1 My wife of three years, in a marriage that had been sexless from the start, was pregnant. And she wanted the world to know. She’d made a thousand copies of the ultrasound report, announcing to anyone and everyone that she was carrying another man’s child. I heard she and her friends were even placing bets, wagering on how spectacularly I would lose my mind. “Remember how Christopher begged to marry you? He knelt before your mother for hours, right there on the street for all to see.” “He’s going to go absolutely ballistic when he finds out you’re pregnant.” Clarissa’s face twisted in disgust at the memory. “We don’t even have a marriage license. What kind of husband is he? He’s nothing but a dog who knows how to grovel at my mother’s feet. If it weren’t for him, I would have been free years ago!” Fearing I might retaliate against the child’s real father, she had her security detail break my leg. Then they threw me in the cellar and left me there for seven days and seven nights. By the time they let me out, she was already in another country, getting married to someone else. This time, I didn't fight. I calmly called her mother. “Mrs. Sterling,” I said, my voice hollow. “The five-year pact… I’ve lost. I’ll keep my promise. I’ll disappear forever.” Two freshly printed marriage certificates slapped down on the table in front of me. “Caleb and I are legally married now,” Clarissa said, her voice dripping with venom. “All that’s left is the ceremony. You’ve clung to me for three years. Isn’t that enough?” My eyes stung, transfixed by the smiling photo of them on the official paper. Clarissa and I had a wedding, a grand affair, but she’d refused to ever make it legal. Seeing my stunned silence, a triumphant smirk played on her lips. “I’ve already moved Caleb in. And just so we’re clear, I married him because I’m carrying his child.” Her gaze dropped to my right leg. “If you have a shred of dignity left, you’ll make things clear to my mother. But if you keep harassing me,” she added, her voice turning to ice, “I won’t hesitate to have your other leg broken.” My injured leg, left untreated for seven days, had gone from searing agony to a dead, heavy numbness. “Fine,” I managed to choke out, closing my eyes. She hadn’t expected me to agree so easily. A flicker of surprise crossed her face. “I’ll move into the guest room,” I said, my voice flat. “He’s the father. It’s only right he stays in the master bedroom to take care of you.” I meant every word. A week ago, when she’d paraded her pregnancy, making sure everyone knew the child wasn’t mine, she’d turned me into a city-wide joke. Three years. Three years, and I still couldn't melt the ice around her heart. “And don’t worry,” I added. “I’ll handle your mother. I won’t bother you again.” Clarissa’s brow furrowed in suspicion, but her expression quickly returned to its usual coldness. “Don’t even think about pulling any tricks. I’ve given the staff a vacation, so you won’t be moving into the guest room.” She paused, a cruel smile spreading across her face. “I’m pregnant. I need someone to look after me. From now on, you’re on call, 24/7.” She said it so matter-of-factly, as if savoring some twisted new game, waiting to see me break. I opened my mouth, but in the end, all I could manage was a slight nod. The game seemingly bored her already. She glanced at my leg and called for the family doctor. When he saw the state of my leg, his face went pale. Without treatment, the wound had begun to rot. The men Clarissa had sent hadn't just broken it; they'd tortured me, driving nails through the bone just for the fun of it. The doctor’s expression was grave. “Mr. Hayes, this injury needs immediate hospital attention. If it’s as bad as it looks, it may require amputation.” My fist clenched at my side, knuckles white. Clarissa, however, just scoffed. “He’s a grown man. A little scratch and you’re talking about amputation? At that rate, no one would survive.” She let out a derisive laugh and turned back to her room. “Don’t think this will make me pity you,” she called over her shoulder. “Even if you died, I would never forgive you.” 2 The bedroom door wasn’t fully closed. Caleb was in there with her. Soon, the sounds of their laughter, followed by the soft, wet sounds of kisses, drifted into the hall. The pity in the doctor’s eyes was a physical blow, sending a chill through my entire body. I forced myself to stand, trying to block out the noises, but they only seemed to grow louder, echoing in my head. I didn’t snap out of it until Mrs. Sterling arrived. She took one look at my leg, and her face darkened into a thundercloud. Her gaze shot to the half-open bedroom door, and she moved as if to storm in and confront Clarissa. I reached out and stopped her. “Mrs. Sterling,” I said, my voice raspy. “The pact we made three years ago. I concede.” “You were right. