At nine months pregnant, I suffered an unexpected miscarriage.

My husband, Graham Pearson, fought back his own grief as he comforted me. He would whisper to me every day, trying to soothe my shattered heart, "Whitney, we will have children again someday. Our little angel was here for a while, and next time, we'll make sure we hold onto them..."

Under Graham's careful care, I slowly began to pull myself out of the numb fog I'd been trapped in.

But then, a month later, I overheard him talking to one of his friends.

"If Whitney finds out the baby didn't actually die and that you've let Cassidy raise him, don't you think she'll flip out? You've worked so hard to get where you are; you can't let this mess it all up."

Graham casually flicked his cigarette, his voice almost detached as he waved a hand dismissively.

"Cassidy can't have kids, but she loves children. If this baby brings her joy, it's a blessing for the child, too.

"I might never get the chance to be with Cassidy, but letting her raise my son, in some way, feels like a kind of fulfillment..."

The truth hit me like a frozen wave, paralyzing me in place.

It turned out this whole ordeal had been part of Graham's plan from the start.

Maybe it was because, ever since the miscarriage, I hadn't stepped outside my bedroom even once.

That must be why Graham Pearson felt safe to speak so freely with his friend.

If I hadn't tried to pull myself together, to make some coffee and bring it to him in the study, I would have remained in the dark, oblivious to everything.

As soon as the voices in the study faded, I fled back to my room hastily.

During our three years of marriage, everyone envied the love and devotion between Graham and me.

Even after the miscarriage, while we were both grieving, Graham still forced himself to smile and stayed by my side day and night, enduring my endless mood swings.

But now, I realized that everything—every tender word, every tear shed—had been part of an act.

From his conversation with his friend, I learned that Graham had always carried a torch for someone named Cassidy Hum.

They had fallen in love during college. Three years ago, Cassidy left to pursue her career in Astriands, chasing bigger dreams.

And that same year, Graham rushed into a marriage with me.

I had thought we were soulmates when, in truth, I had been nothing more than a stand-in, a way for him to forget Cassidy.

When Cassidy returned six months ago, Graham didn't hesitate. He rekindled his feelings for her, and then, without the slightest remorse, handed over my baby like it was some kind of gift.

I stood in my room, stunned, when Graham, having seen his friend off, slipped into the room and wrapped his arms around me from behind with practiced ease.

When he noticed the tear stains on my cheeks, he panicked before he clumsily wiped them away with his fingers.

"Honey, why are you crying?" he asked, his voice tight with worry. "Have I been away too long? I'll tell my friends not to come over anymore, okay? From now on, I'll stay here with you."

Staring into Graham's frantic, seemingly genuine eyes, my vision blurred with a fresh wave of tears.

"Graham," I choked out, "I dreamed our baby was crying… that he was looking for his mommy..."

Graham's hand, midway through wiping my tears, froze in the air.

The next second, he pulled me tightly into his arms.

"Whitney, we'll have another child. We have to move past this accident, okay? You must be exhausted. You should get some sleep."

Listening to Graham's web of lies, I bit down hard on my lower lip where he couldn't see.

Suddenly, the shrill ring of a phone shattered the silence.

Seeing the caller ID, Graham hurried to answer.

"Graham, the baby won't stop crying! I can't calm him down! Can you come over?" A sweet, soft female voice rang out through the receiver.

Graham shot me a startled glance. Only after confirming that I seemed asleep did he slip away into the bathroom to reply in a low voice, "Don't worry, Cassidy. I'm coming right now."

Without a moment's hesitation, he ended the call and rushed out the door.

When the rumble of a car engine echoed from the driveway, I slowly opened my eyes.

Back when I was pregnant, Graham had insisted we install a tracking app on both our phones, just in case something happened to me and he couldn't find me.

Now, using that app, I quietly followed him all the way to Cassidy's place.

Through the towering glass windows, I could clearly see Cassidy holding a baby in her arms, the infant wailing miserably.

Maybe it was the bond of blood, but the sound of the child's cries felt like knives shredding my heart into pieces.

