Chapter 1

My mercenary husband Jax spent a night in the jungle with his drugged teammate Selene. Seven times, he claimed, he had to be with her to "burn the poison out."

When he returned, carrying her half-naked body, he knelt before me.

"Iris, Selene was poisoned trying to save me. I have to help her!"

After that, every time Selene was "drugged," my husband would run to her. Six months later, he came to me with the ultimate plea.

"Iris, Selene is pregnant with my child! You know you can't have kids. So once it's born, I'll bring it to you. You can raise it as your own."

Agony twisted my heart. I swallowed back the tears and forced out a calm, "Okay."

The crumpled pregnancy test report I'd hidden in my hand was tossed into the fire pit.

Flames danced, and Selene coughed twice from the smoke.

Jax immediately pulled her into his embrace, frowning at me.

"Iris, Selene has promised me she'll hand the baby over to you once it's born. You don't need to threaten her. She won't come between us."

I poked at the ashes in the basin, letting the smoke sting my eyes, a convenient cover for the redness already there.

I spoke calmly. "Jax, let's get a divorce."

Jax reached out anxiously, trying to pull me closer, pleading again.

"Iris, don't make a scene, okay? Selene took a bullet for me, and then she was forced to take a toxic injection to save me. I owe her my life. Giving her a child in return isn't asking too much!"

His tone was humble, but every word defended Selene.

Seeing my expression, the others couldn't stay silent either.

Jax's brothers also began to plead with me.

"Yeah, Selene is pregnant. The only right thing for Jax to do now is marry her!"

"Iris, you're a homemaker. You don't understand how dangerous it was for Selene to save Jax from under a gun. We all saw her sacrifices for him."

"If you ask me, Jax should just marry Selene!"

"Shut up!" Jax roared, cutting them off. "Iris will always be my only wife! As for Selene, I'll compensate her."

He looked down at the pregnant woman in his arms, a look of involuntary tenderness and concern on his face.

A bitter taste rose in my throat. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

The others might not know, but Jax did.

I, too, once fought by his side. I even took a knife for him.

That time, I was in a coma for three months. When I woke up, he knelt by my hospital bed, his eyes red, begging me to resign my commission and never risk my life again.

He promised he'd protect me forever. Now, he was kneeling before me again, but it was to protect another woman.

I turned and walked away in silence.

Jax quickly followed.

"It's cold out, don't catch a chill." He gently draped his coat over my shoulders, then tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

His warm scent on the coat instantly enveloped me.

I touched my lower abdomen, almost telling him I was pregnant too, but his words cut me off.

"Iris, Selene gets cold easily. Let her have the climate-controlled villa in the suburbs. You can go rest on the island for a while."

My words were stuck in my throat, swallowed back down.

He'd built that climate-controlled villa specifically for me after I took the knife for him, leaving me with chronic issues. Living there felt like spring all year round.

But the island villa was exposed to sea winds from all sides; my body couldn't handle it.

We'd only stayed there for a few days during our honeymoon. We never went back, and it had been abandoned for ages.

He used to offer me all the best things. Now he wanted me to give them to Selene.

His heart was no longer with me.

I lowered my eyes and murmured, "Okay."

Jax happily kissed my forehead. "Iris, you're always so understanding."