In the third year of their marriage, Dorothea found out that Jimmy Hemenway had been lying about Kim Burganger being their surrogate.
Over the past three years, Kim’s pregnancies had nothing to do with IVF. Jimmy himself had been the one getting her pregnant every time.
Outside the hospital’s fire exit, Dorothea overheard him talking with his close friend.
Jimmy let out a chuckle. “That stuff you got me works really well. Get me more. I want Kim’s third baby to be another girl.”
Burt paused, clearly taken aback, before voicing his confusion. “I honestly don’t get you. You love Dorothea so much, so why do you keep building a family with Kim? And if IVF would’ve done the job, why insist on sleeping with her? You’ve even kept pushing for daughters, dragging things out instead of finishing the agreement.”
“Don’t tell me you actually fell for that nanny.”
Silence hung in the air for a brief moment.
Then, Jimmy let out a scoff. “So what if I did?”
“I used to think of her as nothing really more than a surrogate.”
“But now, every time I think about her leaving, I dream about her at night.”
“I can’t lose Dorothea. But I also don’t want Kim gone.”
Outside the door, Dorothea felt like she had been plunged into an icy abyss. Even her heart seemed to freeze solid.
Back then, after she’d injured her uterus and learned she could no longer conceive, she had brought up divorce once.
Jimmy had dropped to his knees in front of her, his eyes full of devotion, and made a solemn promise. “Dorothea, you’re the only one I want in this life. If you leave me, I’d rather die.”
And yet, in just three years, every promise he had made had dissolved into nothing.
In that moment, something inside her died completely.
Since Jimmy had betrayed her love, she would leave him for good. She would disappear from his life and give him exactly what he seemed to want: freedom.
Later, after she truly disappeared from his world, she heard from friends that Jimmy had gone nearly insane scouring the world for any trace of her, trying to win her back.
Unfortunately for him, it was far too late.
…
Everyone knew that Dorothea was the woman Jimmy cherished most.
He had pursued her so passionately that the entire city knew about it. Every confession he made caused a sensation.
But no one knew that just three years into their marriage, the words she heard most often were about another woman.
“Wait here. I’m going over to Kim’s place.”
Kim was once the Hemenways’s nanny.
Back when Dorothea saved Jimmy, she injured her uterus and lost her ability to bear a child.
The Hemenways were desperate for an heir. And that pressure landed squarely on Jimmy. His parents wanted him to sleep with another woman and continue the bloodline.
Jimmy endured seven days and seven nights of relentless punishment from his family. He would rather lose his inheritance and the family name than give in.
“Dorothea, it’s okay. They can punish me all they want. I can endure it.”
He knelt there with his back straight despite the blood staining the floor beneath him.
She couldn’t watch him like that. The guilt ate her alive. In the end, she gave in.
That was how his parents chose the then-young nanny to become the surrogate.
According to the agreement, once Kim gave birth to a boy for the Hemenways, she would be given five million and sent away permanently.
Legally, the child would belong to Dorothea.
“I promise you, Dorothea, nothing will happen between me and Kim. The baby will be conceived through IVF.”
“Once the baby’s born, you’ll be the only mother.”
Unfortunately, the first baby was a girl.
Jimmy told Dorothea to wait again until Kim gave birth to a boy.
Not long after Kim’s postpartum recovery, she got pregnant again.
This time, Dorothea personally waited outside the delivery room while Kim gave birth to the second child.
Inside, Kim’s cries of pain echoed. Soon after, the sound of a newborn’s crying followed.
Cheers and congratulations then filled the room.
The door opened, and a nurse stepped out, her face full of excitement.
Dorothea quickly stood up to approach the nurse, only to hear, “Congratulations, Ma’am. It’s a baby girl!”
The words hit her like a thunderclap.
Her world spun, as if the sky itself had collapsed.
The nurse hurried to steady her. “Ma'am? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Dorothea took a deep breath and leaned against the wall until she steadied herself. “I’m fine. Go ahead and get back to work. I’ll let Jimmy know.”
