His Shame, My Crown

Three years into her marriage to Adrian Blackwood, Joanna discovers him with his childhood sweetheart, Summer Cole, in his office. Adrian has frozen her bank cards, so she has come only to ask for money for her prenatal checkup. He makes her apologize to Summer before he will hand it over, and she bends, for the sake of her unborn child.

Joanna had once believed in Adrian's love, but Mrs. Blackwood, who opposed the marriage from the start, made a bet with her: if Adrian chose Summer within three months, Joanna would leave New York. Now she accepts defeat, and divorce papers will reach her within three days.

As she packs, Joanna finds another woman's underwear in the marital bed, and Adrian's cold demands continue. Her mother lies in the ICU, her baby is at risk, and the man she married no longer hides his contempt.