Chapter 1: The Words He Never Meant For Me To Hear
My husband ordered the doctors to remove my uterus while I was still sedated in the hospital, and his mistress showed up rubbing her pregnant belly.
"That baby will be my heir," he said.
I didn't cry.
I simply kept my medical records, called my lawyer, and had no idea that a hidden audio recording would reveal something even worse.
**PART 1**
"Once my wife is asleep again, remove her uterus.
I never want her to be able to get pregnant again."
I heard those words from the hospital hallway, still wearing my open hospital gown, my legs weak, my body trembling from losing my baby.
The voice belonged to Jared Harlan, my husband, the man who had sworn he would protect me even if the whole world fell apart.
I froze behind a half-open door.
The doctor didn't answer.
Jared lowered his voice, but not enough.
"Make up a diagnosis.
Can/cer, irreversible damage, whatever it takes.
Just do it.
And don't let Shelby suspect a thing."
Shelby was me.
Then Courtney Briggs appeared, an influencer who worked for Harlan Media, my husband's company.
She wore a fitted white dress with one hand resting on her barely visible baby bump.
Jared gently pulled her close in a way that no longer belonged to me.
"Give her the best prenatal care you have," he instructed.
"That baby will be the heir to the Harlan family."
I felt the ground vanish beneath my feet.
I didn't cry.
I didn't even scream.
I simply returned to my hospital room with a coldness that frightened even me.
On the bedside table sat the bouquet Jared had sent me, white roses with a card that read:
"You and I against the world, my love."
It made me want to throw up.
A young nurse stepped in smiling, completely unaware that I had just heard my own sentence.
"Mrs.
Harlan, you're so lucky.
Mr.
Harlan reserved the entire floor just for you.
He hasn't left your side for a single minute.
When you lost the baby, he cried like a child.
Honestly, very few women have a husband like him."
I stared out the window.
Outside, the city carried on as usual, completely indifferent while my marriage quietly bled to d*ath.
A few minutes later, Jared rushed into the room.
The moment he saw me awake, he hurried over and wrapped me in his arms.
"Where were you?
I almost lost my mind.
I thought something had happened to you."
His fear looked real.
That was the cruelest part.
He held out a cup filled with a dark-colored medicine.
"Drink this, sweetheart.
It'll help you recover.
We can always try again."
Try again.
The words cut through me like a knife.
"I don't want it," I said.
For just a second, his eyes hardened.
"Shelby, don't be stubborn.
You've always wanted to give me a child."
I snatched the cup from his hand and hurled it against the wall.
The dark liquid splashed across the white floor like spilled ink.
"I said no."
Jared took a deep breath before turning to the nurse.
"Leave us alone."
That's the last thing I remember before feeling a sharp sting in my arm.
The room spun.
His face blurred.
Then darkness swallowed me.
When I woke up, it was morning.
The pain in my abdomen felt different.
Deeper.
Emptier.
With trembling hands, I lifted the blanket and saw a fresh surgical scar running across my stomach.
Jared sat beside my bed with red, tear-filled eyes.
"Honey, there were complications.
They found can/cerous cells in your uterus.
I had to authorize the surgery to save your life."
He handed me a sealed medical file.
Everything looked legal.
Everything looked perfect.
But I had already heard the truth.
Just then, the door opened.
Courtney walked in carrying a fruit basket, smiling as though she were arriving at a family celebration.
"Sorry to interrupt.
I came to visit Mrs.
Harlan."
Jared didn't ask her to leave.
He simply squeezed my hand.
And beneath the blanket, while pretending to comfort me, his fingers trembled because they longed to touch her instead.
That was the moment I realized the worst part wasn't losing my womb.
It was discovering that the person destr0ying my life slept beside me every night.
And he still had no idea what I was about to do.
---
What will Shelby do when she has the hidden recording in her hands β and Jared still thinks she knows nothing?
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Comment **"YES"** if you want Part 2.
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