Watching Graham gently soothe the baby while cradling Cassidy in his arms, I finally understood.

Our marriage was truly over.

That night, Graham didn't come home, and I spent the entire evening alone, my mind racing with thoughts I couldn't quiet.

The next day, I found myself standing once again at the door of Cassidy's apartment.

I could accept that she had stolen Graham from me, but I would never accept her taking my baby, too!

But when I finally saw Cassidy's face clearly, I froze for a moment.

I couldn't believe my eyes. We looked nearly identical.

No wonder Graham had fallen in love with me at first sight. It turned out I was just a substitute in his eyes…

Cassidy frowned as she looked me over.

"Who are you?"

I suppressed the burning rage in my chest as I responded, "I'm Graham's wife, this baby's mother."

"What are you talking about?!" Cassidy raised her voice. "Graham's not married!

"And this baby's an orphan he adopted from a welfare center. So, who exactly are you?"

When I showed her our marriage certificate, Cassidy's eyes widened in disbelief.

Clearly, she had no idea that Graham had already gotten married.

Graham wanted to have his cake and eat it too—he had actually been lying to both of us!

I could feel my anger shift into a desperate plea.

"Ms. Hum, can you please give me back my baby?"

I honestly thought that, upon learning the truth, Cassidy would surely give the child back to me.

But to my shock, she blocked the door.

"Heh, you claim the child is yours, but what proof do you have? Just because you couldn't keep your own child doesn't mean you can come here to throw a tantrum!

"Since Graham married you, but can't forget about me, it's clear he's always loved me. Even if you two are married, it's a sham! I don't care!

"I advise you to divorce Graham. A marriage without love is nothing!"

The arrogance in Cassidy's voice stoked the flames of fury inside me even more.

At that moment, I heard the baby cry from inside the apartment.

Cassidy's expression darkened with irritation when she heard the crying.

Maybe it was some maternal instinct kicking in, but before I could stop myself, I shoved past Cassidy, who wasn't expecting it, and rushed inside.

The baby's cries were raspy, and his face was flushed with an unhealthy red hue.

A pang of pain shot through me, and I almost wept as I demanded, my voice breaking, "What have you done to my son?!"

Cassidy looked at us with disdain.

"I guess you two are related; you're both so annoying! He's always crying!"

Seeing the rage in my eyes, she scoffed.

"You're pissed already? Well, there's something else: To stop this little brat from crying, I add sleeping pills to his formula every time I feed him."

When I heard her words, my mind snapped. With a roar, I grabbed her by the collar.

"How could you do this to a baby! You're a monster!"

Cassidy sneered, her voice dripping with malice, "He's not my son. Even if he dies, Graham won't blame me. After all, you and your child are just pawns he uses to win my favor!"

As I stood there, reeling, I thought back to the three years I had spent giving my all to Graham, only to receive his fake affection in return.

I thought of my child, taken from me the moment he was born, and how, under Graham's watch, Cassidy had tormented him.

The overwhelming rage took over, and before I knew it, I was tearing into Cassidy.

Just as Cassidy began to lose the upper hand, she suddenly screamed, begging for mercy, "I'm sorry! I didn't know... Please, let me go… Ah!"

With a loud thud, Cassidy's forehead collided with the coffee table in the living room.

But I hadn't even touched her!

Just as I was about to process what happened, a scream from behind me shattered the silence. "Cassidy!"

A sudden force yanked me away, followed by the sharp crack of a slap. I pressed my hand to the split in my lip where Graham's slap had struck, my eyes locked on him as he tenderly cradled Cassidy, who had lost consciousness.

There was no guilt in his eyes for being caught cheating, no remorse for deceiving me. Instead, all I saw in him was anger—anger at me for hurting Cassidy.

His glare felt colder than any accusation, as though the sweet kiss he had given me the night before was nothing more than a cruel illusion.

"How dare you hurt Cassidy! Even I have never dared to hurt her!

"I must've spoiled you too much over the years. It seems you've forgotten your place!"

