Chapter 1 Pregnancy

AYAH RUSSELL'S POV

On our 5th wedding anniversary, I found out I was finally pregnant after years of trying with my husband. When I was at the hospital, I tried to reach his number, yet I got no response.

"Are you all alone, Mrs. Evans? Where's your husband?" the OB-GYN asked me. Trying not to make him look bad, I smiled. "He's busy at work. I don't want to disturb him," I lied.

When the check-up was over, I felt so excited to tell my husband that I was three months pregnant. I was about to send him a message when I saw a familiar person entering the OB-GYN clinic.

Mia?

Mia Walker is my husband's ex-girlfriend and also his childhood friend. Although everyone believed they were endgame, not every relationship is perfect and theirs ended. I met Ethan ten years ago when we were in college. He was tall, handsome, and a true gentleman who always treated me right. I still remember the day he proposed to me publicly. After five years of being together, we decided to get married. And today is our fifth wedding anniversary. Everything seemed perfect, even if it cost me losing my family's trust. They never liked him. But since I chose him, I cut ties with my family-the Russell family.

"He will surely be happy with my news," I said to myself, feeling excited. But then I wondered what Mia was doing here. I don't remember her having a boyfriend after they broke up. Well, it's not only because of pregnancy that someone visits an OB-GYN, Ayah.

Yet out of curiosity, I went to check if she was really here for a pregnancy check-up. I looked through the glass part of the door and was surprised to see her having an ultrasound. I could clearly see on the monitor that she was pregnant. I shrugged my shoulders and turned away from the room, starting to walk down the hallway. When I reached the corridor near the clinic, I tried to call my husband to pick me up from the hospital, but it showed he was in another call. Busy with work, I guess. This man has always been hardworking for our family anyway.

When I was about to let it go, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"I'm on my way. Should I just go inside the clinic?"

I couldn't be wrong. It was my husband. I knew every tone of his voice. Did he know I was here? A smile formed on my lips. I turned around, and just as I was about to approach him, the clinic door opened, making me stop in my tracks.

"You're here!" Mia said happily. "I thought you wouldn't come." She sounded as if she would be sad if my husband hadn't come.

To my surprise, my husband smiled.

"You're so cute. What happened? I rushed here as soon as I heard you were at the hospital. Are you alright?"

A sharp pain struck my chest.

He rushed here... because he knew she was here?

He was worried something might happen to her?

I didn't understand.

I was here too. I tried calling him.

Why didn't he-

My thoughts stopped when my husband entered the clinic with Mia. The door was left slightly open.

"You're two months pregnant, Miss Walker. Congratulations," the doctor said. "You're lucky your husband is with you. My patient earlier attended her check-up by herself."

The doctor didn't know that the man standing beside Mia Walker was my husband.

"Well, my husband is always supportive, right, honey?" Mia said sweetly while smiling at Ethan.

My husband looked shocked and didn't know how to respond when she whispered, "Just go along with it. Or I'll look like a pathetic pregnant woman here without a husband, just like the woman earlier."

Then my husband awkwardly smiled at the doctor.

"O-of course. I will always be at my wife's side," he said, stuttering.

Disappointment flashed across my face.

Always at his wife's side?

I was the patient the doctor mentioned earlier. The woman who came alone. The so-called loser.

And now here was my husband, accompanying his childhood sweetheart and claiming her baby.

I turned away as tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt alone... embarrassed... and deeply disappointed. I didn't understand what was happening to my loving husband. Two months ago, there were times when he became distant and avoidant. He said he was just tired and busy with work. As his wife, I understood. After all, he was the one managing our business, and that was no easy job.

But today, I couldn't understand why he needed to pretend to be someone else's husband... and someone else's child's father.

Lost in my thoughts, I bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly.

The papers from my check-up scattered across the hallway. As I crouched down to pick them up, the person I bumped into helped me gather them.

"Thank you," I said as he handed them back. I had no intention of looking at him until he suddenly called my name.

"Ayah Russell?"

Russell?

It had been a long time since I heard my maiden surname connected to my name. Ever since Ethan and I got married, I had only used Evans as my surname.

I slowly looked up at the man who called me that. At first, I didn't recognize him. But when my eyes settled on his face, my breath caught in my throat.

Bryan Mitchell.

He looked different from the last time I saw him eight years ago. Back then, he was already handsome, but now he carried himself with the quiet confidence of a man who had built his own empire. He was taller than most men around him-with broad shoulders that filled his dark suit perfectly. His sharp jawline and straight nose gave him a striking appearance, while his deep eyes held a calm intensity that made it hard to look away.

Yet despite the powerful aura surrounding him, his expression softened slightly when he looked at me, as if seeing me after all these years had caught him off guard too.

Bryan Mitchell, the man I once rejected... and the man who later became Ethan Evans' greatest rival in the business world.

"Bry..." I called softly.

I looked at him from head to toe. It had been eight years since I last saw him in person. We became friends after I rejected him, but Ethan forbade me from getting close to him because he was his rival. Out of respect for my husband, I cut Bryan off as well.

"It's been a while, Ayah Russell. I didn't expect to see you here. Are you working here now?" he asked, looking at me carefully.

I smiled awkwardly and told him the truth.

"I didn't pursue my medical degree. I'm a housewife now."

Back in college, I was studying medicine. But Ethan wanted me to stay at home as his wife, taking care of everything. Slowly, I isolated myself from the world because he didn't want me meeting my friends either. He said I was a married woman now, and I should focus only on my husband, leaving behind everything that connected me to my youth and maiden life.

Out of love, I listened to him.

Bryan didn't react immediately.

"So... you really married him, huh?" he said.

I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic, or if I was just being paranoid.

"Yes, and actually-"

I was about to tell him that I was pregnant with Ethan's child when I suddenly heard a voice calling my name from behind.

"AYAH EVANS!"

Startled, I turned around.

My husband was walking toward me.

And beside him... was Mia Walker, proudly walking at his side.