Remi Sloan had been married to the top scion of the elite circle for five years. To outsiders, their marriage looked like a fairy tale. Everyone said he adored her—that he would even give his life for her if she asked. However, because she could not get pregnant, a few hints from her in-laws became outright demands.

The man who had held her hands and promised to protect her for the rest of her life on their wedding day cried in front of her.

“Be good… I can’t hold on anymore.”

So this was how short a man’s promise could be, because less than two months later, she saw him supporting a pregnant woman in the hospital's obstetrics department, his movements gentle.

“My baby is surely going to look just like his dad when he grows up. With his dad’s sharp brows and bright eyes, he’ll be ridiculously handsome. And maybe he’ll even have the same little red mole at the corner of his eye.”

The woman’s voice rang out down the otherwise quiet hospital hallway, loud and almost shrill. A few people turned to look, and so did Remi Sloan. The woman was wearing a mask, but her eyes were filled with undisguised pride.

As Remi listened to the description of the baby’s future looks, someone else came to mind—her husband of five years, James Hudson. In their social circle, he was known as the son of one of the most powerful families in the city, and he, too, had a small red mole at the corner of his eye.

Just as Remi was about to step forward and ask the woman something, her name was called over the hospital intercom.

Across the desk, the doctor held her medical report with a grave expression. Remi’s hands clenched tightly together. Her chest felt tight, as if a giant hand was squeezing her heart.

After what felt like forever, the doctor finally spoke.

“Ms. Sloan, all your physical indicators are normal. As for why you haven’t been able to conceive after all these years, we’re not entirely sure. You may need to undergo further testing…”

The doctor continued speaking, but Remi could not hear a word. All she could think about was that her body was normal, and yet, for five years, she still had not gotten pregnant.

She walked out of the consultation room in a daze and sat down on a bench in the hallway, staring blankly at the report in her hands. Tears fell one after another, soaking the paper.

She and James had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. Everyone in their circle knew she was his one true love. When she was seventeen, he had called her out beneath the old sycamore tree in their neighborhood. Under the moonlight, his face flushed red as he pulled out over a hundred handwritten love letters he had secretly written over the years. Stammering, he confessed.

On the day she turned twenty—the legal marriage age—he proposed without hesitation.

“Remi,” he had said, “I’m scared that if I waited a little longer, someone else would steal you away.”

She disliked attention, and he wanted to protect her. Hence, their wedding was made up of just close friends and family. Hardly anyone outside their circle even knew they were married. However, that did not affect how much James loved her, especially after she found out she could not conceive. He had always comforted her. He even took the blame upon himself.

When his parents pressured her about having children, he stood firmly in front of her and said, “I’m the one who doesn’t want kids. If you continue to pressure her, I’ll give up my position as heir.”

She had been deeply moved and deeply guilty. Determined to get pregnant as soon as possible, she tried countless folk remedies. She became a regular at the hospital’s obstetrics and gynaecology department. Yet, five years passed, and her belly remained empty.

She walked out of the hospital and pulled out her phone, wanting to call James. Right now, she just wanted to see him and have him hold her. But then she remembered he was still at work. So she put her phone away and decided to take a cab to his company instead.

The moment she stepped inside the building, she saw a familiar figure ahead. A man who looked exactly like James was carefully supporting a pregnant woman up the stairs.

“James?” she called out softly, testing the name.

He turned instinctively. When he saw her, his body stiffened for a split second. He quickly whispered something to the woman beside him. After she left, he came down the stairs and positioned himself in front of Remi, blocking her view.

A flicker of doubt rose in her chest. Why did he look so nervous?

“Who was that?” she asked.

His expression remained calm. “Just a passerby. She’s pregnant, so I helped her up the stairs.”

James had always been someone with strict boundaries. Since childhood, he had never touched any woman except her. Even the secretaries at his company were all men. In their circle, people teased him for being “whipped”, and he did not mind it at all.

“Yes,” he would say openly, “I’m whipped. I’m allergic to every woman except Remi.”

If so, why would a man so distant toward other women go out of his way to support a pregnant stranger?

However, before she could dwell on it, he changed the subject.

