Chapter 1

While I was pregnant, Kyle Vance played the "suck and blow" card game with his first love, Gina Hayes.

They dropped the card and ended up making out in front of everyone for five whole minutes.

His best friend yelled, "Chloe, if you don't step in, they're going to get a room right here!"

I didn't say a word. I just kept scrolling through my phone, reading pregnancy care tips from my OB-GYN.

Kyle finally broke the kiss, looked at me, and laughed. "She’s carrying my baby. Even if I slept with someone else right in front of her, she wouldn’t dare leave."

I smiled bitterly. He was right. That was how much shit I could take from him.

Or so he thought.

The moment our baby was born, I handed him divorce papers.

He stared at me in disbelief. "Are you crazy? You want this kid to grow up without a father?"

I scoffed. "The baby's father died years ago."

When I went for my ultrasound alone, Kyle was across town at the hospital taking care of Gina, who had fractured her leg.

He had the nerve to ask me over the phone, "You're only three months along. You don't actually need me there, right?"

I smiled. Even at eight months, I could come alone. This baby had nothing to do with him anyway.

A month later, Gina was discharged. His friends threw a massive welcome-back party for her.

Someone suggested the card-passing game.

My pregnant body wasn’t up for party games, so I sat in the corner on my phone. Nobody bothered to ask, "Chloe, you don't mind, do you?"

They all knew I wouldn't. Throughout our seven-year marriage, no matter what Kyle did, I was always the one soothing his temper and keeping the peace.

When the card reached Kyle and Gina, it dropped.

They leaned right in and kissed. A deep, passionate kiss that lasted five suffocating minutes, oblivious to the entire room.

Zack couldn't watch anymore. He called out, "Chloe, if you don't step in, they're going to get a room right here!"

I didn't flinch. I kept my eyes on my screen, reading up on prenatal care.

Kyle pulled away, panting, and smirked. "She’s carrying my baby. Even if I slept with someone else, she wouldn't leave."

I gave a faint smile. Yes, I was that good at enduring pain.

The crowd gasped, suddenly realizing I was pregnant. Shock and awkward whispers rippled through the room.

"Kyle treats her like dirt, and she's still having his kid?"

"Man, she really loves him."

"What kind of spell did Kyle put on this girl?"

"God, I wish I could find a wife as obedient as her."

I smiled quietly to myself. If you ever met a woman like me, it would be the curse of your life.

This baby wasn't for Kyle. It was for me.

When the doctor first confirmed my pregnancy, I never planned on telling Kyle. I had waited three agonizing years for this baby.

Three years ago, on our wedding anniversary, Kyle sat me down and said with dead seriousness:

"Gina is back in town. I thought I could move on, but I can't."

Gina had chosen the date perfectly. On our anniversary night, Kyle rushed out to welcome her back with their old college friends. I waited up until five in the morning, staring at a cold dinner. He never came home.

Kyle had never stayed out all night before. That was the moment I realized what Gina was to him: she was the one that got away.

She was the golden girl who made everyone else fade into the background. The first love I could never outshine, no matter how hard I tried for four years.

That very night, I made up my mind: the second I gave birth to a child, I was dumping him.

I used every trick in bed to keep him coming back to me instead of her, all for the sake of getting pregnant.

The day the test came back positive, he assumed I’d still be my usual docile self in bed.

He stumbled home from a networking event, smelling like bourbon. He was buzzed, but not blacked out, and he pinned me onto the mattress.

"You've been holding out for months," he mumbled against my neck. "Time to do your duties as a wife."