The Wife He Ignored Became the Woman He Couldn't Reach novel Chapter 1

"Bring a box of condoms over right now. Make sure they're the ultra-thin ones, and make it quick."

"I'll text you the location and the VIP room number."

It was late at night.

Serena Huxley had answered her phone through a blinding wave of abdominal pain, only to hear her husband, Sebastian Sinclair, making such a demand.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Serena genuinely thought she had misheard him.

Disbelief laced her voice as she asked, "Bring... bring what?"

"Condoms. Are you deaf?" Sebastian's tone dripped with impatience.

Her phone buzzed against her ear with a notification. The location had arrived.

The sound felt like a crushing weight against Serena's chest, stealing the oxygen from her lungs.

The sharp agony in her lower stomach seemed to intensify in that very second.

Her stomach was still completely flat, but she was already three months pregnant.

"Sebastian."

Serena took a shaky breath.

"I... I'm in a lot of pain right now. I think I need to go to the hospital."

A cold, mocking scoff echoed from the other end of the line. "In pain?"

"Serena, can't you come up with a more creative excuse? If you don't want to come, just say so. Why fake stomach cramps?"

"Or are you just trying to remind me that you're carrying my child, so I shouldn't be fooling around?"

"Have I been too nice to you lately? Did you forget your place?"

"I don't care if you're pregnant. If I tell you to bring me condoms, you bring them."

His cruel words plunged Serena into a freezing abyss.

A suffocating wave of despair and grievance washed over her.

She trembled uncontrollably.

For a moment, she couldn't even tell if the chill came from her physical agony or her shattered heart.

"I'm not faking. It really hurts," she whispered.

"Enough!" Sebastian snapped, cutting her off. "I don't give a damn if you're hurting or not. I want those condoms here in half an hour."

"And if I don't see you in thirty minutes..."

He paused.

When he spoke again, his voice was dangerously calm, laced with aristocratic arrogance and a hint of sadistic amusement.

"Don't expect me home at all this week."

"Doesn't your mother have medical bills due this month? If you don't show up, you can figure out how to pay them yourself."

Throughout the ride, the cramps flared and subsided. She bit her lower lip, curling into herself in the backseat, trying desperately not to let out a whimper.

The driver glanced at her pale, sweaty face through the rearview mirror with evident concern. "Are you alright, miss?"

"Do you want me to take you to the ER?"

Serena stubbornly shook her head.

She couldn't go to the hospital.

At least, not yet.

...

At the bar.

Following the GPS coordinates, Serena finally located the VIP booth from the text message.

Deafening music and the overpowering stench of alcohol and smoke hit her like a physical blow.

Her sudden appearance caused the raucous booth to fall silent for a brief moment.

Nearly every pair of eyes locked onto her.

Right in the center of the crowd.

Sebastian leaned lazily against the sofa, his long, elegant fingers expertly swirling a cocktail glass. His sharp, handsome features looked dangerously predatory in the dim light.

Sitting right next to him was a stunning, elegantly dressed woman with flawless makeup.