“Mmm…”

Nora Ashford let out a soft whimper and blinked awake, still half out of it, only to crash straight into a pair of eyes deep and dark as the night sky.

Sebastian Mercer was back.

There was a faint smell of alcohol on him.

His kiss was the same as always—overbearing, intense, the kind that gave her no room to refuse.

Nora’s heartbeat skipped hard. Almost on instinct, she tried to push him away.

“Don’t move.”

His voice was low and husky, rough around the edges, dangerously tempting.

Her body went stiff for a second. In the end, though, she chose to give in.

Tonight was their second wedding anniversary. She didn’t want to ruin the mood.

She shut her eyes and let herself sink into his breath, his presence.

The cologne on him covered the trace of liquor, brushing past her senses and hitting her straight in the chest, making her dizzy, almost floating, like her whole body had gone weightless.

Seeing her like that, Sebastian’s gaze darkened, and his movements turned even bolder, more out of line.

Nora slowly came back to herself, breathing unevenly as she murmured a plea.

“Gentler.”

“Because I…”

She never got to say the word pregnant. A shrill ringtone suddenly tore through the heat between them.

The desire-clouded look in Sebastian’s eyes shifted the second he glanced at the caller ID.

Then he got up and started putting his clothes back on.

As if the man who had just been completely lost in the moment wasn’t him at all.

"Are you going out?"

Nora Ashford froze for a second, then instinctively pulled her robe tighter around herself.

"Yeah."

Sebastian Mercer answered flatly, not bothering to explain any further.

"But..."

"Get some sleep."

He didn’t give her the chance to keep talking. He bent down, pressed a light kiss to her forehead, his voice gentle, but distant in a way that stung.

Then he turned and walked out of the room without looking back once.

Nora stared blankly at his retreating figure. It took her a long while to snap out of it.

Maybe something urgent came up at the company?

She had to be good. Otherwise, he might like her even less.

She had loved Sebastian Mercer for ten years. Being lucky enough to marry him already felt like fate cutting her a break. She really shouldn’t ask for more.

With that thought, Nora got up, washed up quickly, and climbed back into bed.

Her hand rested lightly on her stomach, a faint smile touching her lips.

"Baby, Daddy didn’t mean to leave us alone, okay? Don’t be mad at him."

The moment she finished speaking, a news alert popped onto her phone and slammed straight into her eyes.

[Mercer Group CEO Spotted at the Airport Late at Night, Suspected of Picking Up a Mystery Girlfriend.]

In the photo, Sebastian Mercer stood at the entrance of the airport VIP passageway in a black suit, tall and sharp, looking every bit the man people couldn’t take their eyes off.

His gaze was soft.

A kind of softness she had never once seen from him.

Nora Ashford’s pupils shrank hard, and it felt like some invisible hand had stabbed straight into her heart. The pain hit so sharply she could barely breathe.

It took her a long while to snap out of it. Still clinging to the tiniest bit of hope, she lifted her trembling hand and tapped open the news.

Sure enough, a familiar face filled the screen.

Jasmine Thornton.

The woman Sebastian Mercer had never truly let go of. His white moonlight had come back.

Nora only felt cold from head to toe, like all the warmth in her body had been sucked clean. Her heart twisted so badly it was almost unbearable.

She bit down hard on her lip, forcing herself not to make a sound, not to let the tears spill out.

She would never forget how this marriage of hers had come to be.

Two years ago, right when Jasmine Thornton and Sebastian Mercer were already talking marriage, Jasmine suddenly vanished without a trace.

At the time, Sebastian was at a critical stage in the board’s selection process. He urgently needed a wife—someone compliant, someone who wouldn’t cause trouble.

And she, the woman whose love for him had practically been public knowledge, the woman from a family that had already fallen apart after bankruptcy, was the perfect choice.

Two years into the marriage, she had stayed humble to the point of dust, always feeling like this bit of happiness had been stolen, like it was never really hers to keep.

Then yesterday, she found out she was pregnant.

The two of them had always been strict about contraception. Except for last month, when Sebastian came home drunk after some business dinner, reeking of alcohol, and in the rush of that night, neither of them had been careful enough.

That was how this child happened.

Now she had no idea how to tell Sebastian.

She was scared Sebastian would make her get rid of the baby.

Because the person he loved had never been her. Not once.

In her dazed haze, Nora suddenly heard Sebastian’s voice.

It was coming from the direction of the study.

He was back?

Nora Ashford got up, pulled a light cardigan over her shoulders, and headed toward the study.

The second she reached the door, Preston Wyndham’s teasing voice drifted out. "So you didn’t come home all night because you were with Jasmine Thornton?"

Nora’s heart dropped hard.

So it was true. Sebastian Mercer had really stayed with Jasmine Thornton the entire night.

"Yeah."

Sebastian answered flatly, calm as ever, not a single emotion leaking into his tone.

"Then what about Nora? You’ve been married for two years. Don’t tell me you seriously don’t feel anything for her at all?" Preston sounded half-joking, half-worried. "She’s such a good woman. If you don’t want her, someone else will. And when that happens, don’t come crying."

"It’s not that." Sebastian sounded careless, almost bored. "I just feel a little guilty. If you want, I can introduce her to you. Don’t you have things to handle at the company? Go."

Guilty?

Was guilt the only thing Sebastian felt for her?

A tear slipped from Nora’s eye and hit the floor with a soft pat. Her fingers, which had been gripping the doorknob tight, slowly loosened.

So this whole time, he had really never loved her.

So in Sebastian’s eyes, she meant so little that he could casually hand her off to someone else.

At that moment, Nora’s heart went completely cold.

She turned around in a daze and ran for the garden like she was escaping something.

She crouched down, buried her face in her knees, and let the tears blur everything.

Then she thought back to the first time she had met Sebastian, ten years ago.

Back then, he had been bright and handsome, born into a good family, the kind of guy every girl at school secretly liked.

And she, after her family company had gone under, had become the kind of girl anyone could step on.

It was Sebastian who had stood up for her, who had warned everyone not to target her again.

Back then, Sebastian had felt like an angel.