Restoring a Life After Seven Years of Wrong Love novel Chapter 1

The day Yvette Yeats found out she was pregnant, her husband was at the hospital accompanying her half-sister to an OB-GYN appointment.

One second, Yvette was planning exactly how she would break the news of her pregnancy to Jabez Shelby. The next second, the familiar scent of his cold, woody cologne drifted past her nose, and she looked up.

The man’s physique was tall and commanding, his aura radiating aristocratic elegance, while the woman tucked against his chest revealed a stunningly beautiful profile.

The woman was pale, one hand clutching her stomach.

"Jabez, my stomach hurts so much..."

"Bear with it a little longer, Willow. Be a good girl." The man's usually frigid voice was now laced with endless, overflowing tenderness.

Followed by a small army of the hospital's department heads and attending physicians, the pair moved like royalty toward the examination rooms.

Yvette’s fingertips brushed against the fabric of his suit jacket, catching nothing but empty air.

They had been married for almost seven years. Whenever she was sick, Jabez had never once accompanied her to the hospital. Let alone coaxed her with such a gentle tone—that wouldn't happen even if the world were ending.

Yet now, she was watching this famously cold, ruthless man actively exercising patience just to soothe another woman.

In that moment, Yvette felt as if someone had plunged a knife straight into her heart, leaving her to bleed out completely.

"Did you guys see that? That’s the CEO of the Shelby Group. Graduated college at seventeen, went abroad for a few years, and by the time he came back, he had already founded multiple listed companies and taken over the Shelby empire. Why can’t a perfect man like that spare a glance at me?"

"Ms. Huxley is incredibly accomplished too, okay? She has a dual doctorate from the Royal Academy of Arts, and one of her paintings just sold for fifty million! Plus, her dancing is literally competition-level. She’s gorgeous, highly capable, and totally out of this world. It’s no surprise Mr. Shelby is head over heels for her."

The nurses’ gossip drilled into Yvette’s ears, word by agonizing word. She looked in the direction Jabez had disappeared.

The ultrasound room!

And judging by the sheer panic Jabez had shown when he carried Willow Huxley into that room...

Willow was pregnant too!

Yvette felt the blood freeze in her veins.

She remembered before they were married, Jabez had explicitly stated he didn't want children.

Back then, she just assumed he disliked kids.

Now, she realized he didn’t mind having children. He just didn't want any child born from her.

Her vision went black, and she collapsed...

-

The next day, at the hospital.

"Oh, you're awake? I'm your caretaker. You can just call me Lydia."

Yvette let out a low 'mm' and instinctively reached for her phone. She unlocked it.

Jabez had been drugged by someone, and Yvette, completely drunk, had stumbled into the wrong hotel room. They ended up sleeping together. Somehow, a random reporter snapped photos of them, and Jabez had to use his influence to suppress the scandal.

Sybil, Jabez's grandmother, happened to be good friends with Yvette's grandmother. Under Sybil's immense pressure, Jabez was forced to marry her, but he had maintained a cold, distant attitude toward her ever since.

She used to think that as long as she treated him well enough and held on long enough... one day, he would finally see her.

But the truth was, she was wrong. Dead wrong!

It was time to turn back.

Back then, Sybil had promised that if they still had no feelings for each other after seven years, they could divorce. Right now, they were only six months away from the seven-year mark.

But she couldn't wait another day. She wanted to end this godawful marriage immediately.

Yvette looked away from the door, unlocked her phone, and dialed her best friend, Charlotte Clark.

"Charlotte, find me a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement. I'll walk away with absolutely nothing."

"Holy shit! You finally figured it out?" Charlotte leaped straight out of bed. "Wait for me."

Yvette hung up the phone.

After hesitating for a moment, she opened the app for Kingsbrook Women's Hospital and booked the earliest available appointment.