Chapter 1

I was eight months pregnant, and I was slaving over lunch in the greasy kitchen.

Before going out this morning, my husband, Levi West, told me that a friend was coming over for lunch, and he'd specifically instructed me that lunch was to be a huge feast.

"A very important person is coming later. You must make the whole feast from scratch and make sure every bite is clean and healthy!"

So, I worked hard at preparing the ingredients and making lunch in the kitchen from 5:00 am until noon. I was covered in a thick layer of sweat.

The door opened just then, and Levi entered the house with a newborn baby in his arms. He then yelled to me in the kitchen, "Where's the lamb stew I told you to make? Bring out a bowl!

"Audie just gave birth and needs to replenish her body with nutrients!"

I was stunned when I saw the beautiful newcomer following Levi through the door. It was none other than Claudia Evans, Levi's first love.

I didn't know what was going on. My mind was in a blur. Meanwhile, Claudia just looked at me like she was the lady of the house instead and I was her maid.

"Thank you, Ms. Freeman. Make sure you get rid of all the grease when you bring it to me.

"I'm not breastfeeding, but the nanny Lev hired to look after me during my postpartum period was such a wonderful cook that I put on a lot of weight!"

Claudia grabbed Levi's hand and placed it on her dainty waist. Then, she pretended to be mad at him as she chided, "It's all your fault! You made her spend 100,000 dollars on my food for a whole month. I'm plump now, thanks to you!"

A hundred thousand dollars per month?

What?

Levi was the one who ordered it?

I widened my eyes in shock. He had been the first one to oppose when I suggested to him that I would like to hire a postpartum nanny to care for me after I'd given birth.

"You're just a country girl! Who do you think you are to have the right to order people around? You've got hands and feet, so why can't you care for yourself? If you really can't handle it, then my mom can take care of you for a few days!

"Don't you know how expensive postpartum nannies are? Did you think my money grew on trees?"

Levi had just changed jobs at the start of the year, and he'd been appointed as the manager there. His salary was ten thousand dollars a month, just enough for us to live on. We were fairly comfortable, but we still couldn't afford luxuries or any other extravagant spending.

I had then told him that I had some savings that I didn't mind using on myself, but his face had turned black at the mere mention of it.

He then chided me, saying that it would be expensive to bring up our child in the future, and we had to save for times like those. He then yelled at me for not planning for the future.

"We're just a regular household with just about enough to break even! Learn how to live within your means!"

Levi refused to hire a nanny for me, yet he was more than willing to splurge 100,000 dollars on Claudia in just a month.

But most importantly, where did he get the money from?

"Levi, where did you get so much money for that?"

He just answered matter-of-factly, "Didn't you have 200,000 dollars in a fixed deposit under my name? I just took it from there."

That was the money I had been saving for Grandma to renovate her farm!

I could feel my blood boil at that instant.

"Levi West! How dare you use my money on your ex's baby!"

Claudia suddenly looked at me with her "innocent" wide eyes and said, "Oh, but didn't you know, Ms. Freeman? Lev is my baby's daddy!"

She cocked her eyebrow and continued provoking me. "It's all thanks to Lev for becoming a donor for me that I'd get to know how it feels like to be a mom even after losing my husband."

The kitchen hood continued humming in the background while I felt as though my brain had just exploded and was being sucked dry by it.

"Levi West! What is the meaning of this?" I screamed at him.

I had been married to him for two years and had been pregnant with his baby for eight months. My due date was approaching, yet he already had a baby with his first love.

I'd lost control of my voice as I shrieked at him, and the volume immediately woke up the baby sleeping in Levi's arms.

Claudia frowned, feeling sorry for the baby.

"Ms. Freeman, I know country shrews like you like talking in loud voices, but we'll be having a baby in the house, so you need to change your ways!"

Levi comforted the baby and continued chiding me. "Audie's right. You should change all of your bad habits. You always act like a crazy nut all the time with your screaming and yelling!"

"It's okay, sweetie. Did the bad lady wake you up? Daddy will beat her up and protect you, okay? He'll protect sweetie and Mommy…" Claudia cooed.

Levi seemed to get triggered when Claudia called him her baby's "Daddy". He actually raised his hand and slapped me on my back.

"Don't cry anymore, sweetie! Daddy's beating up the bad lady, see?"

Levi hit me really hard. The moment he hit me, I could feel a warm liquid trickling out of my nether regions.

Claudia then stared at me in great shock. "Ms. Freeman! Did you just pee your pants?"