Chapter 2

That evening, Ethan came home in time for dinner—a rare occurrence.

“Why haven’t you turned on the lights?”

I didn’t know how I had gotten home from the hospital. Since returning, I had curled up on the couch.

My mind replayed the five years from the day Ethan and I met, to the day we fell in love, to the day we got married.

Ethan bent down and slipped his hand beneath my shirt, gently rubbing my stomach.

His warm breath brushed my neck as his low voice sounded beside my ear.

“Does it still hurt?”

After ten straight days of hormone injections, the skin around my belly button was covered in tiny needle marks.

I shouldn’t have had to endure any of this. But Ethan had a low sperm count, and our chances of conceiving naturally were extremely slim.

I slapped his hand away, sat up, and stared into his eyes.

He froze for two seconds before letting out a soft laugh.

“Ava, what’s wrong? Who made you angry? Why are you looking so serious?”

“Was the dance performance good?”

“Huh?” His brows pulled together. He clearly hadn’t expected me to ask that.

“Ethan, if you were truly busy with work, I could understand why you didn’t come to the hospital with me. But what about the truth?”

“I was at the hospital, enduring the pain of an embryo transfer, while you were enjoying a dance performance. If I hadn’t seen that fan’s post, I would still be completely in the dark!”

“Ava, you misunderstood. My assistant and I were handling some business near the theater. We were waiting for the driver to bring the car around when we happened to see the sign outside. We got curious and went inside for a look. We were out in less than ten minutes.”

He looked completely sincere.

If I hadn’t seen Chloe’s post, I might have believed his lies.

I might even have felt guilty for doubting him.

But I still didn’t have the courage to confront him and say that I knew everything—everything about him and Chloe.

Ethan and I met at a friend’s party five years ago.

At the time, he was a rising pop star, and I was already one of the most popular young actresses in the country.

After the party, he pursued me relentlessly.

Two years later, we fell in love and got married.

At our wedding, he sang a song he had written especially for me.

After we married, he continued to dote on me. He was patient, accepting, and gave me all the security I needed.

But over the past year, his workload had increased, while the time he spent with me had steadily decreased.

My instincts told me that something subtle had changed between us.

Before, I had thought it might all be in my head.

But now?

Ethan went into the bathroom to shower. My phone rang, and I glanced at the screen.

【8:10 p.m.—Watch your husband’s new show.】

I had set the reminder a few days ago.