he'd use it until he started kindergarten. 

His favorite toys on the playmat.

The bookshelf, still filled with picture books we never got to read together. 

And Aiden thought he had the right to throw all this away? 

I designed this entire room myself. 

No wonder he never once got involved.

He barely ever stepped foot in here. 

Because his precious Marie had never known the joy of being a mother, he refused to be a father. 

I grabbed my son's baby blanket and walked out of the room. 

"Curse you, you damn jinx!" 

A loud slap echoed as my father-in-law smacked the blanket from my hands. 

"I told Aiden from the start not to marry you!"

"You were dirt poor, and now you've gone and killed my grandson!"

"Why wasn't it you who died instead?" 

He'd never liked me-said I had no background, no money, no value to the Walker family."

"That I wasn't worthy of Aiden. 

Marie stepped forward, her voice gentle.

"Mr. Walker, please don't be so upset. These things happen."

"Here, let me make you some tea." 

Instantly, his face softened.

"Ah, Marie, you always know how to take care of people." 

Marie smiled at me. 

"Aiden asked me to help with the nursery."

"Do you have any ideas, or should I just take care of it?"

"I do know his tastes best." 

I ignored the implication behind her words and spoke up. 

"No one touches my son's room." 

My father-in-law scowled.

"Watch your tone! Marie is just being kind."

"Or are you really planning to keep all this bad luck around?" 

I clenched my fists.

"His funeral hasn't even happened yet, and you're already doing this?" 

"Funeral? For a baby? That's ridiculous! If you want one, do it yourself."

"Aiden and I won't be attending." 

I shook with fury. Aiden put a hand on my back, his voice soft. 

"It's just tradition, sweetheart. Dad means well." 

My father-in-law snorted and pulled Aiden aside. 

"Why are you still defending her? Listen to me-divorce her already."

"Marie's husband is a joke, not even half a man."

"Once she dumps him, she'll get a nice divorce settlement."

"Then you two can finally be together." 

Aiden hesitated for a second.

"Dad, stop. Marie and her husband are fine." 

But his fingers brushed against hers.

And when she looked up at him, he gazed back at her with so much tenderness. 

She playfully scratched his palm, her lips curling into a smile. 

I watched the three of them, their disgusting little game. 

I didn't say a word. I just turned and walked away. 

Then my phone rang-it was the hotel we'd booked for our son's first birthday. 

They didn't know.

They were just calling to confirm the party. 

I went there in person. 

And that's when I saw them. 

Aiden and Marie. 

He was holding a key card, walking past the huge display board with our son's smiling photo. 

Marie tugged on his arm. 

"Aiden, a hotel room is so boring. Let's go somewhere else." 

She pointed at the empty ballroom.

Aiden hesitated.