Chapter 1

Prologue

The sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the apartment, and the motion sensor lights lining the long hallway flickered on one by one.

Eunjae, who had been leaning against the sofa with a gaunt face, sat upright at the familiar sign of someone’s arrival.

It was past two in the morning.

The person who walked in with exhaustion and coldness written across his face was her husband, Seo Hajun.

As far as she could remember, he had never once looked at her with warmth or affection in his eyes.

Today was no different.

Did he only smile gently at that woman?

Even that meaningless thought now stabbed painfully at her heart.

‘You know how important an heir is to Hajun, don’t you? For his sake, and for our child, please divorce him.’

The woman had come looking for Eunjae herself and proudly announced her pregnancy.

‘That’s right. Don’t you dare ruin such happy news.’

As Eunjae sat there speechless from shock, her mother-in-law, who had come together with the woman, unleashed words like a bombardment.

‘If only you’d gotten pregnant while I was doing everything I could for you, none of this would’ve happened. I found foods that were supposed to help with pregnancy and fed them to you. I even got you underwear worn by an old woman who gave birth to five sons…’

‘Oh my, you took such good care of her? Lee Eunjae, you were an incredibly fortunate daughter-in-law.’

Watching her mother-in-law count things off on her fingers, the woman narrowed her eyes and sneered mockingly.

Only then did Eunjae realize, like a fool.

Everything Mikyung had done for her might never have been genuine kindness.

The shock was so overwhelming that she couldn’t say a word.

Eunjae had endured it all because she desperately wanted a child with Hajun.

Was it because she had foolishly done nothing but swallow her humiliation and disgust?

Maybe it was only natural that he ended up seeing another woman.

Eunjae loved Hajun so deeply that her heart hurt enough to steal her breath away.

But he would never know that.

“…I have something to say. Please give me a moment.”

Hajun glanced at her, let out a sigh, and sat down on the sofa across from her.

The silence alone told her that simply facing her was exhausting for him.

Her thin fingers trembled as she placed the divorce agreement papers on the table.

“You only need to sign them. I don’t want anything.”

Hajun picked up the papers.

“Petition for Confirmation of Mutual Divorce Intent?”

He lifted his gaze from the document and met Eunjae’s eyes.

His expression, filled with disbelief, was endlessly sharp.

“I… want to divorce you.”

The divorce papers crumpled easily in his hand.

“Don’t push your luck.”

Did he not know that the woman carrying his child had come to see her together with his mother?

Or perhaps he simply didn’t care.

Maybe he thought it wasn’t worth paying attention to.

After all, he had married her because of family inheritance issues from the beginning.

“Don’t tell me this is because I didn’t hug you at the office.”

“…”

“I’m asking if this is your way of sulking as my wife.”

“…Are you going to deceive me until the very end?”

She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry.

Yet tears spilled from both of Eunjae’s eyes.

It felt as though everything she had worked so hard to preserve in this marriage was collapsing.

“That woman came to see me. She said she’s carrying your child…”

“That woman? What are you talking about? Who is she?”

“Sob… That woman and your mother too…”

At that moment, Hajun’s phone rang.

After checking the screen, he briefly raised a hand as if telling Eunjae to wait.

Then he answered the call and walked straight into his study.

“Sulking…”

In the living room, now so silent that her ears rang, Eunjae sobbed alone.

She could no longer endure staying beside a husband who found her annoying and never listened to what she had to say.

She stared at the study door for a long time.

Eventually, she picked up the bag she had prepared and left the house.

* * *

‘Why?’

When Eunjae asked why he had decided to marry her, Hajun answered simply.

‘I don’t really need to get married.’

‘Ah…’

‘Still, it’d be nice if Taeon could support Kwonil.’

‘…’

‘And you.’

‘…’

‘I don’t think you’d ever be a bother to me.’

Eunjae had smiled foolishly just because he said there was a reason to marry her.

