Chapter 1

His First Love Returned. I Walked Away.

I’d been with Julian Hayes for five years, married for three.

It was only then I realized how utterly ridiculous my love was, compared to Julian’s first love.

I was in the hospital, undergoing an abortion procedure, while he was setting off fireworks across Metropolis, celebrating his first love’s return.

Holding the consent form, the moment I signed my name, I finally decided to let Julian go.

More importantly, to let myself go.

The day Brittany Hayes returned.

Fireworks lit up the sky over Metropolis all night, and the entire high society was celebrating her.

I scrolled through the vibrant posts on Ins, the explosions outside perfectly mirroring my mood.

A complicated, unspeakable emotion welled up inside me.

“Ms. Green.”

The doctor held out a consent form, placing it in front of me. “If you agree, just sign here.”

My face was devoid of expression as I took the form from her hand.

The doctor offered another reminder.

“Ms. Green, your uterine lining is thin. If you terminate this pregnancy, it might be very difficult to conceive in the future…”

The doctor looked at the frail girl before her, a pang of sympathy in her chest.

She had witnessed firsthand how desperately I’d tried to have a child over the past three years.

She saw the light in my eyes dim bit by bit, and her heart ached for me.

But she was an outsider. She couldn’t pass judgment.

I stared at the abortion consent form, my heart clenching so hard I could barely breathe.

Still, I maintained my composure, thanked the doctor after signing, and she left with a sigh, not saying another word.

Silence returned to the ward.

A quiet world, starkly contrasted by the vibrant celebration outside my window.

I opened SnapChat, scrolling to Julian Hayes’s chat, and saw his latest reply:

[Brittany’s back. Let’s not keep the baby.]

Julian was my husband, and my benefactor.

He was the man who’d brought me out of the impoverished countryside, the perfect gentleman I’d loved and been captivated by my entire life.

Julian and I had been together for five years, married for three.

Three years ago, it was Julian who told me he wanted a child, a child with me.

It was Julian who, with a tender look, asked me,

“Will you give me a child?”

Julian caressed my stomach.

“Here, we’ll nurture the precious fruit of our love.”

I’d had a few drinks; liquid courage filled me.

I stood on my tiptoes, kissed his lips, and looked at him with adoration.

“I will.”

Like a shy, wild thing, I lightly nipped at his throat.

I actively shed my nightgown, and Julian lifted me into his arms, carrying me to bed.

We became one.

That night.

Julian whispered, “Alice, I won’t let you regret this.”

He gently kissed my forehead.

“I love you.”

I was so incredibly happy then, my dream of marrying the man I loved most had come true.

I was Mrs. Hayes.

Just as my idealized love seemed to materialize, Brittany Hayes returned.

Brittany was the Hayes’s foster daughter, Julian’s younger sister.

I’d always thought of them as just siblings.

I had no idea.

Brittany wasn’t just a sister; she was Julian’s true love from his youth.

The one etched into his heart, the regret Julian had to abandon due to concern for his reputation and others’ judgment.

Brittany crashed my wedding, overturned my wedding cake, and ripped apart Julian’s and my wedding poster.

She screamed, attracting everyone’s attention, wild and utterly shameless.

I watched, stunned, as Brittany stood on the rooftop, forcing Julian to choose.

“Her or me. You can only pick one.”

Brittany yelled, disregarding the Hayes family’s reputation.

“If you go through with this wedding today, I’ll jump.”

Brittany pointed at me, terrified, and shrieked,

“You slut! You seduced my brother while I was abroad! You shameless hussy, you don’t deserve to be my sister-in-law!”

“You pauper, don’t think I don’t see through you. You’re just a bitch who used this as an opportunity to climb up. I’m telling you, as long as I’m here, you’ll never have a moment of peace. I won’t let you off easy.”

Brittany reduced me to nothing.

I couldn’t react.

I couldn’t understand why Julian’s sister harbored such malice towards me.

Then I heard Mr. and Mrs. Hayes scold Brittany for being childish, then they turned to comfort me.

“Don’t worry, we’ll handle her.”

Just when I thought Julian would surely take my side, I saw Brittany step into thin air, a single tear falling from her eye.

“Brother, if you don’t want me, then I might as well have never existed in this world.”

As Brittany teetered on the edge, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes panicked, and Julian, ignoring everyone present, pushed me aside and rushed to her.

Julian held Brittany tight, as if she were his entire world.

He looked at her with a tenderness that spoke of finally reclaiming a lost treasure.

He told Brittany.

“It’s off.”

“The wedding, it’s off.”

He spoke as if afraid of hurting her.

“Whatever makes you happy. Anything you say.”

I watched my beloved husband abandon me for another girl.

He held her close, comforting her with words that felt like daggers to my heart.

My chest ached with dull pain. I closed Julian’s chat.

Then I saw a message Brittany had sent me a short while ago: a flight ticket and a voice message.

Brittany’s voice said:

“I heard you’re pregnant. My apologies, but I can’t stand any outsiders in the Hayes family, besides me. Not even a baby.”