Chapter 1

"Get me the best doctor here, right now!"

As I stepped out of the staff-only elevator, I was hit with the sight of my husband, Nelson Fairclough, throwing a fit outside the operating room.

What the hell is he doing here?

He'd told me just this morning that he was on a business trip and wouldn't be able to celebrate our seventh anniversary with me.

Before I could wrap my head around it, he yelled at the nurse again.

"You better save my wife and baby, or I'll make sure this hospital goes bankrupt!"

I froze.

His wife? The words hit me like a freight train. If she's the one in there, then who am I?

The realization crashed down on me. I'd been played.

I was still standing there in shock when a young doctor rushed over.

"Dr. Fairclough, you're just in time. All the senior surgeons are tied up. We need you in the OR now!"

I took a deep breath, my heart hammering in my chest, and walked toward the operating room.

Nelson stepped in my way, his voice dripping with arrogance.

"Are you the lead surgeon?"

I blinked, taken aback. He didn't recognize me?

After seven years of marriage, he can't even recognize his wife, even with a surgical cap and mask on?

Then it hit me—he never expected me to be here.

I had been temporarily assigned to this small-town hospital as part of an exchange program a month ago. I told Nelson, but it was clear he wasn't paying attention. He was too busy on his phone.

From behind my mask, I said as coolly as I could, "Please step aside, Sir."

I pushed past him.

Nelson shouted after me, "There aren't any men in there, right? My wife's body isn't for other men to see!"

I silently cursed him, disgusted by his possessiveness. But at the same time, a wave of curiosity hit me. Who is this woman he's so desperate to protect?

After scrubbing in, I entered the OR. A pregnant woman lay pale and fragile on the operating table.

The moment I saw her face, my chest tightened.

It was Olivia Hilton—the wife of Edmund Hilton, Nelson's cousin.

Edmund was a soldier, always off on duty. Olivia had frequently called Nelson with excuses—something was broken, the plumbing was acting up, you name it.

I'd been so absorbed in my work, I never questioned it. But now, the truth was glaring at me. They'd been having an affair behind my back.

The nurse handed me Olivia's chart.

She was eight months pregnant. Her contractions had been triggered by... sexual activity during pregnancy.

I flipped through the chart, my mind racing. Edmund had been gone for almost a year.

Could this baby be Nelson's?

The thought made my stomach churn.

Memories rushed back.

Nelson and I had been trying for years to get pregnant, but nothing ever worked. My cycles were all over the place, and last year, I suggested Nelson get tested. He refused flat out. Insisted he was fine. Even his mother, Rosina, sided with him.

Now I get it. He's already gotten someone else pregnant.

It hit me then—Rosina must've known this whole time.

"Dr. Fairclough," my assistant's voice broke through my thoughts, "should we prep for a C-section?"

I checked the fetal heart rate and ultrasound. The baby was far enough along to survive outside the womb.

The irony, I thought bitterly. I'm about to deliver the child of the woman sleeping with my husband.

But as a doctor, I had no choice.

I took a steadying breath. "Yes. Prep for anesthesia."

As we started preparations, Olivia suddenly screamed, "I want my husband here! I don't want to do this alone!"

The nurse tried to calm her.

"Ms. Hilton, that's against protocol..."

"Why not? I've seen husbands in the delivery room on TV!"

After the anesthesia kicked in, Olivia's contractions eased, and she started shouting again, this time more forcefully.

"I don't care! My husband is a big shot! If you don't let him in, you'll regret it!"

I thought bitterly, Your real husband is a soldier, Olivia. Nelson's just your lover. How shameless.

Clearly, neither Olivia nor Nelson cared a thing about their marriages. They called each other husband and wife with no hesitation.

"I won't deliver unless my husband is here!" Olivia declared.