Release. Return.

My husband cheated on me with his secretary during my pregnancy.

In a fit of rage, I gathered his family and stormed the hotel room where they were staying. But during the chaotic confrontation, the secretary pushed me down the stairs, causing me to miscarry.

The devastating loss plunged me into a deep, dark depression, plagued by constant thoughts of ending my own life. My husband stepped down from his executive position, dedicating every single day to taking care of me. He blacklisted the secretary from the entire industry and swore he would spend the rest of his life making it up to me.

Three years passed, and I slowly began to piece my life back together.

On the day of my final recovery checkup, I took his car. When I turned on the automatic GPS to navigate home, the route took me to an upscale apartment complex directly across from our estate.

On the screen, the saved address was simply labeled: Home.

I realized then that his home was never with me, and I was never the one he loved.

Not far ahead, Nicholas was gently guiding a visibly pregnant Evelyn toward the entrance of the apartment building.

The tenderness on his face was identical to the expression he wore every time he coaxed me to take my medicine over the past three years.

But at this moment, the illusion shattered.

Every sweet word, every warm embrace, had been nothing but a carefully orchestrated lie.

Numbly, I picked up my phone and dialed the number pinned at the top of my contact list.

A few yards away, Nicholas paused. He freed one hand to answer the call, his voice dripping with his usual affectionate warmth.

"Fiona, honey, is your checkup finished?"

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. An emergency came up at the office today, so I couldn't make it to the hospital with you."

My gaze remained locked on the rearview mirror, watching the two of them leaning in close to one another. My voice felt incredibly dry, raspy as I spoke. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the office working overtime, of course. Do you want to do a video call?"

He knew I wouldn't. For three years, he had meticulously logged his daily schedule for me, even reporting what he ate for breakfast. But I had always kept a respectful distance. I didn't want to smother him, and I didn't want him to lose face in front of his employees.

Whenever he said he was working late, I never called to disturb him.

I had no idea he was using my trust to build a second life.

Through the glass, I saw him lean down, pressing his nose against Evelyn's cheek as if reassuring her not to be jealous.

My voice turned ice cold. "Really? Because I think I just saw you at the gates of our neighborhood."

The color drained from Nicholas's face instantly. He spun around, searching the surrounding street. When he couldn't spot me, his confidence returned.

"Fiona, you must have seen someone else. I'm literally in the middle of a conference room right now. My colleagues can back me up."

I cut him off. "Nicholas, do you really take me for an idiot?"

I pushed the car door open and stepped out.

The moment Nicholas saw me, his instinctive reaction was to pull Evelyn behind his back, shielding her from me. That single, defensive movement tore through whatever remained of my heart.

Evelyn clung to his arm, her eyes wide with carefully rehearsed terror. "Mrs. Montgomery, you can scream at me all you want. But my baby is innocent. Please, don't hurt my child. I'll kneel and beg for your forgiveness if that's what it takes."

She made a show of bending her knees, but before she could even lower herself, Nicholas pulled her back into his arms.

His voice was thick with panic. "Evelyn, you're pregnant!"

"You have to think about the baby, even if you don't care about your own body! I won't let anyone touch our child!"

Evelyn looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Even if that person is Fiona?"

Nicholas's response was instant and absolute. "Not even her."

Watching the theatrical display, the rage in my chest slowly subsided into a calm, hollow silence.

"So this is your choice, Nicholas," I said quietly. "Between me and this woman, you chose her."

Nicholas bit his lip, a flash of conflict crossing his eyes, but his voice remained firm. "I lost a child three years ago. I won't lose this one. Evelyn's baby will be protected."

"Fiona, please stop causing a scene. Once the baby is born safely, I will do whatever it takes to make this up to you."

A dry, bitter laugh escaped my lips.

He still remembered the child we lost three years ago. Yet his way of honoring that loss was to cherish the woman who caused it, giving her the very family he denied me.

How incredibly poetic.

When I looked at him again, my eyes were as still as a stagnant pond. "Nicholas, you don't deserve to mention that child."

I returned to our house, a place I had considered my sanctuary just an hour ago.

Staring at the massive wedding portrait hanging in the center of the living room, the happy, radiant smile on my face felt like a cruel joke.

I took the frame down, carried it out to the garden, and lit it with a lighter.

The flames slowly consumed our smiling faces, turning my love for Nicholas into a pile of black ash.

My phone vibrated. I expected a text from Nicholas, but it was an unknown number.

Mrs. Montgomery, your sudden appearance really gave me quite a fright. But Nicholas was so worried about me that he decided to move in with me until the baby is born. Thank you for stepping aside!

My fingers trembled slightly, but the devastation I expected didn't come.

I suddenly realized that my recovery was never going to come from a bottle of pills. It was going to come from seeing Nicholas for what he truly was, and leaving him.

Before I could delete the message, my mother's call came through.

"Fiona, how did the checkup go? Did the doctor say when you can stop taking those meds?"

Without waiting for my answer, she hurried on. "You've been in such a good mood lately, so you should probably stop taking them anyway. I heard those psychiatric drugs can affect your fertility. Nicholas's business is growing rapidly. You need to secure an heir before some other woman does. If you let someone else get ahead of you, you'll be left with nothing but tears."

