Chapter 1
Annie's POV
Everyone says I was born cursed.
The day I was born, the family went bankrupt and my father died.
So Mom and Bruce hated me from the start.
They only loved Anna.
On my eighteenth birthday, Anna drugged me and I was almost raped.
That's when Frank Black appeared—a business tycoon, my savior.
He publicly announced I was his, warning anyone who touched me would pay the price.
After that, Anna bullied me? He made her apologize.
Mom humiliated me? He made her shut up.
Bruce mocked me? He destroyed all of Bruce's businesses.
I'd never been treated like this before. I fell completely.
Three months later, I walked down the aisle in a white dress.
Frank spoiled me rotten. I became the woman everyone envied.
Until I was about to give birth.
On the way to a family dinner, my brakes failed and I got into an accident. Just as I was about to die, Frank appeared in time to stop my car, willing to risk his own life to protect me.
Everyone in our circle envied me—having a husband willing to die for me.
Until right before delivery, when I wanted to surprise them and accidentally overheard their conversation—
"Annie is the only one who can donate organs to Anna."
Bruce's voice came from the hospital room. "Anna's condition is getting worse. We can't wait anymore!"
"You think I don't know that?" Frank lowered his voice.
"But she's about to have the baby! Pregnant women can't donate organs!"
"That's why we deliberately arranged that car accident!"
Bruce said coldly.
"We wanted her to miscarry or just die, so Anna wouldn't have to wait anymore—"
"Enough!"
Frank's roar cut him off.
"I want to save Anna more than anyone! She's the one I love. But you can't hurt Annie like this. I have my own plan—after she has the baby, I'll make her 'voluntarily' donate."
After hearing those words, I collapsed trembling in the hallway.
So he married me not because he loved me, but to save Anna.
Everything he did for me—the tenderness, the protection.
All of it was to make me willingly donate my heart to her.
Even though they were my closest people in this world, they even wanted to use my life to save Anna.
I slid down the cold wall, memories flooding back.
Those moments I thought were happiness now became cruel jokes.
I was happy once.
Until I was two, when Dad took me to see a circus performance and we got into an accident.
Dad died on the spot.
Anna survived, crying and pointing at me.
"It's Annie's fault! She kept talking and distracted Dad!"
I don't remember that accident. But from that day on, all my relatives became enemies.
They said I was cursed, the killer who took Dad away.
I never blamed them.
Maybe they were right.
Someone like me doesn't deserve to be loved.
Until my eighteenth birthday.
Anna handed me a glass of champagne. An hour later, my body went weak and strangers dragged me toward a room.
I fought desperately but couldn't move.
Then the door burst open. Frank rushed in and quickly took down everyone else in the room.
My fate changed from that moment.
Anna humiliated me at the party, Frank made her apologize publicly.
Mom exploited me at the company, Frank bought all the shares and gave them to me.
Bruce mocked my fashion design dreams, Frank destroyed all his businesses with one phone call.
He supported my career, built me a private studio, gave me a manor, proposed grandly.
On our wedding day, he kissed my hand and said, "I won't let you shed another tear."
I thought that was love. I thought all the suffering in my first half of life was just preparation for meeting him.
But now I understand—all that protection, tenderness, the grand wedding, it was all to make me "voluntarily" donate my heart to Anna.
2 AM, I returned to the manor.
The servants were asleep, only the hallway lights were on.
I pushed open the bedroom door, staring at our wedding photo on the wall.
Frank had his arm around my waist, smiling so tenderly.
On the nightstand was the necklace he gave me for our first anniversary.
In the nursery next door, the crib he assembled himself waited quietly for our soon-to-be-born child.
It was all fake. All evidence of the scheme to get my heart.
Trembling, I opened the deepest drawer in the closet and took out a manila envelope—divorce papers I'd prepared before the wedding.
Just "in case."
After all, who would believe Frank, a business tycoon, would love a girl rejected by her own family?
I always felt it was too good to be true.
Turns out it really was fake.
I sat on the bed, flipping through the documents page by page.
Property division: I waive all marital assets. Child custody: to the mother.
I want nothing, just my child.
I only want the one person in this world who will love me.
I signed my name with shaking hands.
My hand moved to my belly, fear rising—could I raise a child alone? Without a father, would the child be happy?
Just then, I felt it.
A gentle flutter.
The first kick was so soft, yet it made me freeze instantly.
As if telling me: It's okay, Mom.
Tears fell. I bit my lip and made my decision.
No matter what happens, I will have this baby.
I will protect my child and take them far away from this world full of lies.
I wiped my tears, put the agreement in a folder labeled "Prenatal Reports," and walked to the study.
I pushed open the door to see Frank asleep at his desk, head resting on the chair back.
He looked exhausted.
I tiptoed over, unable to resist tracing his face with my finger—brow, eyes, lips, as if memorizing every detail.
He still looked the same as when we first met ten years ago.
Frank didn't know that night wasn't our first meeting.
I remembered him. But he'd long forgotten me.
Suddenly, Frank opened his eyes. My hand froze in mid-air.
"Annie?" He pulled me into his arms.
"I thought you were asleep. What's wrong? Miss me?"
His tone was teasing, warm kisses falling on my neck.
My body stiffened for a moment before I pushed him away.
"There's a document you need to sign. About the baby."
Frank raised an eyebrow, taking the folder. "Now? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
"The doctor said it has to be done today." My voice was steady.
Just as he was about to open it, his phone rang. The hospital calling.
"Mr. Black, come to the hospital immediately! Anna is having trouble breathing—"
Frank's face changed drastically. Without even looking, he flipped to the last page and hastily signed his name.
"I'm sorry, Annie."
He kissed my forehead.
"When I get back, we'll talk about the baby properly."
Then he grabbed his coat and rushed out.
I listened to his footsteps fade, slowly walked to the desk, and opened the document.
To rush to Anna's side, he didn't even look.
Tears dripped onto the paper, spreading into wet stains.
Trembling, I took out my phone and called my friend Jessica.
"Annie? It's so late—"
"Jessica."
My voice choked.
"That job overseas... is it still available?"
Silence on the other end, then Jessica's voice became urgent.
"Of course! Oh my god, Annie, you finally decided! I'll book a flight right away—"
"Three days from now." I interrupted her. "The sooner the better."
I hung up and sat in the study, watching the sky gradually brighten outside the window.
In three days, I would leave.
Leave this home that never truly belonged to me.
