Chapter 1

The sharp pain in my abdomen was a constant reminder. C-section. My baby girl, Lily, was safe in the nursery, the nurses said. But Mark, my husband, wasn't here.

He was supposed to be.

"He got called away," a kind nurse told me earlier, her voice soft. "A critical business trip, he said. Innovatech couldn't wait."

Innovatech. Our startup. My algorithms. His stage.

The door to my private room opened. It was Mark.

Finally.

But his face was cold, no warmth for me, no questions about Lily.

He held out a folder.

"Sarah," he said, his voice flat. "Sign these."

I looked at the papers. Divorce.

"What?" My voice was a dry whisper. The anesthesia still made my head fuzzy.

"Chloe is pregnant," Mark stated, no emotion. "I need to protect her and our child. This needs to be clean. Sign it."

Chloe. His intern. Early twenties.

The words hit me harder than the surgical pain.

He stood there, waiting, the celebrated CEO, my husband.

He chose her. He chose their unborn child over me, over Lily, our Lily.

The room felt suddenly very cold. My groundbreaking work, years of my life, poured into him, into Innovatech, and this was the return.

Betrayal. It was a physical ache, deep and sickening.

He didn't even ask about our daughter.