Without knowing that her life would become painful enough to make her want to die.

‘Dad seemed to gain a lot of strength after receiving treatment and seeing you, Hajun. Maybe we could have a cup of tea together sometime…’

‘Didn’t I tell you it’s difficult?’

She had been too young.

She believed that if she endured life by Seo Hajun’s side, she would eventually receive his love.

She believed that one day he would look at her with warm eyes and call her name in a gentle voice.

Like a fool.

It had only ever been a hopeless dream.

This time, the voice of her mother-in-law, Yoon Mikyung, followed.

Even knowing it was a dream, it hurt as if she were reliving it all over again.

‘You didn’t do anything improper while studying abroad, did you? Otherwise, why can’t you get pregnant?’

The vicious words that had come flying at her before she could even recover from the shock.

‘What’s the point of our Hajun being perfectly healthy? You’re the problem. I should’ve cut ties with your family the moment your father died.’

Even the cruel words insulting her father, who had spent his final days wishing only to see his daughter get married.

The memories came flooding back like falling dominoes.

‘Tsk. You can’t do a single thing right, and now you’re making your mother-in-law suffer like this. I’m not the only one desperate for a child. Me, me, and only me.’

“I’m sorry, Mother…”

To Mikyung, Eunjae was neither a daughter-in-law nor even a person.

She was simply a tool for bearing Hajun’s child.

At least until Eunjae’s father passed away.

Once Mikyung decided there was nothing left to gain from her family, she openly looked down on her.

Yet she remained strangely obsessed with having a child.

She was always forcing bizarre remedies on Eunjae, claiming they were secret methods for pregnancy.

All they did was make Eunjae suffer.

Even so, Eunjae tried to endure.

For the sake of the man she loved, Hajun.

Startled awake by the horrifying memories, Eunjae clamped a hand over her mouth and twisted her body aside.

She hung herself over the edge of the bed and retched violently.

“Urgh… Urrgh… Haah…”

Even though it had only been a dream, she could still feel the disgusting smell and the sticky sensation sliding down her throat.

It was unbearable.

Her body convulsed from the force of her vomiting.

Someone quickly rushed over to check on her.

“Miss, are you awake? Are you alright?”

Her stomach felt horribly twisted.

She couldn’t breathe properly or even lie down straight.

Then someone approached her side.

The foul smell that had been irritating her nose disappeared, replaced by the sharp scent of alcohol disinfectant.

A white ceiling.

White curtains.

And someone standing before her in a doctor’s coat.

She distinctly remembered her mind going blank the moment she stepped outside the house, her body collapsing onto the cold ground.

Fortunately, it seemed she was in a hospital.

“How’s the dizziness now?”

Blinking, Eunjae checked her vision.

Everything still looked blurry, but she wasn’t dizzy.

“…Yes, I’m okay.”

Her voice came out rough and cracked.

“It’s anemia. The blood test also showed signs of malnutrition.”

“…”

“Even if your morning sickness is severe, you need to eat properly during the early stages of pregnancy.”

Morning sickness.

Early stages of pregnancy.

Eunjae stared blankly at the doctor’s face.

“It seems your morning sickness is fairly severe. Would you like an injection? Or have you been prescribed any medication by an obstetrician?”

“…What am I?”

“Pregnant.”

“…”

“Oh, you didn’t know? You were brought into the emergency room unconscious, so we ran blood tests first. Since you’re an adult woman, we needed to determine whether you were pregnant before proceeding…”

The doctor’s voice began to echo strangely, as though she were submerged deep underwater.

Eunjae covered her ears with her rough hands, then lowered them again.

Swallowing hard, she pushed herself upright on the bed.

The IV line swayed with her movement.

“Please be careful. Judging by your hormone levels, you’re probably already over eight weeks along.”

Eunjae covered her mouth as it fell open in shock.

On the very day she decided to divorce her husband, she learned that she was finally carrying the child she had longed for so desperately.