Chapter 1: The Coldest Winter

On their wedding anniversary, Adeline witnessed a scene that shattered her world: her husband, Dominic, was tangled in a passionate embrace with Bianca, the college student she had been personally sponsoring. It was a betrayal in its most raw, intimate form.

Suppressing the urge to scream, Adeline tore up the pregnancy test results hidden in her pocket. Instead of confronting them then and there, she turned away and sent a formal report of Bianca’s misconduct to her university.

That night, the "canary" Bianca threw a tantrum and moved out. Dominic’s reaction was swift and heartless. He presented a set of divorce papers to Adeline, his tone nonchalant.

"Honey, just sign it to keep appearances. I need to coax her back."

The winter rain mixed with snow, biting and cold. Dominic sat across from Adeline, a cigar held loosely between his fingers, waiting for her signature as if it were nothing more than a routine business contract.

Adeline stood in the snow, instinctively shielding her abdomen. Her eyes welled with tears, a mist blurring her vision. Dominic had no idea that she was already four months pregnant.

Seeing her hesitation, Dominic narrowed his eyes slightly. "Addie, you know my patience has its limits."

He gestured to his bodyguard, who stepped forward and handed him a phone with a live video call running. In the video, Adeline’s mother was suspended in a dark basement, surrounded by a pack of salivating Tibetan Mastiffs in nearby cages.

Adeline collapsed into tears instantly. "Dominic, that’s my mother! She’s the only family I have left in this world!"

Dominic reached out, gently wiping away her tears. His voice was tender, but his eyes were terrifyingly cold. "I told you, Bianca is important to me, too."

"Be a good girl. You have five minutes," he said, leaning back with a cruel finality.

Adeline felt a heavy blow to her heart. Her tears fell onto the snow, burning small holes into the white surface. The swirling snow reminded her of the day she first met Dominic ten years ago. Back then, he was covered in blood, sitting by the roadside. On a whim, Adeline had offered him a bandage. When he woke, his eyes had burned with intensity as he looked at her. "Your hands... they're so warm," he had whispered.

After that, the entire city knew that the obsessed heir of the powerful family was madly pursuing a young psychologist. He confessed his love with a thousand roses, wrote over a thousand handwritten letters, and filled every billboard in the city with declarations of his devotion. He had even donated a kidney for her.

She had inevitably fallen for him. After they married, he was attentive and gentle, suppressing his violent nature just for her. Even when Adeline struggled to conceive, Dominic didn't care. He would kiss her repeatedly, whispering, "You are the only one I want for the rest of my life."

Everyone in their social circle envied Adeline, thinking she had captured the heart of a man who gave her his absolute devotion. That was, until Bianca appeared.

At first, Bianca was just a girl with a faded canvas bag, poor but seemingly proud. "I can't accept your charity for nothing," she had told Adeline. "I’ll work for you, just give me a chance to study." Adeline’s heart softened at the sight of the girl’s calloused hands, and she treated Bianca like a younger sister. She never expected that the girl would follow her footsteps to her alma mater—and then, right into her husband’s bed.

When Adeline finally caught them together on the sofa, she had trashed their entire bedroom, demanding to know when it started. Dominic’s movements as he held her were light, his voice airy.

"The first month Bianca moved in. I had a stomach flare-up in the bedroom, and she was the one who fed me medicine and made me porridge."

The first month? For an entire year, they had been carrying on an affair right under her nose!

Yet Dominic acted as if he couldn't see her despair. He held her in the rocking chair, his voice a mix of tenderness and cruelty: "Addie, never doubt my feelings for you. She is just a temporary distraction. You will always be the one I love most."

The sunlight was warm, but Adeline felt frozen to the bone.

After that day, Adeline fell ill. Tortured by insomnia and raw emotions, she was met with the news that Dominic and Bianca were now inseparable. Bianca didn't want money; she only wanted one thing: to date Dominic like a normal couple.

And Dominic agreed.

He spent Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with the ailing Adeline, and Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays experiencing the "sweetness of young love" with Bianca. Ignoring his own stomach issues, he took Bianca to trendy restaurants, drank milk tea, and ate hotpot and ice cream with her. He traveled across the country with her, wore matching couple rings, and flaunted their relationship on social media. He even brazenly arranged for Bianca to study psychology—Adeline’s own profession—at her former university.

Adeline looked at the faint scars on her wrists, crying through countless nights. When she heard Dominic was planning a small wedding for Bianca, she finally decided to leave. But that was when she discovered the unexpected pregnancy. For the sake of the child, she had considered giving him one last chance.

Instead, she was met with Dominic’s divorce papers.

"Addie, still not signing? Your mother might not last much longer." Dominic stroked her hair gently. His tone was as soft as ever, yet it chilled her to the core.

She looked at the man before her. The familiar warmth and longing in his eyes were gone. At that moment, she accepted her fate. Ten years of knowing each other and five years of marriage could not compete with the thrill of something new.

Suppressing the sharp pain in her abdomen, she spoke with a trembling voice. "I’ll sign."

As she finished the last stroke of her name, tears blurred her vision completely. Seeing her broken state, Dominic touched her cold face to comfort her. "Baby, as long as you're obedient, your mother will be fine. Once Bianca calms down, we’ll remarry. You will always be my wife."

She remained numb, the pain spreading through every part of her body. The moment the documents were taken away, the door burst open. Dominic’s assistant rushed in, panicked. "Sir! It's bad! The report was leaked to the internet, and the harassment has pushed Miss Bianca to the edge! She's about to jump from a building!"

Dominic’s hand, holding the cigar, trembled. The smile in his eyes vanished instantly.

"Addie, you went too far this time. She’s a proud girl; don’t bully her like this again."

He stood up, threw on his coat, and left without looking back. Adeline watched his retreating figure, a sharp sting piercing her soul. The snow grew heavier outside. Perhaps it was time to wake up from this beautiful nightmare.

With fingers blue from the cold, she dialed a number.

"I accept the invitation. I'll join the overseas research institute."

"My only condition: keep this hidden from Dominic, and get my mother out of the country."

As for her and him... there would be no "forever" between them. Once the one-month divorce cooling-off period was over, she would leave him forever.