Chapter 1

There was a hint of hesitation on the doctor's face as he uttered, "Sir, you did 'that' to Mrs. Jacobe's daughter as soon as the baby was born. Now, Mrs. Jacobe has lost a son again. Isn't that too cruel for a woman to bear?

"Mrs. Jacobe loves you… What will happen if she ever finds out you killed both of her children just to make room for your illegitimate son? How will you two have a future together?"

Lucian Jacobe was silent for a moment before speaking, his tone conflicted. "That's none of your concern. I'll marry Jenny in half a month.

"Summer will never know. Even if she does, it won't affect our family of three."

I felt as if a heavy hammer had struck my brain repeatedly, leaving my ears ringing in pain. As I stumbled back toward the bed, I heard Lucian's phone ring.

His phone was on loudspeaker.

"Mr. Jacobe, did I do a good job? I made sure to avoid harming the mother when I hit her. The damage was just enough to get rid of the child."

Lucian responded to the caller, but I couldn't make out his words. My heart was already in unbearable pain.

It turned out that Lucian had never forgotten Jennifer Slutter when she left him and went abroad. He even had a child with her after we were together.

If they loved each other so much, why did he agree to marry me? Why had he impregnated me twice?

He got rid of our firstborn to make way for their child. And now, his reason for getting rid of our second one was because he was afraid Jennifer would be sad.

"Summer? Why are you crying?" Lucian walked in and hurriedly wiped my tears to no avail. He grasped my cold hands resting on my abdomen. He must have thought that I was worried about my baby.

As his eyes turned red, he softly reassured me. "The doctor said they couldn't save the baby… But it's okay; we have Nyles. Once you recover, I'll take you back to the family home to see him. Don't worry about Mom and Dad—I'll talk to them. They'll let you see Nyles."

An unbearable pain gripped my chest when I saw his reddened eyes.

Just last week, he had skipped an important meeting to accompany me for a checkup, saying that since we had missed out on raising our first child together, we had to raise our second one properly.

Which of Lucian's words were ever true?

Seeing that I was crying so hard I couldn't speak, Lucian silently held my hand and kissed it again and again, trying to comfort me.

After a while, his phone vibrated. He took it out, glanced at the screen, and his lips curled slightly.

"Honey, you're crying so much. It's breaking my heart. There's an urgent matter at the company. I'll call for a private nurse and a nutritionist. Just tell them whatever you need."

With that, he left in a hurry.

After a long time, I pulled out my phone and clicked the social media open.

Before our marriage, Lucian was known as a notorious playboy who never dated anyone for more than three months. But after deciding to marry me, he had completely changed. He even replaced his female secretary with a man.

He had laughed, saying he could withstand any tests. At the time, he even shared his phone's lock screen password with me.

The more he acted this way, the less I felt the need to check on him.

I had only just logged into his social media account a few days ago. I found that he followed only one person—Jennifer.

Jennifer had posted many photos and videos of herself with Lucian and Nyles Jacobe.

I had assumed that Nyles resented me because I hadn't been able to stand up to his grandparents and bring him home.

But in truth, he had always known that I wasn't his mother.

"Luce," Jennifer wrote. "I can't believe you really settled down and stayed loyal to just one woman. Congratulations on passing my test. I've decided to return and marry you."

Lucian replied, "I've been waiting for this day to come. I'll clear every obstacle in your way and welcome you home with a grand wedding!"

"But… what if your parents don't approve of us being together?"

Lucian reassured her, texting, "Don't worry. They can't stop us from being together. Besides, I've spent years turning them against Summer. They'd be happy if I brought home any other woman."

Reading their conversation, I felt completely hollow inside.

His years of loyalty and devotion had been for someone else. His love and tenderness had all been an act, just to win another woman's approval.

And when he said he would "clear every obstacle", he meant it—at the cost of our children's lives.

After a long silence, I dialed an Elatian number.

"Mom, given my situation… Will Ian still want to marry me?"

"You finally cut ties with that Jacobe boy? That's great!" Mom cheered. "Ian has been waiting for you."

"I'll marry him in half a month."

Back then, the Jacobe family had looked down on me and refused to approve of Lucian's and my marriage.

We had only hosted a small gathering with friends as our wedding dinner.

We never even registered our marriage.

Thus, it would be easy for us to part ways.