[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":9},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260311FB68BF-5":3},{"id":4,"number":4,"name":5,"content":6,"isLocked":7,"price":8,"hasRead":7},5,"Chapter 5: Breaking Free from a Hollow Vow","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I yanked my hand free from his grip.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">His fake affection turned my stomach.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Even if I was starving for love, even if the universe itself seemed to hate me, I didn't want his.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My hand instinctively flew to my belly.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A tiny spark of life was just starting to glow there.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin had no clue.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It wasn't like I was deliberately keeping it a secret; he'd probably forgotten the day I dragged him to the hospital, gushing about a surprise he was supposed to get.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I even started to wonder if Benjamin had ever actually liked me, back when Sophia was out of the picture.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Had I just been a placeholder all along?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And now Sophia was back, flaunting another man's baby like it was some kind of power move.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She could still snatch everything Benjamin had away from me without even breaking a sweat.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The thought hit me, and I let out a bitter laugh, tears finally breaking free.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I twisted the wedding band off my finger and held it out to Benjamin.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Benjamin, we're done. Let's get a divorce. Stop letting people label Sophia as the 'other woman.' Go take care of her, properly,\" I said, my voice flat, devoid of any feeling.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">His face contorted, his eyes narrowing into daggers, like he wanted to rip me to shreds.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">All these years, I'd bent over backward for him, playing the submissive wife.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He probably figured I was so conditioned to groveling that I wouldn't dare to bite back.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A beat of silence stretched, then he exploded.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Nora, have you lost your damn mind? I don't deal in second chances!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I gave him a chilling look and flicked the ring at him.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Benjamin, I will never regret this.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">With that, I turned and walked away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin, I'm pregnant. You don't deserve to know.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">You deserve to raise another man's kid.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I moved out. That house, once our home, now felt as cold and unfeeling as a walk-in freezer.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Inside, all I felt was a bone-deep chill.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I'd poured my heart and soul into this for years, and in the end, I still didn't have a real home.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But hey, if love wasn't on the menu, a fat bank account would have to suffice.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And now, I had the money.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The little one growing inside me, once a dream, was now something I couldn't bear to keep.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I needed to cut every last tie with Benjamin.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I actually wondered if Benjamin would feel even a tiny bit of... pain.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He never came looking for me. He and Sophia had already built their new \"perfect\" home.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The private investigator I hired sent me a video.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He'd bought Sophia a house. Two hundred grand.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">They were everywhere together, the picture of domestic bliss.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Fine. I’d get that money back in the divorce.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">We hadn't bothered with a prenup.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">What had Benjamin said back then?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Oh yeah.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He’d said, \"No prenup. You're my wife. What's mine is yours. We'll love each other forever, 'til we're old and gray.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Too bad it was all just sweet talk.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The day before my abortion, I cried myself dry.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My grandmother had been gone for years.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">This baby would have been my only blood relative left in the world, but I couldn't keep it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I could be tough with a cheating husband, but facing the father of my child? That was a whole other story.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I was terrified I couldn't give this child the kind of wholehearted love it deserved.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Afraid it would grow up in a loveless environment, just like I had.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">So, it was better if it never entered this world at all.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I remembered the only thing my grandmother had left me before she passed – a single silver chain bracelet. It had been on Benjamin’s wrist. I had to get it back.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">When I got to the company, Sophia was already there.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin looked like hell, dark circles under his eyes, utterly drained, like he hadn’t slept in days.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maybe it was my imagination, but for a split second when he saw me, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But his wrist was bare. The bracelet was long gone.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Where's my bracelet? Give it back!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I stared Benjamin down, my voice like ice.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He instinctively reached for his wrist, then realized it wasn't there.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Just then, Sophia sauntered over, slinging an arm around his, putting on a performance.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"The bracelet... I threw it away! Last night, you were so drunk, clutching that bracelet and crying your eyes out. I asked you what it was. If it wasn't important, I figured I'd just toss it...\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You mumbled something about it not being important.\"\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272933093]