With that, she stepped forward and slowly made her way out.
As she passed by the fire exit in the hallway, she heard Jimmy and his close friend Burt talking.
“Congrats, bro! Another baby girl! Just what you wanted!”
Jimmy chuckled. “That stuff you got me really works. Get me more. I want Kim’s third baby to be another girl.”
Burt paused, clearly taken aback, before voicing his confusion. “I honestly don’t get you. You love Dorothea so much, so why do you keep building a family with Kim? And if IVF would’ve done the job, why insist on sleeping with her? You’ve even kept pushing for daughters, dragging things out instead of finishing the agreement.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that nanny?”
Silence hung in the air for a brief moment.
Then, Jimmy let out a scoff. “So what if I did?”
“I used to think of her as nothing really more than a surrogate.”
“But now, every time I think about her leaving, I dream about her at night.”
“I can’t lose Dorothea. But I also don’t want Kim gone.”
Burt sighed. “Aren’t you afraid Dorothea will find out? You know her. If she does, she’ll never come back.”
Jimmy scoffed. “She won’t. After marrying into my family, she’s lost her family and her job. How would she survive without me? Besides, she loves me too much to actually leave.”
Outside the door, Dorothea felt like she had been plunged into an icy abyss. Even her heart seemed to freeze solid.
Suddenly, she remembered that back then, when she learned she couldn’t get pregnant because of her injured uterus, she had once brought up divorce.
Jimmy had dropped to his knees in front of her, his eyes full of devotion, and made a solemn promise. “Dorothea, you’re the only one I want in this life. If you leave me, I’d rather die.”
And yet, in just three years, every promise he had made had dissolved into nothing.
His so-called “surrogacy” had been nothing but an excuse. He had slept with Kim himself, gotten her pregnant, and built a second family with her.
The love story everyone once admired was nothing more than a meticulously staged deception.
With a click, the door swung open.
Jimmy froze at the sight of her pale face. Panic instantly broke across his expression. “D-Dorothea… what are you doing here?”
Dorothea raised her hand and struck him without hesitation. “I heard everything. Jimmy, I want a divorce.”
He frowned slightly. “Hey, if you’re upset, you can hit me or yell at me all you want. But don’t talk about divorce.”
“I know what you’re worried about. Don’t worry. You’ll always be my only wife.”
“Kim? She’s just someone I keep on the side for fun. The one I love most is still you, Dorothea. Nothing will ever change that.”
Dorothea’s heart felt like it was being torn apart. Her cold eyes stared at him in disbelief. “I won’t accept that! You fucking promised, Jimmy! I’m the only woman you’d love forever!”
He met her gaze coldly. “Dorothea. Stop being unreasonable.”
But she insisted, “Jimmy, let’s get a divorce.”
The next second, he pulled out his phone, his voice calm and cruel. “Smash that old piano in my wife’s room and throw it out.”
Before they got married, Dorothea had been a pianist. Her dream had been to become a world-class performer.
But after their wedding, Jimmy had made her give that dream up, saying he didn’t like her being in the public eye.
That piano in her room was a keepsake from her mentor and one of the last ties she had to her music.
She grabbed Jimmy’s arm tightly, her face drained of color. “Jimmy, you can’t do this!”
“Dorothea,” he said, his voice carrying a trace of gentleness, “tell me. Do you still want a divorce?”
Her whole body turned cold. She stared at him stubbornly, unable to utter a single word.
Holding the phone, Jimmy spoke to the servant in a low voice. “Do it.”
The next second, Dorothea heard a loud bang through the phone, followed by the heavy, muffled sound of the piano breaking apart.
That was when her composure shattered. “No!” she cried. “I won’t divorce you! I won’t! Jimmy, don’t touch my piano!”
Finally, he smiled in satisfaction. He reached out and ruffled her hair.
“If you stay obedient like this, honey,” he murmured, “you’ll always be my wife.”
