Chapter 1

It was a dreary day with constant rain.

Yvette Snyder stood at the entrance of the hospital, her body frail, clutching a pregnancy report in her thin hands. Three words on the report stood out: "No pregnancy detected".

"You've been married for three years. How are you not pregnant?" Her mother, Yara Cadwell, demanded, jabbing a finger in Yvette's face disappointedly. Yara was dressed lavishly and wore high heels.

"Why are you so useless? If you don't get pregnant soon, the Lanes are going to kick you out of the family. What's going to happen to our family then?"

Yvette looked at Yara blankly. She had a lot to say, but the words were stuck in her throat. In the end, all she could manage was, "I'm sorry."

"I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to give birth to Xavier's child. Do you understand me?"

Yvette's throat felt tight; she didn't know how to answer Yara.

In their three years of marriage, her husband, Xavier Lane, had never slept with her.

How could she ever have his child?

Yara stared at Yvette. The latter's weak demeanor was so unlike her own.

Finally, she said coldly before leaving, "If you really can't give him a child, then find him a woman who can. At least he'll appreciate you for that."

Yvette stared after Yara's retreating figure in disbelief.

Had her own mother just told her to find another woman for her husband to sleep with?

Her heart felt as cold as the freezing rain.

As Yvette made her journey home, she couldn't stop thinking about Yara's parting words. Suddenly, a loud ringing in her ear drowned out her thoughts.

She knew that her condition had worsened.

Just then, she received a message on her phone.

It was from Xavier, and the content was the same as always. "I'm not coming home tonight."

In the past three years they had been married, Xavier had never spent the night at home before. He had never so much as touched Yvette either.

Yvette could remember their wedding night three years ago. He had told her, "Since your family is bold enough to trick me into marrying you, you'd better be prepared to spend the rest of your life in loneliness."

Spending the rest of her life in loneliness...

Three years ago, the Snyder and Lane families had decided to form an alliance through marriage.

Both families had agreed to mutually beneficial terms in the agreement. But when the day of the wedding came around, the Snyder family went back on their word and transferred all of their assets away, including the billions of dollars that Xavier had paid to marry Yvette.

Yvette's eyes dulled at the memory. She replied to Xavier's text with her usual response: "Okay."

report she was holding got scrunched up in

got home, Yvette tossed

this time, she would feel

for herself. She just leaned back on the couch, blearily drifting in and out

in

another reason why Xavier hated her-she was hard of hearing, which, to the rich and powerful, was no better than being

would never allow her

the pendulum clock on

home in

on the couch. She got up hastily and went to the kitchen to prepare

a meticulous man who was strict about punctuality, not only

at six

a smart tailored suit, his demeanor

he was

the table and said

doing the same things over and over again. She wore the same dark clothes and replied to his

business alliance and the Snyders' deceit, Xavier would never have married a

returned. She swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat, and said bravely, "Xav,

surprised Xavier. His eyes darkened. "What do you mean

head and stared at him, swallowing the bile rising in the back of her throat. "If you love someone

could finish, Xavier

...

sat on the balcony alone, staring out into the

the raindrops drifted in and out of clarity. She took off her hearing aids, letting the world around

had told her, "Ms. Snyder, there's been a pathological change in your auditory nerves and some of your cranial nerves, causing your hearing to worsen. If this goes on,

living room and turned on the television. She turned up the volume to the max, which allowed her to hear

the television was showing an interview with Daphne Reyes, an internationally renowned singer known for

slightly as she gripped

was Xavier's

time since Yvette had seen her, but Daphne was still as pretty as ever. She was confident and relaxed in front of the cameras, unlike the shy and frightened young woman who had begged

home country, her answer was bold. "I came home to get

remote control slipped out of Yvette's hands. Her heart also

outside seemed to get

breakfast. When

it up and saw the

must have been unhappy

don't love her. How about

at the messages until the

a cab to

way, she stared out of the window. The rain fell

office, so whenever she was there, she would take the service

assistant, Mark Xyrax, saw her, he just

around Xavier considered Yvette his wife. She was nothing but a smear on his

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