The Fake Wife's Spectacular Genius Comeback

For five long years, Chloe Hayes had endured the grueling torture of fertility treatments just to give her husband a child. Her abdomen was still covered in mottled, purple bruises from endless ovulation injections.

However, before she could even share the joy of her long-awaited pregnancy, she found herself in the hospital, watching her husband gently caress another woman's belly.

"Honey, do you think our baby will look like you or me?" Chloe stood frozen behind a frosted glass partition, watching as a woman just a few feet away wrapped her arms around her husband, Julian Sterling's neck, pouting coquettishly as if they were the only two people in the world.

Seeing the woman's face clearly, Chloe's eyes instantly burned red.

It was Isabelle Vance, the daughter of Julian's business partner. She was only twenty years old, a full ten years younger than Julian.

Julian's voice carried a doting affection that Chloe hadn't heard in years. "Like you, of course. That way, the baby will be absolutely adorable."

The two walked right past the corner where Chloe was hiding, completely oblivious to her presence.

Chloe clenched her fists so tightly that her perfectly manicured nails dug deep into her palms, breaking the skin, yet she felt no physical pain. The betrayal hit her chest like a heavy sledgehammer.

For the past half-month, Julian had used the excuse of being on a "business trip." Every night, they would video call, and she would listen to him talk about how much he missed her. In reality, he had been playing house with another woman this entire time.

And she, like a fool, had believed him. To give this liar a child, she had endured countless needles and the endless agony of hormonal imbalances.

"Excuse me, ma'am? We cannot create a prenatal file with the documents you provided."

The voice of the receptionist pulled Chloe's thoughts back to reality. She had come to the hospital alone today to confirm her pregnancy and set up a file.

"Why not?" Chloe's voice trembled slightly.

"Because your husband is already registered in our maternity system with another woman. Are you sure the marriage certificate and your husband's ID information you provided are correct?"

A suffocating wave of humiliation and shock crashed over her. Chloe suddenly felt the world spinning, and a cold sweat instantly soaked her back. She had just witnessed the scene with her own eyes, but having a stranger puncture the truth still made her feel nauseous.

"How is that possible?" She desperately tried to maintain her last shred of dignity, forcing the words out. "My husband and I have been married for five years, and our relationship has always been great. Did your system make a mistake?"

The nurse looked at her with a complex mix of pity and hesitation. "There is no mistake, ma'am. The ID and marriage certificate information you provided for that gentleman are in our system. Half a month ago, he and his legally registered wife came here to set up a file and had their first prenatal checkup."

Legally registered wife?

The words pierced Chloe's brain like jagged shards of ice. Five years of marriage, five years of agonizing sacrifices, all reduced to a grotesque joke in a matter of seconds. An icy chill seeped into her bones. She wasn't just being cheated on; her entire existence as his wife was a complete lie.

Thirty minutes later, Chloe stood outside a members-only club in SoHo.

Julian's Mercedes was parked right out front. She had followed their car all the way here.

The bouncer blocked her path.

"Members only."

"I'm Julian Sterling's wife."

"You're not on the list."

Chloe smiled. She pulled a stack of hundred-dollar bills from her pocket-money she had originally saved to decorate the nursery-and shoved it directly into the bouncer's palm.

"Am I on the list now?"

The door opened.

The hallway smelled like old leather and expensive whiskey. Laughter spilled from a private room at the end of the corridor.

It was one of Julian's closest friends speaking.

"Bro, you are one lucky bastard. You've got the obedient Chloe at home acting as your free housekeeper, and the romantic, exciting Isabelle on the outside. The best of both worlds, truly enviable!"

Isabelle blushed at the teasing and lowered her head, hiding in Julian's embrace.

Julian held her, glancing lazily at his friends. "Alright, knock it off. Belle is shy; don't tease her."

Another friend lowered his voice and interjected, "But seriously, Julian, when are you going to tell Chloe the truth? Tell her the marriage certificate is fake, and Isabelle is the real Mrs. Sterling?"

Julian scoffed, taking a lazy sip of his whiskey. "Why would I tell her? Chloe can't even get pregnant. My mother and the board would never accept a woman who can't produce an heir as the matriarch of the family."

"Then why keep her around?"

"She's stubborn," Julian sneered. "If I hadn't trapped her with a fake marriage certificate to make her cook and clean for me, she would have run off ages ago. But her personality is extreme. If she finds out about Isabelle and the baby, I'm afraid she might go crazy and hurt them. So it's best to keep her in the dark. It's been five years anyway, and the stupid woman hasn't suspected a thing."

In the shadows outside the door, Chloe's blood instantly ran cold.

All her sorrow vanished in that moment, replaced by a freezing, absolute rage capable of burning everything to the ground.

She pulled out her phone, her fingers surprisingly steady, and dialed a number.

"Hello, this is Chloe Hayes. I need to book a procedure as soon as possible."

"What procedure, ma'am?"

"An abortion."