Chapter 1
Fresh from her postpartum confinement, Amelia Austin took her newborn daughter to the Social Security Administration to register her Social Security Number.
“Hello, I’d like to register the name Finn Robinson for my baby.”
The clerk typed for a moment, then frowned deeper and deeper. “That can’t be right. There’s already a child named Finn Robinson listed under Edmond Robinson’s household registry.”
Amelia froze, thinking she’d misheard. “That’s impossible. Our daughter was only born a month ago!”
Before the words had fully left her mouth, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She unlocked the screen to see a message from Edmond’s assistant, Blanche Flores.
Attached was a photo-Edmond’s left arm wrapped around Blanche’s waist, his right cradling a boy who looked about five or six. The three of them were standing outside a kindergarten, smiling like the picture of domestic bliss.
Pinned to the boy’s chest was a school ID tag. “Finn Robinson,” it read, clear as day.
A message followed right after:
[Miss Austin, how does it feel to be the other woman? You’ll spend the rest of your life living in the shadow of the real wife
-me.]
It felt like a steel vise had clamped around her heart. Amelia’s fingertips trembled as she spoke to the officer.
“Could you… check Edmond Robinson’s marriage record for me?”
The printer spat out a page. Though light, it landed in her hand with the crushing weight of a sledgehammer. In the “spouse” column next to Edmond’s name, it read: Blanche Flores. The marriage had been registered seven years ago.
“Ma’am, would you still like to proceed with your daughter’s registration?” the clerk asked. His voice felt like it came from
miles away.
Amelia looked down at her baby, peacefully asleep in her arms, and forced a bitter smile.
“Register her under my name,” she said softly. “And… change her name, too.”
Amelia walked out of the station on legs that felt like jelly. Her phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message from
Edmond.
[Hey babe, still stuck in meetings. I’ll be home later to spend time with you and the baby.]
“Babe.” She almost laughed.
He’d called her that every day of their marriage. He never forgot to check in when leaving for work or give her a hug when
coming home. Every little act of tenderness, once so cherished, now felt like barbed wire.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, her hands shook so badly she couldn’t get the key into the ignition.
She’d always known how the world of the wealthy worked-most high-society couples played by their own rules. But Edmond had been the exception.
Once, at an event, when a young lady of note had insulted her in front of everyone, Edmond bankrupted her entire family the very next day and forced them to leave the city. He remembered her casually admiring a limited-edition boutique piece.
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That same night, he’d flown halfway across the globe to get it, just to make her smile.
But what haunted her most was the time of a hospital mix-up during a routine checkup. The nurse had handed him a report claiming she had late-stage kidney failure.
Edmond’s face had gone white. He grabbed the doctor’s coat and shouted like a madman:
“Take mine! Take both my kidneys! If she dies, I’m going with her!”
It turned out to be a mistake. And that cold, ruthless businessman had sat in the hallway, sobbing like a child:
“Thank God, Amy. You’re okay. That’s all that matters…”
People warned her: the more powerful Edmond became, the more temptations would surround him. But he’d always treated her so well, so earnestly, that doubt never had a place in her heart.
So why Blanche?
Edmond used to look down on her more than anyone. Blanche had been the Austins’ maid. One day, she brought Edmond
coffee while wearing a low-cut dress:
He shattered the cup on the spot and barked:
“Don’t play cheap tricks in front of me. Don’t bother coming back tomorrow.”
Then he pulled Amelia into his arms, eyes burning with intensity.
“Amy, you’re the only one I want. I won’t tolerate filth like her around you.”
Blanche had crumpled to her knees, sobbing and begging for mercy.
“I only love Amelia. I don’t entertain garbage. Don’t ever show your face to me again.”
She’d packed up and left that same day.
A few months later, Edmond hired her back as his personal assistant. He told Amelia:
“She lost her job, and her family was going to marry her off to some old creep. She started threatening suicide. I’d rather keep her under my watch than risk her stirring up trouble.”
Amelia had believed him. Never would she have guessed that the two of them had been sneaking around under her nose
for six whole years-and had a child together.
Clenching her jaw against the sting behind her eyes, Amelia called a private investigator.
Thirty minutes later, a video came in with a GPS pin. She drove straight to the location.
Edmond wasn’t in a meeting. He’d just come from Finn’s kindergarten parent-teacher conference.
Hand in hand with Blanche, their son in his arms, the three of them crossed the street like a picture-perfect family. The soft smile on Edmond’s face was more genuine than any family photo they’d ever taken-and it sliced through her like glass.
Amelia tailed them to a gated suburban villa.
She watched Edmond get out of the car first, lifting a huge box of toys from the trunk. The boy squealed in delight and ran
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off with the loot. Blanche leaned into Edmond, teasing, “You spoil him too much.”
“He’s my son. Who else should I spoil?” Edmond grinned and kissed her on the lips. “He won the most gold stars today. Made me proud.”
Blanche’s eyes welled up. “Thank you, Ed, for enrolling him in the best private school. I never thought…”
She hesitated, voice trembling. “When I got pregnant, it was an accident. I never planned to intrude. I only wanted to
watch from afar. We were never going to ruin things for you and Amelia-”
“Stop it.” Edmond cupped her cheek, voice firm but low.
“She’ll never know. Besides, you are the one on my marriage license. Of course I’ll take care of you and Finn. You’re my family.”
Blanche finally smiled through her tears. Edmond leaned closer and murmured something in her ear that made her blush
bright red. Then he swept her into his arms and carried her inside.
Amelia sat frozen in her car, feeling like her heart had been sawed open with a dull blade. She barely remembered how she drove back home.
That night, Edmond returned as usual. As soon as he stepped inside, he opened his arms for a hug.
“Babe, did you wait long? Tired from taking care of the baby today?”
Amelia quietly shifted to the side. “About our daughter’s registration…”
“I’ll handle that later,” he cut her off sharply. Then, softening his tone: “Those procedures are a nightmare. You just got through recovery-leave it to me, okay?”
She nodded, lashes lowered. She didn’t tell him their daughter was already registered under her name.
She also didn’t mention the call she made on the way home.
To Edmond’s most hated rival. Holding her phone steady, her voice calm but resolute, she said:
“I’m still single. If you’re still willing-seven days from now, I’ll marry you.”
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