Chapter 1

On our tenth anniversary, I found the divorce papers my husband, Drake, had secretly filed a year ago.

That same night, I watched him walk into our favorite restaurant, his arm wrapped around his pregnant campaign manager, Chelsea.

I soon learned his plan was more monstrous than a simple affair. He had tricked me into signing the papers, intending for me to raise his mistress's child as my own-a perfect political cover for the wife who couldn't conceive.

When Chelsea later faked a fall and blamed me, the hatred in Drake's eyes confirmed everything.

"If anything happens to her or my child," he snarled, shoving me aside, "I will never forgive you."

He didn't know my secret.

After twelve agonizing rounds of IVF, I was finally pregnant-with twins. He had made his choice, and now I was making mine. I would disappear with my children, and he would never see us again.

Chapter 1

The clerk slid the divorce decree across the polished table. My name, Kaitlyn Kemp, was on it, right next to Drake Irwin' s. It was dated over a year ago.

My world shattered. Not with a bang, but with a horrifying, silent crack.

My husband, Drake, had secretly divorced me a year ago.

I stared at the document, my vision blurring. The words swam on the page, each one a sharp shard of glass piercing my heart. My hands, usually so steady, trembled as I reached out, my fingers tracing the cold, official seal.

A text message vibrated my phone in my purse. I pulled it out, my fingers numb. It was from Drake.

"Happy Anniversary, my love. Can' t wait to see you tonight. I have a surprise for you."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Happy Anniversary. My love. His words, once a warm blanket, now felt like a suffocating shroud. He was a master manipulator. He always had been.

I remembered receiving similar texts during our courtship, during our early marriage. Each message had sparked a flutter of excitement, a genuine warmth in my chest. I had believed in his love, in his promises.

Tonight, I was supposed to surprise him. Our tenth anniversary. I had a reservation at our favorite restaurant. A bouquet of his favorite deep red roses sat on the table beside the divorce papers. A symbol of a love I thought was eternal.

I was the one who was meant to be surprised. I was the one who was about to be blindsided.

My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. I felt a strange urge to laugh, a hysterical, bitter sound that would surely shatter the sterile quiet of the lawyer's office. This was a cruel joke.

I walked out of the office, the roses still in my hand. The city outside buzzed with life, oblivious to the ruins of mine. I decided to go to the restaurant. To see for myself. To witness the final act of this grotesque play.

I found a table outside, partially hidden by a potted tree, with a clear view of the entrance. I sat there, the roses a heavy weight in my lap, feeling detached, as if watching a scene unfold in a movie.

Then I saw him.

Drake Irwin. My husband. The man I had loved for more than a decade. The rising star politician, charismatic and effortlessly charming.

He was even more handsome than I remembered, his dark suit perfectly tailored to his athletic frame. His hair was impeccably styled, a few silver strands at his temples adding to his distinguished air. He held himself with an easy confidence, a natural authority that drew all eyes to him.

But his eyes... they weren' t scanning the crowd for me. They were fixed on someone else.

He was holding a woman' s arm, guiding her gently into the restaurant. My breath hitched. It was Chelsea Gallagher, his campaign manager. Her usually sharp features were softened by a radiant smile. Her hand rested on her visibly rounded belly.

She was pregnant.

And Drake was looking at her with an intensity, a tenderness, that he had once reserved only for me. His gaze was so full of adoration, of profound love, that it stole the air from my lungs.

My chest tightened, a searing pain erupting behind my sternum. It felt like an iron fist had crushed my heart. This wasn't just an affair. This was... a family. His family.

All the pieces clicked into place with brutal clarity. The late nights, the sudden "business trips," the increasing distance between us. And the most damning piece of all: the lost marriage certificate from years ago.

I remembered the frantic search, Drake' s casual dismissal when we couldn't find it. He had insisted we just sign a new set of papers, a "duplicate." I had trusted him. I had signed them without a second thought, too caught up in his whirlwind life to read the fine print.

Those weren't duplicate marriage papers. They were divorce papers.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. A thousand needles seemed to pierce my mind, each sensation more agonizing than the last. He had planned this, meticulously, coldly.

My grip tightened on the roses, thorns digging into my palm, but I felt nothing. My eyes remained fixed on Drake, on Chelsea, on the burgeoning life she carried.

This was it. The end. My ten years, my sacrifices, my very identity as his wife... all reduced to a political maneuver, a calculated deception.

I stood up, the chair scraping loudly on the pavement. Drake didn' t notice. He was already inside, his hand still on Chelsea' s back, guiding her deeper into the restaurant, into their new life.

With a final, heartbroken look, I turned and walked to the nearest trash can. The deep red roses, a symbol of a love that was never real, landed with a soft thud among the discarded coffee cups and crumpled papers. I walked away, the restaurant' s warm glow fading behind me, leaving the wreckage of my past scattered in its wake.