Tapping her fingers impatiently on the polished mahogany desk with her legs churning out of nervousness, Mackenzie wondered what her fate would be. Would she be lucky this time?

She noticed the clock across the office tick. It’s noon.

Shortly after, the door opened. A man in a lab coat entered with a report in his right hand. Mackenzie stood up with a curious yet worried gaze as she looked up at the doctor with a glazy expression.

"Doctor Paul!" Mrs. Axford's voice rang out.

The doctor nodded in acknowledgment, his gaze focused on her. "I have received your report, Mrs. Axford."

"H-how is it?" she asked, her voice trembling with anxiety.

The doctor adjusted his glasses shrewdly, using his left hand before stepping into the room.

"Am I pregnant?" she inquired.

Her voice quivered with hope and fear.

"Why don't we have a seat and talk more about that, Mrs. Axford?" the doctor suggested calmly, gesturing toward the chairs nearby.

Now acutely aware of her anxiety, Mrs. Axford nodded, her heart racing and thoughts racing even faster. "Yes, doctor."

They settled into their designated seats, Doctor Paul easing into his chair while Mackenzie took the seat meant for patients or visitors, her body tense with anticipation.

"So, what have you found out, doctor? Am I pregnant?" Mackenzie's hands pressed against the desk as she leaned forward, her gaze locked onto the doctor's face, a mix of desperation and anticipation in her eyes. It was all she could do to maintain a semblance of composure.

After losing her child the previous year, her husband had been drifting away from her. It was obvious! He no longer looked at her like he used to. If she hadn't told him that she was trying for another child, he would stop coming to bed with her completely!

But these recent days, she found a ray of hope.

Hope.

A throbbing headache and feeling of nausea? Lightheadedness? Many would hate having these symptoms. But for her, it was everything! Mackenzie's hands unconsciously rested on her belly.

A pregnancy.

That was her hope to get back the attention and love of her husband. Just the confirmation of her pregnancy from the doctor after all the symptoms she's had the past couple of weeks. Her relationship with her husband would go back to how it was.

Blissful.

Loving.

Kind.

"I regret to inform you that your pregnancy test came back negative, Mrs. Axford," Doctor Paul conveyed gently yet directly.

Her hope crumbled, just like that. Mackenzie's voice was laced with disbelief. "What?!" She threw her hands over the desk rigidly, rising to her feet, her eyes glistening with tears. “No way!"

Doctor Paul's demeanor remained composed. As the Axford family's longstanding physician, he had developed an understanding of their dynamics. While Mackenzie had joined the family more recently, he recognized the significance of her potential pregnancy for her relationship with her husband.

"I even had some pregnancy symptoms!" Mackenzie interjected, her voice wavering.

Doctor Paul regarded Mackenzie sympathetically as her words tumbled out in a rush. "I had a splitting headache. I felt lightheaded and weak whenever I did not eat on time!" she declared, her disbelief still evident.

"About that, Mrs. Axford…" Doctor Paul's gaze remained attentive as he spoke, "You might want to sit down for this."

Distraught, Mackenzie sank back into the chair, her distress mirrored in her posture.

"The body scan indicated that you are not pregnant, Mrs. Axford. However, we found something else—"

"—Enough of the suspense, Doctor Paul. If you have anything to say, please say it!" Mackenzie's usual deliberate manner was overshadowed by her frustration. Doctor Paul's repeated emphasis on her not being pregnant, despite her symptoms, had chipped away at her patience. If it wasn't pregnancy, then what was it?!

"You've been confirmed to have Meningioma." The doctor pushed the report lying in front of him towards Mackenzie.

"W-what?" She shuddered, feeling her stomach tighten.

"That must have been the reason for your headaches."

"What's a Meningioma?" Mackenzie did not know what it was, even though she knew it sounded like something she should dread.

"A meningioma is a tumor…"

Mackenzie's stomach dropped.

A tumor?

"Yes. It is a kind of tumor that forms on membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord inside the skull," the doctor explained.

