Chapter 1My husband Colby handed me a boba tea. I took a few gulps and next thing I knew—
I'd PISSED myself. Right there in the mall.
His assistant Octavia was practically dying laughing, phone out, recording the whole damn thing.
"Colby, told you! One kidney left, hits her with a diuretic—boom! Didn't stand a chance!"
She smirked. "Tonight. Penthouse suite. Don't be late~"
Colby looked at me—soaked, humiliated—and actually high-fived her.
"Fine. A bet's a bet."
They walked into the elevator together. Leaving me standing there alone.
Pants soaked through. Yellow puddle at my feet.
Everyone scattered. The smell was that bad.
I didn't chase after him.
Instead, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't used in years.
That very night, hundreds of bodyguards surrounded Octavia's house.
I pressed the blade against her cheek and asked, real calm:
"Wanna make a bet with me too?"
"Guess where this knife goes first."
"Your face..."
"...or straight through your heart?"
...
Octavia stared at the knife, face drained of color. But she still tried to play it cool.
"Touch me, Sabine. I dare you."
"Colby won't let this slide."
Even now, she was so sure he'd protect her.
I pressed the blade just slightly.
It grazed her ear. A lock of hair fell.
"Relax."
"I'm not here to kill you."
"Just returning the favor. Same game you played with me this afternoon."
I nodded at the guards. They opened a box on the table.
Inside—rows and rows of boba teas.
"You like watching people squirm, right?"
"Drink."
Octavia pressed her lips together. Didn't move.
The guard was about to shove a cup in her face when the door slammed open.
"Stop!"
Colby barged in with his lawyer and building security.
First thing he did? Check if Octavia was okay.
Once he saw no blood, he immediately shielded her.
"Sabine, what the hell is wrong with you?!"
Octavia pointed at the hair on the floor.
"Colby, she came at me with a knife. Tried to make me drink God knows what."
"If you'd been any later, my face would be ruined!"
Colby's expression went ice cold.
"Okay, yes—Octavia went too far this afternoon."
"But you already made a scene at the mall. Did you really need to bring a damn army to her door?!"
"She has a heart condition, Sabine. You could kill her. You get that?!"
Whoa. He remembered Octavia's heart condition.
But forgot I only had one kidney left.
Three years ago, I took three bullets protecting him. Lost a kidney because of it.
The doctor warned me—over and over—
I couldn't mess with anything that throws off my electrolytes. Ever.
Now looking at him, I didn't argue. Just asked:
"Who put the diuretic in the tea?"
Colby hesitated.
Octavia didn't.
"Oh, I bought the pills. Colby just made sure you finished it."
She shrugged, grinning. "Teamwork. Couldn't have done it without him."
Colby frowned. "Octavia."
She just shrugged again. Clearly didn't give a damn about what I'd been through.
I kept going.
"And the fact that I sometimes lose control after surgery—you told her that?"
This time? No hesitation.
"I mentioned it once. That's it."
"Didn't think she'd actually remember."
I let out a cold laugh.
Seven months ago, post-op complications messed up my bladder nerves.
The first time I lost control, I locked myself in the bathroom for two hours.
Colby sat outside the door the whole time, telling me over and over:
"Sabine, it's not your fault."
"You're only like this because you saved me."
"No one else will ever know. I swear. I'll never let anyone use this against you."
That day, he changed my clothes himself. Held me all night.
I thought it was the one secret between us that would never be betrayed.
But now?
Octavia didn't just know—she'd set up cameras in advance, waiting to catch me pissing myself in public.
She pulled out her phone and waved it in my face.
The video had already been shared tens of thousands of times.
The comments were brutal. Mocking my body. My dignity.
People turned my face into memes.
Made jokes about what kind of disgusting disease I must have.
Colby glanced at it once.
"The internet forgets everything."
"Give it a few days. No one's gonna remember you."
Easy for him to say.
He wasn't the one being filmed. Humiliated. Turned into a punchline.
I had the guards push the drinks back toward Octavia.
"I'm not trying to ruin her life."
"Delete the video. Apologize to me publicly. Drink one cup."
"And we're done."
Colby grabbed the cup and threw it straight in the trash.
"She's not drinking it."
"And you're not touching her."
He paused.
"She's pregnant. The baby's mine."
Chapter 2
The room went dead silent.
I stared at Octavia's stomach. Couldn't say a word.
Octavia stepped out from behind him, pulling out an ultrasound printout.
"Sabine, easy now. You don't want to upset me too much."
She gently touched her stomach. "I mean... I am carrying Colby's baby."
"Something happens to me or this kid? He's not gonna forgive you."
Colby didn't deny it.