"He might say he's not in a hurry, but what successful man doesn't want a son to inherit his hard work?"

In the three years since my miscarriage, I had brought up the idea of trying for another baby multiple times. But every single time, Nicholas had shut it down.

He told me pregnancy was too hard on my body, that we needed to wait until I was fully healed. He said he couldn't bear the thought of replacing our first child so quickly.

I had believed every word.

I had let myself drown in his tender care, even harboring a quiet sense of guilt. I had wondered if things would have been different if I hadn't been so impulsive, if I hadn't dragged his mother to that hotel room.

But I had forgotten a simple truth. Nicholas was the root cause of all of it. A leopard never changes its spots.

My mother was still rambling over the line, telling me that Nicholas had simply made a mistake that any man would make, urging me to let go of the past.

"Mom," I said, a faint, mocking smile touching my lips. "Nicholas is about to have a child. It's just not with me."

Before she could speak, I disconnected the call.

I scrolled through my contacts and found the number of the divorce lawyer I had consulted three years ago.

"Mr. Carter, I want to proceed with the divorce. Please draft a new agreement for me."

The line was quiet for a moment. "Mrs. Montgomery, I thought you had decided to reconcile. Why the sudden change?"

"My husband is having a baby," I replied. "With the same woman from three years ago. This time, I don't just want a divorce. I want him to leave with absolutely nothing."

After finalizing the details with the lawyer, I sent a message to my mother-in-law.

Though she had dropped hints about wanting a grandchild over the years, she had generally treated me well. When she first discovered Nicholas's affair three years ago, she had been so furious that she transferred a major portion of the family company's shares to my name, declaring she no longer had a son.

Even after I lost the baby, she had never asked for those shares back.

Mom, congratulations. You are about to become a grandmother. But the mother isn't me. I am divorcing Nicholas so they can have their family.

I set my phone down just as the sound of a car entering the garage echoed through the house.

The moment Nicholas walked through the door, his eyes fell on the charred remains of our wedding photo on the floor.

He frowned instantly. "Fiona, what is this? I just spoke with your therapist, and she said your depression was almost fully managed."

"Can we please stop with the drama? I'm only human, Fiona. I get exhausted too."

The sheer absurdity of his words nearly made me laugh. He was the one who had cheated, yet he was standing there playing the weary victim.

I didn't have the energy to argue. I turned to walk back into the house, but he caught my wrist.

"Fiona, whether you believe me or not, this baby with Evelyn was an accident."

"I wanted her to terminate the pregnancy, but the doctor said her body is too weak. If she loses this child, she might never be able to conceive again."

"You're a woman. You know what it feels like to lose a baby. Surely you can find some compassion for her, can't you?"

Hearing those words, the last of my restraint snapped. I raised my hand and delivered a sharp slap across his face.

"Nicholas, I am nothing like you," I spat, my voice shaking with disgust. "I will never show compassion to the woman who killed my child."

Nicholas had never been struck in his life. His expression darkened instantly, his jaw tightening.

Before he could speak, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, let go of my wrist, and stepped aside to answer it.

"What do you mean, divorce? I am not getting a divorce!"

"I will explain the situation to you in person, Mom. Don't worry, I'll talk to Fiona."

He hung up and turned back to me, his voice cold. "Fiona, do you really think that running to my mother and threatening divorce will force me to make Evelyn get an abortion?"

"Once Evelyn gives birth, if you're willing, we can raise the child as our own. If you don't want that, I will send her and the baby abroad."

"I know this is incredibly unfair to you, and I promise I will make it up to you once this is settled."

"For now, I'm going to stay at Evelyn's place to take care of her. You need some time to calm down."

"But rest assured, you will always be Mrs. Montgomery. You are the only woman I love."

Hearing the word love from his mouth made my stomach churn violently.

I rushed into the bathroom, leaning over the toilet as my body convulsed, throwing up everything I had eaten.

When I finished, Nicholas was by my side, gently helping me up with an expression of deep concern. "Fiona, what's wrong? Is your stomach upset? Let's go to the hospital."

I wiped my mouth, pulling away from his touch.

Before I could speak, his phone began to ring. It was a unique, high-pitched ringtone.

I had heard that specific tone multiple times over the past six months, sometimes during the day, but mostly in the dead of night.

When I had asked him about it, he told me it was a highly important prospective client. He said securing this deal would ensure a flawless financial report for the year, and the board would finally approve his appointment as chairman.

I had believed him.

Every time that phone rang, I had quietly brought the device to him and left the room to give him space.

But now, standing so close, I could hear the high-pitched voice coming through the receiver.

It wasn't a client. It was Evelyn.

"Nicholas, my stomach hurts so much. Is something wrong with the baby?"

In the next second, Nicholas shoved me aside, rushing toward the front door without a single backward glance.

"Fiona, Evelyn is having an emergency. I have to go."

"If your stomach is really hurting, take some medicine. I'll take you to the clinic once I make sure she's okay."

He vanished through the door.

He didn't see me collapse onto the cold tiles, a sharp, white-hot pain blooming in my abdomen as a dark red stain began to spread across my clothes.