Mackenzie swallowed, her heart, breaking, and throat closing up. How could she have such a horrible diagnosis? Just this morning, her mother-in-law had looked at her with such hopeful eyes. Her husband too… had looked at her a bit differently.

How could she go back home and tell them that she wasn't only 'not pregnant’ but that she had a tumor as well? It was beyond shameful to her. It made her scared. She did not want to die after all her struggles to live a good life started paying off.

Memories of her life back in the fields where she lived with her father in North Dakota consumed her and they made her want to cry.

Her father.

Her poor father.

She had not done anything for him yet. How could she have this deadly disease? How could she die and leave her poor father alone in this world? Would he even survive the heartbreak of losing his only daughter? He had gone through so much to raise her alone after her mother left the world when she was only a baby.

"Mrs. Axford, are you listening?"

Mackenzie was snapped out of her thoughts on hearing the doctor's voice. "Oh, yes," she said quickly.

"Then why don't we continue—"

"No, I have something to do so why don't we continue this conversation another time?" Mackenzie said, grabbing her report and her handbag which was slung on the chair.

She was scared.

And she didn't want to hear a thing that would crush her soul any further. Most importantly, she didn't want to hear her death date. She was certain her mind would collapse if she heard that.

"Mrs. Axford, I understand that this result may be frightening for you. But with the right treatments, you can overcome it. Please come with your husband the next time you come for a consultation. That way, we can talk in-depth about your health and the best way to treat it as soon as possible."

That was as far as Mackenzie was willing to listen before she walked out the door, hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

She strolled down the hallway, remembering vividly the day she left home and got married. That stunning evening, her eyes were determined to move on to the next phase of her life.

She had thought that leaving her father would be the best option. That way, she would not be a burden to him, and she would even help him. But now that she was married, she had not been able to do a single thing to help him. Neither had she allowed him to visit her.

How could she?

Her father was poor and unsophisticated. He was no match for the class of the family she married into. Although she was the same as her father, her husband had upgraded her standard of living to his family’s own.

Mackenzie's tears continued to fall as she exited the hallway and headed for the exit.

What could she do now?

Once she got home and told her husband and mother-in-law that she was not pregnant and instead had a tumor. What would be their reaction?

As Mackenzie walked past the moving doors, the cold wind hit her face but it felt like a bucket of cold water had hit her. Her current situation dawned on her and she wiped her tears, suddenly having an insight into how to handle the situation.

Flipping her hair back, she moved away from the building to the parking lot, where her driver, Ben was waiting for her.

"Congratulations, ma’am," the driver said once they were within the same proximity. Mackenzie simply ignored him and entered the car.

Even the driver was looking forward to news of her pregnancy. She could only imagine how disappointed the others would be.

The ride home was quiet.

There was some tension in the air, and the occasional glances the driver sent Mackenzie's way proved that he could feel that something wasn't right with her. However, he would be out of line to ask.

As they reached familiar lands, Mackenzie winded down the windows and stared out to see the villa that stood dignified among the surrounding trees and plants.

They drove a bit further until they were up in front of a yard that separated the main house from the smaller unit. This was where Mackenzie resided with her husband. Although it was smaller than the main house, it was bigger than an average apartment and had a big park and garden. It even had a patio.

The driver pulled over in front of the house in the small parking lot next to a black Benz Mackenzie had seen before. But not at her house. Ever.

Mackenzie looked at the car again and exhaled seeing the resemblance to her sister-in-law's. Maybe Selene dropped by to say hello to her husband after greeting their father-in-law.

At the thought of that, Mackenzie's misery calmed a bit. She had had some personal contact with Selene and she could say with her heart that Selene was a sweet woman. Despite her tight schedule, she found the time to come and visit. She's so sweet, Mackenzie thought as she walked into the house and assessed the door. Strangely, it was not locked.

Mackenzie smiled. It was a funny habit of her husband to leave the door unlocked. She didn't think much of it and proceeded inside. However, as she took a step inside, she noticed something odd.

