Restoring My Heart: After the Divorce novel Chapter 1

"Two lines..."

Nora Joplin stared at the pregnancy test in her hand, her eyes shining with pure joy.

After three years of marriage to York Blackwood, she was finally going to have his child.

*Ring—*

Right on cue, the phone on her desk lit up.

It was the custom notification tone she had set exclusively for York.

He must be back from his business trip!

Nora rushed to the desk, still clutching the test, and eagerly snatched up her phone to read the text.

But the image on the screen struck her like lightning, leaving her mind completely blank.

*Clatter—*

Both the pregnancy test and the phone slipped from her grasp and hit the floor.

The screen displayed the husband she had been desperately waiting for all month. He was in a bustling club, effortlessly carrying a petite woman in his arms while holding the hand of a little girl in a pink tutu.

Nora instantly recognized the woman in York's arms. It was Sienna Lennox.

The childhood sweetheart that everyone in their social circle knew York cherished above all else!

An hour later, at the Grand.

Nora stood outside the door of the Eden Suite.

Through the slightly ajar door, she watched York and Sienna sitting on a plush sofa, surrounded by a crowd. Between them sat the little girl, wearing a toy crown and beaming. Every time the girl turned to speak to York, he would lean in to listen closely. His tender, attentive demeanor was like a poisoned needle piercing straight through Nora's eyes.

Flowers, balloons, the loving interaction of a picture-perfect family of three, and the smiling faces of friends offering their blessings.

Anyone who saw this scene would think it was the epitome of domestic bliss.

But the one watching was Nora.

York's lawful wife, Mrs. Blackwood!

Amidst the cheering crowd, Sienna, dressed in a stunning red dress, stood up and leaned over to place a birthday hat on York's head.

*Click—*

Someone turned off the lights.

Sienna's beautiful features looked absolutely radiant in the soft candlelight.

"York, blow out the candles and make a wish," she urged.

If Nora had ever said something like that, York would have immediately dismissed her as childish.

No harm done?

Nora remembered how much York despised being the subject of idle jokes.

Yet now, he was shrugging it off?

It proved that his infamous temper was entirely conditional.

As long as it involved his childhood sweetheart, every rule could be broken.

Nora didn't even know how she eventually made her way out of the club.

There was no screaming, no confronting him, no hysterical breakdown.

Sitting in the back of a cab, she pressed her cheek against the cold window. Muffled sobs tore from her throat as a suffocating pain seized her chest.

Three years ago, when Arthur Blackwood was critically ill, a stroke of fate allowed her to save his life. The older man had promised to grant her one wish.

She asked for nothing but to marry York.

Outsiders claimed she was a gold digger, plotting her way into the prestigious Blackwood family.

No one knew that she had loved him for years before that. He was the center of every teenage fantasy, the beautiful dream she had poured her heart and soul into weaving.

Even though he had been coldly distant throughout their marriage, he still came home on time to eat the meals she cooked. He held her in her sleep, and he trusted her to manage every detail of his daily life.