Chapter 1

"I've explained this to you countless times—Cassie has cancer, and she only has a year to live. Her biggest wish is to leave a child for her family! She saved my life back then, so I have to help her make this wish come true!" Eugene Ford said. I'd heard this too many times over the past month. The first time Eugene brought it up to me, I'd immediately told him that I couldn't accept it… not that it had deterred him. He'd brought it up almost daily after that. His attitude had gone from tentatively seeking consent to arguing with me as if I were the unreasonable one. It was as if I were committing an unforgivable sin by disagreeing. How was there any sense in giving Cassandra Johnson a child to repay her for saving his life? Still, I was mentally and physically exhausted from arguing about this for a whole month. I'd lost the strength to talk Eugene out of this ridiculous idea. I could only look at him and say shakily, "We're getting married next month, yet now you want to have a child with another woman. What about me? What am I to you?" This was Eugene's first time seeing me so downtrodden. It was like I had a deluge of storm clouds looming over me. His attitude softened, and he said, "I know it's hard for you to accept, Riss. But this is all I can do to help Cassie. I can't watch her leave this world with regrets. "Besides, it's just artificial insemination. Nothing will happen between us. I'm sure you can understand why I'm doing this if you truly love me." My heart sank into an abyss at his words. I knew that this meant Eugene had already made up his mind. He and Cassandra would have a child, no matter what I said. My opinion didn't matter. Eugene wanted to continue saying something, but a phone call interrupted him. He glanced at the screen before heading to the balcony to answer the call. I watched him, and a bitter smile curved my lips. He and I could be considered childhood sweethearts—we'd been in the same class since elementary school, and we'd even gone to the same college. I'd always known that I liked him, and I'd stayed by his side over the years, only wanting to accompany him quietly. He'd never responded to me, though. But just as we were about to graduate, he'd seen my contributions and agreed to be my boyfriend. Logically speaking, we should've been each other's confidantes and the most intimate of lovers after being acquainted for so long. However, I'd never touched his phone in the five years we were together. Even when he answered calls, he did it without letting me know. I remembered his phone pinging incessantly when he was down with a fever once. I'd worried the noise would disturb him, so I'd reached out to put the phone on silent mode. He happened to open his eyes the moment I touched his phone, and he started accusing me of invading his privacy without even asking what I was doing. He refused to listen to my explanation. That night, I'd curled up alone on the couch. I always thought that was just what Eugene was like. I was confident I would one day earn a spot in his heart. But five years had passed, and nothing had changed. No, things had become worse—he now wanted to have a child with another woman, and he didn't care how it would make me, his girlfriend and wife-to-be, feel. Eugene looked happy when he came back into the room. He grabbed his coat and put it on while heading to the door. "I'm going out to do something. You stay here and think about what I said." My heart sank as I listened to him hurry off. Cassandra was probably the only one who could make him so anxious to leave. Sure enough, she sent me a photo shortly after. My knees almost gave out when I zoomed in on it and saw what it said.