Chapter 1

I had just finished my workout and was stretching when my husband, Ponto Spencer, pushed open the door to the gym.

I was a bit surprised, since he rarely came to see me while I was working out. He always said these odd yoga poses were inhuman.

Before I could ask anything, Ponto glanced at my stomach and clicked his tongue. “How is it that you work out every day and still have a bit of a belly?”

I threw my yoga block at him in annoyance, just as I was about to explain that a woman’s stomach always retains a little fat to protect the uterus. Besides, my waist was only 61 centimeters, and I was quite satisfied with it.

But before I could speak, our live-in fitness coach, Fenny Chow, smiled mischievously.

“Ma’am, your figure is already much better compared to other women who’ve had children. Mr. Spencer, you’re really lucky. My previous client—now that was an exaggerated belly.”

She sucked in her stomach dramatically and walked over to Ponto’s side. “Although my figure isn’t as good as ma’am’s, since I haven’t had children, my stomach is nice and flat.”

At the mention of childbirth, both Ponto and I froze, but Fenny seemed oblivious. She went on without a care.

“It’s not that Mrs. Spencer doesn’t work hard at her fitness, it’s just that after pregnancy, the uterus expands, and the skin gets loose. It’s hard to return to how it was before.”

I was beyond furious. I was already upset by the way Fenny had been acting flirtatiously in front of Ponto, but now she was lying about me having children.

My temper flared, and I snapped, “When have I ever had a child? And didn’t you tell me that a woman’s belly…”

Before I could finish, Fenny exaggeratedly covered her mouth. “Oh, ma’am, I’m so sorry! I forgot this was a secret.”

Chapter 2

She quickly turned to Ponto with a sorry smile. “Mr. Spencer, just pretend you didn’t hear anything, okay? Mrs. Spencer always asked me to keep this a secret. It’s all my fault; I’m so silly.”

“Actually, having had a child doesn’t mean anything,” she continued, “the past is the past. As long as ma’am is loyal to you now and loves you, that’s all that matters.”

Hearing this, Ponto’s face turned dark with anger. “Yuri Miller, what is going on here? Did you have a child before we got married?”

It took me a moment to realize Fenny was doing this on purpose. I was even more enraged now. “Fenny Chow, get this straight—I’ve been married for just one year! Where would I have had a child?”

Fenny looked horrified and immediately apologized, her eyes welling up. “Oh, right! I’m so sorry. It wasn’t ma’am, it was… my previous client, not ma’am. Ma’am hasn’t had a child.”

Before either Ponto or I could respond, Fenny suddenly made a show of kneeling beside me with a loud thud. “Ma’am, I’m so sorry. I didn’t keep the secret... no, I mean, I have a bad memory.

Please don’t fire me! I really love this job. I promise I’ll work harder to help you get... no, I mean, I’ll help improve your figure so Mr. Spencer will be pleased!”

Her explanation made everything worse. It was like she was digging a deeper hole for herself.

I rolled my eyes at her and walked over to Ponto to explain, but he pushed me away, his face stormy.

“So, you didn’t want to have children and said you wanted to adopt because you’ve had one before?”

Ponto’s voice was cold. “Is that what you meant by adoption? You wanted to bring some other child into our home for me to raise as my own?”

Chapter 3

I could feel the tension rising, and Fenny opened her mouth to say something again, but I stopped her. “Shut up, Fenny,” I said firmly, then turned to Ponto and tried to explain,

“First, I’ve never had a child. Second, I’ve already told you before we got married—I don’t like children. Third, the idea of adoption was yours, you said your vast family fortune needed an heir...”

Ponto interrupted me sharply.

“Stop explaining. Do you think the coach would just make this up? What good would it do her? She’s only saying this because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut while working out. She’s young and can’t keep things quiet, so she ended up spilling your secret.”

“I should thank her, actually. If it weren’t for her, I might have been kept in the dark forever.”

Fenny was frantic, her gaze darting between Ponto and me. Finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore and spoke up, “Mr. Spencer, don’t blame ma’am. It’s all my fault, I said the wrong thing.”

Ponto sneered. “You’re still defending her? Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Fenny’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “Mr. Spencer, no, but... but how could any woman not want children?”

I could sense Fenny was about to continue with her lies. I was ready to leap at her and shut her up, but she dodged me and tearfully confessed,

“Sorry, ma’am, I can’t keep your secret anymore. Mr. Spencer, ma’am did have a child before. Not only that, but she suffered severe blood loss during childbirth, and having another child could be life-threatening. That’s why she refused to have children with you.”

Hearing this, Ponto didn’t say a word. He turned and stormed out of the gym, and Fenny ran out, her face covered by her hands.