Chapter 1

Born into the Kingston family, I had my pick of men, yet I ended up marrying Liam Hayes, a man who might as well have been mute.

The first year of our marriage, I was home alone one night, burning up with fever. I managed to send ten desperate voice messages to Liam on FaceTime, begging him to come home.

Not a single reply.

The second year, I was robbed on a foreign street, nearly having my throat slit. I called Liam, who was at a nearby conference, for help.

Twenty calls, all unanswered.

The fifth year, my car's central control system malfunctioned on the highway. I was pregnant and suffered a massive hemorrhage, my life hanging by a thread. The surgeons desperately needed a guardian's signature.

I called him, but all I heard was the endless ringing.

In despair, I signed the surgical consent form myself. On the operating table, I silently felt my child slipping away, bit by painful bit. That was it. My heart finally gave up on him.

The moment I was off the operating table, I stormed into Liam's office with a hammer and smashed his phone to pieces.

"If you can't read messages or answer calls, what's the point of keeping it!"

Liam stood calmly to the side, letting me rage.

Until a specially set message tone rang from his shattered phone, only to be instantly silenced by my hammer.

A flicker of emotion finally crossed his calm face. He quickly grabbed his car keys and rushed downstairs.

Furious, I hailed a cab and followed his car closely.

Half an hour later, his car pulled into a high-end apartment complex.

Under the bright sun, I saw a woman, pale and visibly pregnant, carefully stepping out of the building.

From her profile, she looked young and pretty.