He even turned around and told Octavia to stay away from the drinks—just in case she touched something she shouldn't.
Only after he was sure she was safe did he look back at me.
His tone? Ice cold. Like closing a deal.
"That day I went with you for your checkup, Octavia was waiting for me at the hospital."
"She dared me. Said if we kissed in the stairwell, you'd never catch on."
He paused. "One thing led to another. Baby wasn't planned. But it's here now. I'm keeping it."
He stepped closer and adjusted my collar. Gentle. Like he used to be.
But the words that came out made him unrecognizable.
"Sabine, we both grew up in this world."
"Marriage? Love? They're not the same thing. Men keep people on the side. Always have."
"You were raised to run an empire. You should know when to make noise and when to stay quiet."
I looked at him and suddenly remembered years ago.
He used to hate this shit.
His father always had someone new on his arm.
His mom held the wife title. Ran the company single-handedly.
Even when she was dying in a hospital bed, his dad was off with some model.
The day she died, nineteen-year-old Colby stood outside her hospital room all night.
The next morning, he took my hand and said:
"Sabine, I'll never become my father."
At twenty-three, his family set up a perfect match for him on paper.
He broke it off in front of everyone. Took my hand. Walked out.
Dozens of relatives screaming behind us. Black cars lined up outside.
He never looked back.
That night, they froze his accounts. Took his properties. Stripped his position.
I brought him to my apartment.
For two years, I helped him close deals, find investors, pull all-nighters.
When his stomach issues flared up,
I canceled an overseas project and cooked for him every day for six months.
When his company nearly collapsed,
I gave him everything my company had. Convinced my family to back him.
When someone tried to kill him, I took the bullet. Lost a kidney.
Later, he signed a fidelity agreement in front of my entire family.
Crystal clear.
If he cheated, everything—his shares, his trust fund, his offshore assets—would go to me.
Everyone told him not to sign.
But Colby handed me the pen, grinning.
"Go ahead. Sign it."
"You'll never need it anyway. I would never betray you."
I believed him.
So when he needed money, I gave him money.
When he needed my family's support, I made sure he had it.
The day he became CEO, he told every reporter:
"Everything I have, Sabine gave me."
"She's the only wife I'll ever have."
And now?
He still had everything I gave him.
And he'd finally become the man he used to despise.
Chapter 3
When I didn't respond, Colby assumed I'd accepted it.
His voice softened.
"Once the baby's born, I'll set Octavia up with a place and some money."
"She won't move into our house. Won't touch your position."
"Publicly, you'll still be my only wife."
Octavia leaned against the table, lazily spinning car keys.
"See, Sabine? You're still the one Colby needs most."
She tilted her head, smirking. "I'm totally fine just seeing him when I can."
She said it like she was being generous. But her eyes? Pure victory.
I guess in their minds, I was supposed to be like Colby's mom—swallow it all for appearances.
Fuck them.
I smiled.
"Bring the lawyer in."
A dozen lawyers immediately filed into the room.
Lead attorney, Mr. Carter, handed Colby a document.
"Mr. Hale."
"Ms. Brooks' statement and pregnancy report are sufficient proof you violated the fidelity agreement."
"Effective immediately, your 41% stake in Hale Corp transfers to Ms. Sutton."
"The Sutton family's financial support is also officially terminated."
Colby's phone started ringing like crazy.
Even from across the room, I could hear his mother screaming.
"Colby, what the hell did you do?!"
"The Suttons pulled everything—the bank's calling in loans!"
"The board's voting to suspend you!"
He gripped the phone. Face drained.
"Sabine, we've been together for years."
"You're really gonna destroy everything I built over a stupid bet?"
I looked at him. Almost laughed.
"Colby, you wanted someone to keep you entertained, right?"
"Well, Octavia's all yours now."
"The house, the shares, every dollar you were gonna use on her—"
I took the villa keys from his hand.
"They're mine."
"Starting today, I'm not leaving you a damn thing."
I turned to leave.
Behind me, Colby's voice cracked.
"Sabine—"
I didn't look back.
But just as I reached the door, Carter stopped me.
"Ms. Sutton, wait!"
His voice was grim.
"We just pulled your marriage registration records..."
"There's no legal record of marriage between you and Mr. Hale!"
I froze.
Carter glanced at Colby.
"Your marriage certificate is fake."
"Mr. Hale's legal wife has always been... Octavia Brooks."
Dead silence.
Then Octavia started laughing. Loud. Unhinged.
She pulled two marriage certificates from a drawer and fanned them open.
"Oh, Sabine. You actually thought I was the one on the side?"
She laughed again, shaking her head.
"Babe, the mistress in this story? Always been YOU."
