Chapter 1

When both of my legs were fractured in a car crash, the ER doctor asked for my next of kin to sign the emergency consent forms.

I just shook my head, took the pen with trembling fingers, and signed my own name. "I'm a widow."

My husband, Logan, had spent our entire marriage mourning his deceased first love, Chloe.

Even after sixteen years as my husband, he couldn't let her go.

Every single year, he spent three whole months living near her grave. He even took it upon himself to raise her orphaned son, Leo.

Whenever I ran into trouble, I used to beg him to spare a glance for me, for our home.

Logan would shut me down without a second thought: "Leo is terrified of the dark. I have to stay with him. Can you please stop competing with a child for attention?"

Lying in that cold hospital bed, a sudden wave of sheer exhaustion washed over me. I was done living this life.

The day I was discharged, I had all the locks on our house changed. Then, I boxed up every single one of his belongings and had them shipped straight to Chloe’s family estate.

"Audrey, what the hell is this supposed to mean? Why did you send my luggage to the Vance house?"

"And who gave you permission to change the locks? Where's my new key? Give it to me right now."

Through the phone, Logan's voice trembled with barely suppressed fury.

I didn't argue. In a calm, steady voice, I simply said, "I want a divorce."

When Chloe died, her newborn son, Leo, was barely a month old, and Logan and I had just wrapped up our wedding.

Her sudden passing was a tragic shock, and I genuinely felt terrible for her.

I canceled our honeymoon so I could stand by Logan's side, running errands and helping him arrange her entire memorial service.

Out of respect for the dead, I chose to be understanding.

Even though Logan and Chloe had maintained a blurred, lingering emotional entanglement long after their breakup, I figured everything would turn to dust with her passing.

Yet the moment the funeral ended, Logan blindsided me.

"I booked an abortion appointment for you. We can't have a baby right now."

I was already four months pregnant. My belly was showing a gentle curve.

My heart shattered at the thought of losing my baby. I begged him to tell me why.

Before we tied the knot, we had spent months preparing for this pregnancy—eating healthy, sleeping early, working out—all to bring a healthy life into this world.

Our dream had finally come true, and both of our families were eagerly anticipating the arrival of our little one.

Logan looked at me with raw, grieving eyes. "Chloe is gone, and her husband abandoned the baby. I promised to take care of Leo for her. I don't have the time or energy to raise our own kid."

"No! I won't do it!" My eyes burned red as I glared at him, but my desperate protests meant nothing to him.

Just so he could pour all his energy into his ex's son, he ignored everyone's advice, secretly scheduled the procedure at the clinic, and dragged me there by force.

From that day on, he practically lived at the Vance residence, caring for Leo day in and day out. It wasn't until Leo entered elementary school that Logan started coming around our house again.

Even then, he only stayed one night a week. The rest of his time was spent either visiting Chloe's grave or taking Leo on vacations to cheer him up.

Whenever my mother voiced her frustration, I was always the one making excuses for him, keeping the peace.

After the forced abortion, my physical health deteriorated significantly. Logan began pushing the idea of being child-free. Then he suggested, "Why don't we just treat Leo as our own? Or you can go adopt a kid."

"Either way, I am never having a child with you."

Hearing those words, something inside me withered and died. In my quiet despair, I ended up adopting a little girl.

For sixteen long years, we lived in this lukewarm, hollow charade.

The day I broke my legs in that crash, if he had shown even an ounce of warmth and stayed by my bedside, I probably never would have found the courage to ask for a divorce.

Over the line, Logan fell silent for a beat before asking, "Are you serious? We've been together for sixteen years. Have you really thought this through?"

"Yes," I replied softly.

Logan softened his tone, adopting a patronizing gentleness. "Audrey, if you're throwing a tantrum because I had to leave you at the hospital the other night, I apologize. I thought we were close enough for honesty. I thought you understood my responsibilities."

To this day, he still saw nothing wrong with abandoning his injured wife to comfort Leo.

In his eyes, my asking for a divorce was just petty jealousy.