Chapter 1

Logan handed his black card to another woman right in front of me—on our second wedding anniversary—while I stood behind him, five weeks pregnant with his child he didn't know about, holding the dinner reservation confirmation he'd asked me to book three days ago.

The woman was Sienna. His first love. The one who left him for a richer man four years ago and came crawling back two months ago with a sob story and a designer suitcase.

"She's going through a hard time," Logan had told me the night Sienna moved into our guest room. "Her ex-husband took everything. She has nothing. I owe her—I broke her heart first."

That was his answer to everything. He owed her. He broke her heart. She suffered because of him.

What about me?

I had married Logan through a contract arrangement between our families. No fairy tale. No love confession. Just two signatures and a cold handshake from his mother.

But I had tried. God, I had tried.

Two years of cooking his meals, managing his household, attending every corporate event on his arm with a perfect smile. Two years of sleeping beside a man who never once told me I was beautiful.

I thought we were building something. Slowly. Quietly. The way he started reaching for my hand during movies. The way he began leaving notes on the fridge. The way he pulled me close in his sleep.

Then Sienna came back, and everything I thought we had built crumbled overnight.

Tonight was supposed to be different. Logan had promised—just the two of us. A quiet anniversary dinner at La Maison, the French restaurant I'd been wanting to try for months.

I had spent three hours getting ready. New dress. New heels. Hair pinned up the way he once said he liked.

When I came downstairs, Logan was already in the foyer—holding Sienna's coat, helping her into it like she was made of glass.

"Logan? We need to leave in twenty minutes—"

"Change of plans." He didn't even look at me. "Sienna got rejected from another apartment today. She's upset. I'm taking her out to cheer her up."

"But our reservation—"

"Cancel it." He finally glanced at me. Irritated. "You can rebook it anytime. She needs me tonight."

Sienna peeked out from behind his shoulder, her eyes red and puffy. "I'm so sorry, Elara. I told him I didn't want to intrude. If you're upset, I'll just stay home—"

"No," Logan said firmly. "You're coming. You've been crying all day." He turned back to me. "We'll celebrate another night. I promise."

He handed Sienna his black card. "Get yourself something nice tomorrow. You deserve it."

They left. The door clicked shut. The house went silent.

I stood there in my new dress and heels, staring at the cold, empty foyer, one hand resting on my stomach.

I had planned to tell him about the baby tonight.

Now, I wasn't sure I wanted him to know at all.