A Louis Vuitton bag was lying right in the middle of the stairway.

Did Selene have an accident and fall?

Mackenzie remembered always seeing Selene in heels so that was the only possibility she could think of when she saw the expensive bag lying in the stairway.

Slowly, she strutted through the staircase and passed the hallway to her bedroom which she shared with her darling husband. However, just as she neared the door…

"ARGH! YESS!"

The sounds of someone's wet pussy getting pounded filled her ears.

"You love that, don't you, my love?"

"Mmh you bet I do, you monster— Aarhh yess!"

The sound of hips thrusting into each other in perfect sync with the moans and groans of a man and woman reaching their climax.

Mackenzie would almost find that beautiful if she didn't recognize those voices. With her heart in her throat, she turned the doorknob and her heart sank further into despair as she was acclimated to see the proof of what beseeched those oh-so-incredible moans.

Selene's legs tightly laced around her husband's neck and her husband's pleasure organ, which was supposed to be preserved for her, was buried in Selene's protruding pussy.

That scene alone was gory but the reaction on their faces being caught was what horrified her. She could not even believe what she was seeing.

Jeffrey moved off Selene, holding his shaft which was going limp from his release and fixed her with a nonchalant stare. "What's the matter, woman? Cat got your tongue?"

Mackenzie shuddered seeing the expression of indifference on her husband's face. Neither did the woman in bed with him look shamed. It felt like a rude slap on her face, a harsh reminder of exactly how valued she was to him.

"J-Jeff," Mackenzie struggled to say with quivering lips. "H-how could you do this?"

She looked at Selene next who was untangling herself from her husband's neck, her expression dull compared to before. It looked like Selene did not even care about the fact that Mackenzie just caught her fucking her husband. “S-Selene." Mackenzie was shaking now with both anger and dismay.

Even if her husband, Jeff cheated on her, he could have done it with someone else. Why his brother's wife, Selene?

It wasn't only her husband that was the culprit so she had to make Selene take responsibility as well. If she hadn't agreed to her husband's advances, they wouldn't be in this situation right now.

"How could you do this, Selene?! You're married to my husband's brother—"

"—Shut it." Selene moved away from Jeffrey on the bed and stood on her feet, showing her glistening body in its full glory.

Perky, small breasts that dangled when she moved, with the flattest stomach to make up for it. She did not have wide hips but she had a slim waist that made up for it and the longest legs Mackenzie had ever seen before. What’s more, she had the clearest of skin and she smelt like heaven.

Who could not want her?

But still… this was wrong!

"Because your stupid interruption ruined the mood, I'm no longer interested. And to think I left a gig just to have some fun," Selene stated unabashedly before letting out a yawn.

Selene O'Malley – that was her name. Amber-haired, with a pair of captivating green eyes. An exclusive model for Elite Model Management. Undoubtedly beautiful, but her current demeanor revealed a side of her that made Mackenzie see her as repulsive. All the pleasant behavior Selene had exhibited turned out to be nothing more than deceitful gestures.

"Listen closely, leech," Selene growled, stepping closer to Mackenzie and lifting her chin to meet her gaze.

"If you breathe a word to anyone about what you just witnessed, I'll tear apart everything you hold dear."

Although Selene's voice wasn't too loud, Mackenzie felt threatened. She froze, and as Selene picked up her things and left, Mackenzie felt defeated enough to know that she would not be doing anything about it. She was too frightened and too weak, despite the fact that what she just witnessed made her angry.

"Do as Selene said, alright?" Jeffrey's voice came across as nonchalant while he pulled on a pair of pants and casually draped a T-shirt over his shoulder.

Before exiting the room, he cast a brief glance in her direction and added, "Catch you later, alright?"

And with that, he strolled out, the subsequent door slam striking Mackenzie like a physical blow.

"Catch you later, alright?"

His words reverberated in her ears.

How could he say that? As if he hadn't just betrayed her?

"HOW?!" she cried out in anguish.