“By the way, what did the doctor say about your results?”

The disappointment in her eyes flickered again. The grievance she had barely managed to suppress surged back up, and her eyes watered.

He immediately understood. Pulling her into his arms, he gently patted her back.

“Hey, it’s okay. Like I’ve said, don’t put so much pressure on yourself about the pregnancy. I’m completely fine without children. In my heart, you’re the only one who matters. Don’t cry. It hurts me to see you cry.”

He brushed away the tear at the corner of her eye with his thumb, then lowered his head and kissed her. After a long while, his warmth finally soothed her emotions. She held his hand tightly in return.

Back at the mansion, James went straight into the bathroom to shower, while Remi sat alone on the edge of the bed. She was about to tuck the medical report into the drawer when her phone suddenly chimed with a text notification. Her hand froze, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

After a long moment, she took a deep breath, picked up her phone, and opened the message. As expected. It was another text from James’s mother, Katie Hudson, urging her to get pregnant.

Ever since she failed to conceive, James’s mother had been messaging her every few days, asking if she had gone for another checkup and when she would finally get pregnant. It was to the point that every time her phone chimed, Remi felt a wave of anxiety and fear.

The screen eventually went dark. She closed her eyes, struggling internally for a long time. Finally, she opened them again, walked to the closet, and pulled out the dress buried at the very bottom.

As soon as the bathroom door opened, soft, delicate hands wrapped around James from behind.

James’s body stiffened. Before he could turn around, Remi buried her face in the crook of his neck, brushing her lips gently against his skin.

“James… I…”

Looking heartbroken, he said, “Remi, you don’t have to do this. We’re not in a rush about having a child.”

Her slender fingers slid down along his abdomen. His breathing hitched instantly.

“But I want to. Right now.”

His gaze darkened. In the next second, he lifted her effortlessly and carried her to the bed, tossing her down before leaning over her. His kisses came hot and urgent. Their breathing grew heavier with each passing second.

“Remi…”

Just then, a sharp ringtone suddenly cut through the room. James ignored it, his kisses trailing down from her shoulder to her neck.

She let out a soft gasp and pushed against him lightly. “James, your phone…”

Still, he did not answer it. Instead, he pulled her back into his arms. “Ignore it. Focus on me.”

The ringing kept going, shrill and insistent, until it shattered the intimate atmosphere.

James finally pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I’ll take this call and come right back.”

With that, he grabbed his phone and stepped outside.

Remi slowly got up and walked toward the balcony. No matter how big or small the matter was, James had never hidden phone calls from her. So what kind of call would make him step outside?

Just as she reached for the balcony door, it was pushed open from the other side. James stood there, brows tightly furrowed, his voice lowered as he coaxed the person on the other end.

When he saw her approaching, he covered the receiver and looked at her apologetically. “Remi, there’s an urgent matter at the company. I have to go.”

Before she could respond, he grabbed the car keys from the table and disappeared into the night.

The light in her eyes dimmed instantly, and a bitter taste rose in her throat. Ever since James officially took over the company, he had rarely come home, and the time they shared a bed had grown fewer. Now, the rare moment they had almost shared was gone.

She stood there in a daze for a long time before bending down to pick up the clothes scattered across the floor. As she carried them toward the laundry room, a piece of paper slipped out of James’s pocket and fell to the ground.

She bent down to pick it up. However, the moment she saw its contents, her eyes widened in shock, and her heart began pounding. The title ‘Pregnancy Examination Report’ hit her like a truck, and it stated that James had signed it. A loud buzzing filled her ears, and her hands trembled as she picked up the report.

At first, she told herself she must be mistaken. There were plenty of people in the world with the same name. Yet, as she stared at the signature, she realized she could not lie to herself. Ever since they were young, he had signed all of her report cards, so she knew his signature better than anyone.

Suddenly, she remembered something James’s mother, Katie, had once said after pressuring her about having a baby. “If you can’t conceive, then I’ll have my son look for someone else to do it. I want a grandson this year, no matter what.”

Did he really go looking for another woman?