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t win her over.” “Once the contract is terminated, I’ll leave. I will never come back.” Mrs. Sterling, a woman I had only ever known as formidable and unyielding, looked at me with an uncharacteristic flicker of sympathy. Her voice softened. “Are you sure, Christopher? The five years aren’t up yet. If you give up now, you’ll have absolutely nothing.” “Think about it,” she urged. “I’ll give you a week. Come see me then to sign the termination papers.” I said nothing. She was right. To marry Clarissa, I had swallowed every last ounce of my pride. I had begged, pleaded, and in the end, I had signed over my entire inheritance—everything my parents had left me—to the Sterling family. Just then, Clarissa must have realized someone was there. She and Caleb emerged, their clothes hastily straightened. Her face went rigid when she saw her mother. “Mom? What are you doing here?” Caleb stood beside her, a picture of obedience. “Hello, Mom,” he chirped. Mrs. Sterling let out a cold laugh, her eyes fixed on her daughter. “And where do you keep Christopher? He grew up with you, Clarissa. Have you forgotten everything his parents did for us? Do you have no respect for their memory?” Clarissa’s pale face flushed a deep, angry red. She shot me a look of pure hatred. “Mom, he called you, didn’t he? I knew he was up to something!” She turned on me. “Christopher, I can’t believe how shameless you are. You were the one who begged to marry me. I never once said I loved you. You’re the one who trapped me, who destroyed my freedom!” She defiantly grabbed Caleb’s hand, lifting her chin. “I’m pregnant, and that’s a fact. If you want to stay in my life, you’d better get used to playing the part of the cuckolded husband!” The insolence in her voice made Mrs. Sterling tremble with rage. She raised her hand and slapped Clarissa hard across the face. “One day,” she seethed, “you will regret this.” It was the first time in all these years she had ever taken my side. Before, she only had eyes for the business empire my parents had built, never caring about the war between Clarissa and me. Caleb rushed to Clarissa’s side, his face a mask of concern. “Ma’am, I know you look down on me now, but one day you’ll see how much I truly love Clarissa!” Mrs. Sterling laughed, a sharp, mocking sound. “Your love? Can it compare to what Christopher gave up? All you do is spend our family’s money!” Humiliated, Caleb lowered his head. After her mother left, Clarissa unleashed all her pent-up fury on me. “Don’t think for a second that just because my mother is on your side, you’ve won. I will never, ever look at you again. Get that through your head!” She grabbed Caleb’s arm. “Let’s go, Caleb. The air in here makes me sick.” As she stormed past, she deliberately slammed her shoulder into mine. I watched her go, and for a moment, the girl I remembered from our childhood grew hazy, almost disappearing completely. We’d known each other for over twenty years. The girl who used to follow me everywhere was gone. Now, whenever I closed my eyes, all I could see was the scene from three years ago. Me, on my knees, begging her mother to let me marry her. And Clarissa, bursting into my house late that night after she found out, her voice raw with grief and rage as she screamed at me, asking why. 3 “Your parents aren’t even in the ground yet, and you’re already thinking about marrying me? How can you be so vile, so depraved?” “I have a boyfriend, Christopher! Why are you and my mother deciding my future for me? What gives you the right?” It was the first time I truly understood how little I meant to her. How despicable I was in her eyes. The very next day, Clarissa’s boyfriend broke up with her and vanished without a trace. She blamed me for all of it. She walked through our wedding ceremony like a ghost, her heart filled with nothing but resentment. And it was then that her mother took me aside. “Christopher,” she’d said, her tone all business. “We have our agreement, but you and Clarissa cannot be legally married.” “She’s right about one thing. As you are now, you are not worthy of her.” After my parents died, I had no power, no status. I was nothing compared to the soaring fortunes of the Sterling family. I let out a long, slow breath. Maybe my decision was wrong from the very beginning. After that day, Clarissa stopped coming home. Caleb, however, made his presence felt, sending me messages designed to torment me. [Mr. Hayes, this is my first time being a father. I was hoping I could ask you for some advice.] [You’re so much older than me. You must have more experience with these things, right?] The constant, smug provocations grated on my last nerve. I couldn’t sleep with her, couldn’t even touch her. For three years, we slept in the same bed with a wooden plank between us. If I accidentally brushed against her, she’d act so disgusted she’d nearly vomit, scrubbing herself raw in the shower as if to flay my touch from her skin. The incessant buzzing of my phone finally broke me. I picked it up and called him. “Is your phone just for show, or did you forget how to use it to look up information? Did Clarissa not tell you we’ve never been intimate? Or are you just texting me to gloat? Because if you are, you’ve got the wrong guy. Clarissa and I are finished. I sincerely wish you both