Marcia Patton didn't know her baby had been cut out of her and her womb destroyed — all on her husband Wilmer's 0rders. "Are you insane? Do it with your wife!" Marcia walked in on Wilmer in bed with Lorie Snyder. Wilmer's movements only growing more violent. "She'll never get expecting again. I had the doctor take care of it." "Don't tell me that the baby was still alive when they cut him out." Wilmer stiffened. "...Yeah." Marcia gripped the wall with both hands just to stay upright. That night, she swallowed play-dead pills. On the sixth day, her breathing would stop entirely. She counted the days, counted the nights. Wilmer, I swear… I will leave you.

Chapter 1

Marcia Patton had risen from a beggar girl to a marshal's wife, yet after five years with no baby, she became the laughingstock of every socialite circle.

She had finally gotten pregnant, but less than a month later, she lost the baby.

Crushed with grief, Marcia went looking for comfort from her husband, Wilmer Kent. Instead, she walked in on him in bed with Lorie Snyder—the very woman responsible for her parents' deaths.

"The Snyder family has fallen. You're no longer the highborn lady you once were. You're my captive now, and you're gonna give me many kids!"

"Are you insane? Make your wife do it! She's already pregnant, isn't she?"

Wilmer's eyes darkened, his movements only growing more violent. "Marcie stood with me through life and death, so the title and honor of a marshal's wife belong to her. But the mother of my heirs must be a well-bred, educated lady like you—not an illiterate beggar girl like her.

"I had the doctor cut the baby out and destroy her womb. She'