I could hardly believe my ears. I stared at him, a sense of helplessness sinking deep into my chest as my voice trembled. "I've forgotten my place? Graham, I'm your wife! And you took my son away and gave him to her! What do you think of me, huh?" I asked, desperate for an answer.

Seeing that the truth had come to light, Graham's frustration bubbled over. "Whitney, can you stop being so unreasonable? Even if I still love Cassidy, so what? I'm still sticking around as your husband. What more do you want?"

As Graham rushed off with Cassidy to the hospital, my heart turned cold, numb to everything around me.

That afternoon, Cassidy's injury was all over the news. During her three years abroad, she had built quite a fan base. As soon as the news of her injury broke, her fans went wild online.

Some even dug up a photo of me, disheveled and walking out of Cassidy's apartment. As the fans finally found someone to blame, the insults and curses poured in from all sides.

The next day, Cassidy woke up and made a public statement on social media, trying to calm her fans. But the more she played the helpless victim, the more Graham and her fans turned their anger toward me.

In just half a day, I had prepared a divorce agreement. I had barely signed it when Graham's bodyguards forced me to the hospital.

Inside the room, Graham was feeding Cassidy soup with the same tenderness he had once shown me.

Two nurses, freshly exiting the room, couldn't contain their excitement as they gossiped. "I heard that man is Mr. Pearson. Cassidy is so lucky! She's a huge star, and even her husband treats her like a queen!"

"To have the CEO cook for you—now that's what I call true love."

During the years I spent in a secret marriage with Graham, he had always used the excuse of protecting me to avoid public appearances. But with Cassidy, there were no such restrictions. He was openly pampering her, showing her off to the world.

After Cassidy returned to the country, Graham pulled countless strings, pushing resources and connections in her direction.

The day I had my miscarriage, Graham had been by Cassidy's side, celebrating her birthday with her. He used drones to profess his love for her, making many unaware bystanders believe in his romantic intentions.

And the gift he gave her was the son I had carried for nine months.

It turned out that only I had been kept in the dark all along.

"What are you standing there for? Come in!"

When Graham noticed me at the door, his once soft expression hardened into impatience.

"Apologize to Cassidy, and leave them alone after that. Then we can put this whole thing behind us," he spat, his words dripping with coldness.

I stood frozen, disbelief written across my face. "What did you say? Graham, that baby's mine. Mine!

"Do you know what she's done? She's been giving him sleeping pills to stop him from crying!"

"I have not!" Cassidy looked at Graham with teary eyes, her voice trembling. "Graham, you have to believe me…

"I know Whitney has issues with me, but if I had known you were married, I never would have come back to disturb your life, even if it killed me inside…"

Seeing Cassidy's tears, Graham instinctively pulled her closer. "I know you're innocent."

Meanwhile, I stood there, silently watching the disgusting pair.

Cassidy's sobs only seemed to fuel Graham's anger. "Whitney, apologize to Cassidy now! If you don't, I'll divorce you!"

"Sure." I pulled the divorce agreement from my bag. "Let's get a divorce. I don't want your money. I just want my son."

Graham was taken aback for a moment, then he let out a bitter laugh. "Playing hard to get, huh? That trick is so outdated.

"You have nothing—no family, no connections. If you leave me, you'll be nothing. What makes you think you can take the baby?"

The fact that I had never mentioned my parents, that they didn't even attend our wedding, had made Graham believe I was an orphan.

But when we married, he had promised me he would be my family, the one who loved me most. And now, that very promise was being used as a weapon against me.

I squeezed my palm, the divorce agreement trembling in my hand, before I threw it at him. "I want my son. I never want to see you again."

Without waiting for his reaction, I turned and walked out, my steps resolute. Graham tried to stop me, but when he saw Cassidy's sobbing form, he froze.

As I made my way to the parking garage, ready to leave, I suddenly felt a heavy presence behind me.

A large, overweight figure lunged at me from around the corner, and before I could react, a handkerchief soaked in some kind of drug was pressed forcefully over my mouth and nose.

As my consciousness faded, I caught a glimpse of a gleaming knife in his hand.

"H-help..."