Chapter 1

When I was eighteen, I plunged into a frozen river to save my childhood sweetheart, Declan Thorne, a talented swimmer. I got severe frostbite, damaging my uterus.

The doctors told me I’d been in the ice too long, sustained severe damage that would make having children incredibly difficult.

Declan knelt by my hospital bed, swearing to cherish me forever, even if we never had kids. And just like that, he pampered me, making me the city's most privileged elite.

This year, at thirty-two, marked our tenth wedding anniversary, a decade we’d built side by side.

But on our anniversary, I received an anonymous envelope. Inside were growth photos of Declan’s eight children.

I stared at my husband, who was meticulously massaging my leg.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise, making it hard to breathe.

Yet, he looked up and said, "Aria, perhaps we should adopt some children."

He then shamelessly, brazenly, brought his mistress and their eight children right into our home.

That day, tears blurring my vision, I dialed his best friend’s number.

“Liam, I’m giving you a chance. Come help me put on a show!”