the best—” It wasn’t Caleb’s voice that answered, but Clarissa’s, sharp and full of derision. “Christopher, do you really think I’d fall for your pathetic act again? The moment I’m out the door, you call my mother to come and fight your battles.” “I’m so glad I had your leg broken,” she spat. “God knows what you would have done to Caleb otherwise.” She hung up, the dial tone buzzing in my ear. My hand, clutching the phone, tightened until my knuckles were white, then fell open, limp and powerless. When I made that pact with her mother three years ago, I should have known I would lose. I just never imagined I would lose this badly. I had planned to just wait quietly until it was time for me to leave. But the next day, Clarissa and Caleb stormed back into the house. Her eyes were bloodshot and her clothes were disheveled, as if she’d been in a fight. Her gaze, when it landed on me, was filled with a murderous rage. Before I could react, Caleb threw himself to his knees in front of me. “Mr. Hayes, I know you’re angry with me. If my messages upset you, I apologize. I was wrong.” “But you can’t convince Mrs. Sterling to make Clarissa get an abortion! That baby is a miracle for us. We’ve wanted it for so long.” My head swam. I opened my mouth to defend myself, to say I’d done no such thing. The next second, a searing pain exploded across my cheek. Clarissa slapped me again and again, so hard her own palm was red and trembling by her side. She snatched a pair of scissors from the table and pointed them at me, her voice a hysterical shriek. “You make me sick, Christopher! You disgust me!” “Three years ago, you forced me to marry you against my will! And now you want to kill my child? What kind of poison have you been feeding my mother?” I touched my burning cheek, my lips moving, but the words wouldn’t come. “I didn’t…” 4 Clarissa wasn’t listening. She had lost all reason. She lunged, plunging the scissors deep into my shoulder. Blood bloomed across my shirt, staining her hands crimson. She seemed to freeze, shocked that I hadn’t moved, hadn’t even tried to defend myself. When sanity finally returned to her eyes, the scissors slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor. She stumbled back a step, and Caleb quickly steadied her. Wiping tears from her face, she stared at me, her voice breaking. “Christopher, just stop loving me, please. Let me go.” “I’m going to show you,” she whispered, her voice gaining a feverish strength. “I’m going to show you how happy Caleb and I can be.” She left, leaning on him for support. All the physical pain vanished, eclipsed by the agony of her words. They were like the scissors, twisting deeper and deeper with every beat of my heart. The “happiness” Clarissa spoke of was a multi-million-dollar campaign to launch Caleb into the public eye. She bought reporters and media outlets, plastering their perfect love story across every screen and billboard in the city. She paraded him around like a prized possession she had kept hidden for too long. She threw a lavish party at the house, introducing Caleb to all her major business partners and investors. These were things she had never, not once, done for me. Through it all, I remained calm, simply counting down the days. The week Mrs. Sterling had given me was up today. After this, Clarissa and I would likely never see each other again. “You’ve got some nerve, Christopher,” Clarissa’s voice cut through my thoughts. “You know this party is for Caleb, yet you’re still shamelessly hanging around.” She strode toward me, Caleb and a few of her friends trailing behind her like a royal court. A wave of mocking laughter erupted. “Clarissa, honey, when you have a leech that just won’t let go, sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind and just rip it off.” “What is he now, anyway? The third wheel?” “You know, the Hayes family used to be one of the biggest names in this city. Such a shame what happened. All of them gone, except for him. No wonder he’s so desperate to cling to you.” The words seemed to grate on Clarissa. She shot me a look of pure loathing, as if my very presence was a stain on her reputation. She ordered her security to throw all of my belongings out onto the lawn. Then, in front of everyone, she made her grand proclamation. “Three years ago, Christopher Hayes, a man with no shame and no dignity, begged me to be with him. He tore me away from the love of my life, and now he’s trying to kill my child.” “From this day forward, I, Clarissa Sterling, have nothing to do with Christopher Hayes. The Sterling family and the Hayes family are finished!” Her powerful voice hammered into me, and for a moment, my thoughts seized. I leaned against the wall for support, the hand behind my back trembling uncontrollably. Compared to the dazzling star she was now, I truly was nothing. I wasn’t worthy of her. Seeing my silence, Clarissa’s expression softened as she turned and took Caleb’s hand. “I’ve decided Caleb and I are getting married, a real wedding this time, in twenty-two different countries—”
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