No. She immediately rejected the thought. How could that be? He loved her so much. The last time his mother suggested that, he had been so furious he nearly smashed up the entire mansion.

“Only Remi can bear my child,” he had declared.

His father had pointed at him and called him ridiculous, but now, his signature was right there on the pregnancy report.

Caught between doubt and denial, she picked up her phone, intending to call him. However, she hesitated. She remembered how flustered he had looked when he left. What if it really was an emergency?

In the end, Remi lowered her phone, then folded the pregnancy report and put it away. That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

After barely sleeping all night, with the balcony door left slightly open, Remi woke up feeling dazed. Her whole body was burning. Her eyelids felt so heavy that she could barely open them.

She fumbled for her phone on the nightstand and dialed James’s number. She left him more than a dozen calls, yet he did not pick up. Just when she was about to give up, the line finally connected.

“James–”

“Who are you?” A sweet, unfamiliar female voice came from the other end.

Her mind went blank. With a loud thud, her phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor. The line turned chaotic for a moment. After a while, she finally heard his voice.

“Sweetheart?”

He called her several times before she slowly bent down to pick up the phone.

She asked in disbelief, “Who was that just now?”

James quickly explained, “No one. I was discussing a project. A partner grabbed the wrong phone by mistake. Don’t misunderstand.”

Before she could press further, he changed the subject.

“What’s wrong? Why are you calling me?”

She opened her mouth, wanting to tell him she had a fever and ask if he could come home and take her to the hospital, when a sharp scream came from his side. “It’s so hot!”

His tone turned slightly anxious. “I’m still occupied here. I’ll hang up for now.”

The call ended abruptly. Maybe it was the fever, but her chest felt heavy with indignation. He had never hung up on her before. Even during urgent meetings, he would comfort her first before ending the call. Yet now…

She lay in bed for a long while, feeling miserable, before finally forcing herself up. Stumbling toward the medicine cabinet, she took some cold medicine to ease the symptoms. Soon after, she drifted back into a hazy sleep.

When Remi opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in a hospital bed, with James sitting beside her. The moment he saw her awake, relief flashed across his eyes. He pulled her into his arms.

“Sweetheart, you scared me.”

It turned out that he had tried calling her back later, but she never answered. Feeling uneasy, he rushed home and found her flushed and unconscious on the bed. Panicked, he immediately drove her to the hospital. For the rest of the day, he stayed by her side without leaving once, afraid something might happen again.

Watching him busy himself around her, taking care of everything, her heart warmed. For a moment, she felt like the old him was back. However, just then, his phone rang again. His hand paused slightly as he looked at the screen. He glanced at her before turning away and stepping into the hallway to take the call.

The hospital corridor was not well soundproofed. From the other end, a coquettish female voice drifted faintly into the room.

“I don’t care. I want you to be with me right now! Otherwise, I’ll take your son and leave! Do you believe me?”

There was no trace of impatience on James’s face. Instead, he said affectionately, “I have something to deal with here. Once I’m done, I’ll come over and be with you…”

Perhaps he was too focused on the person on the other end of the call to notice the shock on Remi’s face. Remi could not believe her ears. Her heart sank, and her body began trembling uncontrollably.

What had she just heard? Was she hallucinating? What did the person mean by “take your son and leave”?

Her mind flashed back to the pregnancy report she had once glimpsed, the pregnant woman he had helped up the stairs, and the conversation she had overheard at the obstetrics and gynecology department that day… Her grip on the blanket tightened.

At that moment, the hospital room door pushed open again. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Seeing her like that, James relaxed. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before quietly leaving the room.

The second he was gone, she opened her eyes, yanked out the IV needle, and hurried after him. She followed him down the corridor, turning left and right, until he stopped in front of the obstetrics and gynecology department.

Just as she was about to step closer, James was holding a young woman who had just come out of the exam room, cradling her gently.

“Was the baby good today?” he murmured. “Did he give his mommy any trouble?”

Remi’s eyes widened in disbelief. The girl in his arms lifted her head as well, still clinging to him. As if sensing something, she looked in Remi’s direction, and in that moment, Remi finally got a good look at her face, which looked almost exactly like hers when she was younger.