Chapter 1

Prologue

Henry was planning a second wedding, and I wasn't the bride.

When he hired Chloe as a surrogate to carry his child, I swallowed my pride and endured it.

Now, he wanted to give her my place as his wife, too.

Only then did I realize that six years of marriage had just been my own foolish, one-sided delusion.

I stopped fighting. I stopped waiting. I applied for a permanent residency visa to Germany, packed up all my things, and prepared to vanish completely.

Just as I asked for a divorce, Chloe publicly announced her pregnancy.

Yet Henry grabbed my hand tightly, begging me not to leave.

Too late.

This time, I didn't want him anymore.

Vivian’s POV

Henry was planning a second wedding.

I wasn't the bride.

When he hired Chloe to have his baby through a surrogate, I stayed silent.

Now, he was ready to give her my title as his wife.

I wasn't going to stand in his way anymore.

I dug out my passport and made up my mind to move to Germany for good.

That afternoon, I came home early.

I pushed the door open to find Henry standing in the living room, trying on a groom's tuxedo.

Four of his best friends were gathered around him, pulling at his collar and adjusting his cuffs.

On a rolling rack nearby hung eight neatly pressed groomsmen suits.

When he married me, he only had four groomsmen in total.

Everyone had their backs to the door, so none of them heard me walk in.

I stood in the entryway, holding the heels I had just slipped off.

Years ago, Henry refused to have a baby because he was terrified I would die in the delivery room.

His own mother died during childbirth having him. He never talked about it out loud, but I always knew.

Then, before his grandfather passed away, the old man insisted that the family needed an heir.

Henry immediately had people vet over a hundred young women before finally settling on Chloe.

Chloe went to the same grad school I did, and from behind, she looked remarkably like me.

Only later did I realize that a man's greed only grows, step by step.

When my parents flew into New York to visit, he was with Chloe.

The night of my company's crucial funding gala, he was still with Chloe.

On my way home from work, when a crippling stomach spasm had me doubled over on the sidewalk, he only bothered to send a driver to pick me up.

A few days ago, the power went out in my office building's elevator, trapping me inside. I called him seven times in a row, and he declined every single call because he was accompanying Chloe to her prenatal checkup.

Back when I got promoted, Henry bought a car and parked it outside my office building. He pressed the keys into my palm, swearing he would spend the rest of his life treating only me this well.

I believed that promise for six whole years.

Even while trapped in that pitch-black elevator pushing the emergency call button, those words still echoed in my head.

"You're back?"

The friend holding a bottle of wine turned around and froze. He nearly dropped the bottle onto the floor.

The laughter in the living room vanished in an instant.

The smiles on all four faces stiffened awkwardly.

Henry turned, his hand freezing mid-air as he fastened his cufflink.

"Just walked in," I said, calmly placing my shoes into the cabinet.

The friend closest to the door swallowed hard, forcing a tight laugh. "Hey, don't read into this! A buddy of ours out of state is getting married next month and can't make it back in time. Henry's about the same build, so we just roped him into trying the suit on for him."

Another friend quickly piped up, "Yeah, seriously, just checking the fit so it's not off when the time comes."

I glanced at the impeccably tailored tuxedo on Henry. "Fits great."

Henry stared at me for two seconds. His shoulders relaxed, and he looked down to finish fastening his cufflink.

He actually bought that I believed them.

Once upon a time, if I so much as knitted my brow, Henry would notice from across the room.

Now, standing just six feet away with my palms drenched in cold sweat, he didn't notice a single thing.

His friends didn't linger. They quickly cleared out.

Only the two of us were left in the living room.

Henry stepped forward, reaching out to touch my cheek, but I turned my head away.

He didn't seem to care and pulled his hand back. "You called me so many times the other day. I was tied up with an emergency and didn't hear the phone."

"I dialed the wrong number."

I looked up into his eyes. "Don't you need to be over at Chloe's tonight?"

Henry's tone hardened. "She's just a vessel to carry my kid. Why do you keep comparing yourself to her?"

He said it without a second of hesitation.

Back when he used to praise me for being so understanding and gentle, he probably had that exact same look on his face.

I grabbed my purse. "I'm heading out."

Henry picked up his car keys. "I'll drive you."

The car glided onto the bridge.

Henry steered with one hand. "There's a new French place that opened uptown this weekend. I'll take you there. After dinner, we can stop by the mall and grab that bag you've had your eye on."

In the past, sweet promises like these would stay in my phone's notes, keeping me happy for days.

Now, I just stared at the stream of cars in the side mirror, completely silent.

While we were waiting at a red light, the phone screen on the center console lit up.

A message popped up from Chloe: "Henry, I picked out the jewelry you asked me to choose. Twenty-two pieces in total, and the boutique has them in stock today. I'll wait for you at our usual spot."

Henry glanced at the screen. He immediately flipped on his hazard lights, pulled over to the curb, and killed the engine.

"Something urgent came up at the office, I have to run. Call an Uber, or just wait here in the car for me to get back."

He pushed the door open, slammed it shut, and jogged over to the curb to hail a yellow cab without looking back once.

I sat in the passenger seat, watching the cab merge into the traffic.

The words about taking me out for French food this weekend hadn't even faded from the air.

With a single message, he didn't even bother coming up with a convincing lie before he bolted.

I opened the door and slid into the driver's seat.

I hit the gas, pulled a U-turn, and drove straight to the visa application center.

At the counter, I submitted my application for a long-term residency visa to Germany.

By the time I walked out, the sky was completely dark.

I folded the confirmation receipt and tucked it into the hidden compartment of my purse.

Henry was hiding his wedding from me, and now I knew everything.

I was going to disappear from his life forever, and Henry had no idea.