Chapter 1

My hand trembled a little as I held my phone.

I was about to call Kevin.

For two years, since I married him against my family' s wishes, we' d been on our own.

My father, Harrison Gold, the New York real estate tycoon, had cut me off.

But today, finally, he' d agreed to meet Kevin.

He' d even consider funding Kevin' s tech startup.

This was it. The breakthrough Kevin worked so hard for, the peace I prayed for with my family.

I took a deep breath, my heart thumping with a mix of nerves and pure joy.

Just one more second before I hit dial.

I idly opened Instagram.

A new post from Jess Vance, Kevin' s business partner, popped up.

An ultrasound picture.

The caption read: "Love knows no timeline."

My blood went cold.

Kevin had liked the post.

My thumb froze over his name in my contacts.

Then, my phone buzzed. It was Kevin calling me.

"Sarah," he said. His voice was flat, no warmth.

"Kevin, I have amazing news about my father-"

"Jess is pregnant," he cut me off.

I couldn't speak. The air left my lungs.

"It's mine," he continued, his tone like ice. "And Jess, well, she's Harrison Gold's daughter. Your father's daughter."

My mind spun. Harrison Gold's daughter? Jess? It made no sense.

"What are you talking about?" I managed, my voice barely a whisper.

"It means I need to divorce you, Sarah," he said, each word a hammer blow. "I have to marry Jess. This secures the funding for the company. It's a game-changer."

I clutched my stomach, where our baby was growing. Our baby.

"Kevin... how could you?"

"Look, it's just business," he said, as if discussing a merger. "You can still be part of my life, if you want. In a different way."

"Part of your life?" The words tasted like poison. "Are you insane?"

"Don't be dramatic, Sarah."

"Dramatic?" I was shouting now, the phone shaking in my grip. "You're destroying our marriage, our family, for a lie and for money!"

Jess wasn't my father's daughter. I knew my father. This was a monstrous lie.

"It's not a lie," Kevin said, his voice hardening. "And it's my future. Our startup's future."

"Our future is over, Kevin!" I screamed. "Get out of my life!"

I slammed the phone down, my whole body shaking.

The joy from moments ago was gone, replaced by a gaping, painful void.

He chose this. He chose her. He chose money over me, over our child.