His Last Command Came Back to Kill Him novel Chapter 1

After three years of living an ocean apart, on the very night her husband finally returned, Whitley Nash asked for a divorce.

For three years, she had lived like a widow. Meanwhile, Yelena—her own sister—was pregnant with his child.

During their first year of marriage, Clive Sherwood was transferred to the Foreign Office, stationed halfway across the world in Magnolia Country. The night before he left, he had looked her in the eye and said, "I need you to understand my work. Wait for me to come back, and we'll start a family."

She believed him. She clung to those words like a lifeline, letting them anchor her through three years of suffocating loneliness, counting down the days until his return.

But now...

"Ms. Nash, your endometrial cancer is showing signs of rapid progression. I strongly recommend scheduling a hysterectomy as soon as possible," the doctor's voice was gentle but firm. "You've been coming to these appointments alone for the past two years. Don't you think it's time to bring your husband into the loop?"

The harsh fluorescent lights of the clinic washed over Whitley, draining whatever color was left in her face. The medical report in her hands felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, pinning her to the chair.

She never imagined the diagnosis from two years ago would deteriorate this quickly. Back then, the doctor had given her hope—catch it early, treat it aggressively, and she might still be able to have children. Terrified of distracting Clive while he was serving overseas, she had kept it a secret.

But now, the reality was crushing. She was never going to be a mother.

Whitley swallowed the agonizing lump in her throat, her hands trembling as she pulled out her phone and dialed Clive's number.

The line rang. And rang.

She stood frozen, her mind a dizzying blur, gripping the phone until her knuckles turned white. Then, the time difference hit her. It was the dead of night in Magnolia Country.

Forcing herself to swallow her desperation, she walked out of the clinic, her steps heavy and mechanical as she headed downstairs.

A sudden commotion near the emergency room made her stop. Through the parted crowd, she immediately spotted him. A tall, impeccably dressed man in a dark overcoat, his sharp, aristocratic profile unmistakable.

Whitley's breath hitched.

It all made sense. The intimate way Yelena called his name—why had she ever doubted it? How could she have forgotten that shortly after Clive left for Magnolia Country, Yelena had conveniently packed up and moved there too, claiming it was for her "studies"?

While Whitley had spent three years guarding an empty home, praying for his return, they had been living out their own twisted romance on the other side of the world.

"Word on the street is the Deputy Secretary's wife is expecting! Hurry up, we need the exclusive!"

A pack of reporters with cameras shoved past her, sprinting blindly toward the emergency room.

Whitley stood paralyzed at the top of the stairs, struck by lightning.

Pregnant? Yelena was pregnant with Clive's child?

Her hand instinctively drifted to her own flat stomach. She gripped the thin fabric of her shirt, her entire body shaking uncontrollably.