Chapter 1

At the Carter Family's year-end celebration, Ethan's men decided the night needed a little entertainment.

They brought in a young dancer from one of the private clubs the Family controlled. She stepped onto the small stage in a tight black camisole, her back almost completely bare. The moment the music started, every man's attention in the room shifted toward her.

Ethan Carter, my husband and the heir to the Carter Family, glanced at the stage once before reaching over and covering my eyes with his hand.

"Don't look, Claire." A teasing smile tugged at his mouth. "That's not something my wife needs to see."

The men around our table burst into laughter.

One of Ethan's closest soldiers raised his whiskey. "Five years married and the boss still acts like Claire's the only woman alive."

Another man laughed. "That's loyalty. Half the men in this room should be taking notes."

I smiled and said nothing, one hand unconsciously settling over my stomach.

None of them knew I was pregnant.

I had found out only days ago, and I had been waiting for the right moment to tell Ethan. Our fifth wedding anniversary was coming up, and I had already planned to give him the pregnancy report that night.

I thought it would be the perfect gift.

A few minutes later, I left the private lounge to fix my makeup.

When I returned, I stopped outside the half-open door.

Ethan was standing beside the dancer.

The same man who had covered my eyes minutes earlier now had one hand resting near her waist. Between two fingers, he held one of his black business cards with several folded bills tucked behind it.

Then, right in front of me, he slipped it beneath the strap of her camisole.

I couldn't move.

Ethan leaned closer to her, lowering his voice.

"Claire's perfect. Don't misunderstand me. She's just too proper sometimes."

The dancer gave him a knowing smile.

Ethan chuckled.

"After five years, a man wants something different once in a while. It's only entertainment."

He paused, then added casually, "And it's not exactly my first time."

My fingers went cold.

The dancer looked toward the door nervously. "What if your wife finds out?"

Ethan's expression changed immediately.

"She won't."

His voice was firm.

"And you're not going to tell her."

He looked the dancer directly in the eyes.

"Claire told me before we married that cheating was the one thing she'd never forgive. If she ever found out, she'd leave me."

He gave a quiet laugh, but there was something serious underneath it.

"And I can't live without her."

I stood outside the door, barely breathing.

Five years.

For five years, I had believed I was the only woman Ethan Carter had ever touched.

Slowly, I stepped away before anyone noticed me.

In the hallway, I took out my phone and opened the pregnancy report I had saved for our anniversary.

I stared at it for several seconds.

Then I deleted it.

After that, I made a call.

"Professor Reed, it's Claire Carter."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"I want to join the pregnant cryogenic trial."

……

Dr. Alex Reed was the lead researcher behind an experimental cryogenic program secretly funded through several private medical foundations. Because of the Carter Family's connections, I had learned about the project months earlier.

His voice immediately turned serious.

"Mrs. Carter, do you understand what you're asking? No pregnant subject has ever entered the program. You would be the first."

"I understand."

"That means the risk isn't yours alone. There are two lives involved."

"I know."

He was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Please think about this carefully."

"There's nothing left to think about."

My answer came without hesitation.

Because I had already made my decision years ago.

On the day I married Ethan, I had looked him in the eyes and told him exactly where my line was.

"If you ever betray me with another woman, I'll leave you. Permanently. Even if walking away destroys me."

Ethan had pulled me into his arms.

He kissed my forehead and laughed as if the possibility itself were ridiculous.

"That day will never come, Claire."

His voice had been so certain.

"I swear on the Carter name."

Five years later, I finally understood how little that oath had meant.

When I returned to the private lounge, Ethan was already sitting calmly on the leather sofa.

There wasn't a woman anywhere near him.

The dancer had returned to the stage.

Only her flushed cheeks and the slightly crooked strap of her camisole hinted at what had happened while I was gone.

If I hadn't witnessed it myself, I never would have believed Ethan capable of it.

He had always been careful.

Controlled.

The kind of man who could walk into a room full of capos, soldiers, and men with blood on their hands and still look perfectly composed.

And apparently, this wasn't even the first time.

Five years of marriage, and I had been the only fool treating our vows like they mattered.

"Claire?"

Ethan immediately noticed me.

"What took you so long?"

Concern crossed his face as he reached for my hand. Then he touched my forehead as if he were worried I might be sick.

The moment his fingers came near me, I smelled unfamiliar perfume.

Sweet.

Heavy.

The same perfume the dancer had been wearing.

My stomach twisted violently.

I pulled away and covered my nose.

"Claire."

Ethan's expression changed at once.

"Are you sick?"

He leaned toward me, visibly worried. "Do you need a doctor? I can have the Family physician here in ten minutes."

I shook my head.

"It's the perfume."

My voice was quiet.

"It smells disgusting."

For a fraction of a second, Ethan froze.

Then he smiled.

"Oh, that."

He leaned back as though nothing had happened.

"The guys were screwing around while you were gone. They called the dancer over for a drink."

He met my eyes without flinching.

"I didn't let her get close. I gave her some cash and told her to keep it professional."

He sounded completely sincere.

So sincere that if I hadn't seen him with my own eyes, I probably would have believed every word.

"Exactly," one of his men said quickly. "Claire, you know Ethan. He's practically a saint when it comes to you."

Another man lifted his glass.

"The boss takes his wife everywhere. Women throw themselves at him and he doesn't even look twice."

Someone laughed.

"Prince Charming with a body count."

The table erupted in laughter.

I didn't.

Instead, I looked toward the stage.

The dancer avoided my eyes.

Her camisole was still slightly crooked, and embarrassment flickered across her face when she realized I was watching.

One of Ethan's men seemed to notice the tension. He immediately cracked a joke and slapped himself across the cheek, pretending he'd had too much whiskey.

Everyone laughed again.

I smiled with them.

But no joke could erase what I had seen.

And no amount of laughter could make me forget what Ethan had said when he thought I wasn't there.

It wasn't his first time.