Husband Stolen Twice Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Woman Pregnant with My Husband’s Child

Clink. Byeolha’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit as she held her teacup. Shocked by her friend’s unexpected words, she nearly dropped the cup.

Perhaps because she flinched, the hot tea sloshed over and spilled onto the back of her hand.

“Ouch, hot!”

The not-yet-cooled tea scorched her skin, making it sting. Byeolha quickly set down the cup and wiped her hand. Her pale skin had already turned red.

Gyeoru silently watched Byeolha fumble, then spoke—without even asking if she was okay, only focused on what she had to say.

“He said he wants to marry me.”

Byeolha, who had been gently blowing on her hand to cool it, turned to look at Gyeoru.

“That’s great. Congratulations. Have you set a date? You should hurry before your belly gets bigger.”

Since Gyeoru had always bragged about her boyfriend and how much he adored her, Byeolha congratulated her sincerely.

“We’ve already had the family meeting and booked the wedding hall.”

Gyeoru gave a faint smile as if telling her not to worry and started rummaging through her expensive designer bag.

“I called you today to give you the wedding invitation.”

She placed the invitation on the table with a loud thud and gently pushed it toward Byeolha.

“You’ve already printed the invitations?”

The pearlescent finish made it look luxurious. Byeolha picked up the envelope and opened it.

November 28th. 1:00 PM. S Hotel Wedding Hall.

The front was simple. Just the date, time, location, and the names of the bride and groom. When Byeolha saw the groom’s name, her eyes widened.

“Oh my, the groom’s name is ‘Lee Dohyeon’? That’s the same name as my husband!”

What a coincidence. Was the name Dohyeon that common?

Surprised, Byeolha spoke with amazement. Gyeoru, sitting across from her, began twitching her lips.

She seemed to be suppressing a smile, her eyes intently focused on Byeolha.

“How funny. Well, compared to our names, ‘Lee Dohyeon’ is a pretty common one.”

“Pfft.”

Trying to stifle her laughter, Gyeoru finally couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. A sharp, almost cruel laugh filled the café.

“Ah… hold on. Haha…”

All eyes in the café turned toward her, but Gyeoru clutched her stomach, laughing without care.

“You’re too funny. Seriously.”

Tears welled up in her eyes from laughing so hard. She wiped them away and gestured toward the invitation.

“Open it.”

“Huh? Okay…”

‘Why is she laughing like that all of a sudden?’

Byeolha felt uneasy. Gyeoru’s gaze felt mocking. Byeolha, still staring at her, slowly unfolded the invitation.

Inside was a simple message wishing for a happy marriage, and a wedding photo of the bride and groom.

Gyeoru, in a figure-hugging dress, stood beside the groom with a joyful smile.

“…?”

The moment she saw the photo, Byeolha’s mind went blank. The man beside Gyeoru was someone she knew very well.

“Why is my husband…?”

Could it be someone who just looked like him? Was she imagining things because the name was the same?

Byeolha looked at the invitation again and again. No matter how many times she checked, the man in the photo was indeed her husband, Lee Dohyeon.

“What is this? Not funny. Stop joking around.”

Biting her lower lip, Byeolha looked at Gyeoru. Her eyes lost focus, trembling with confusion. Gyeoru brushed back her long hair and looked at Byeolha, who was shaking like a leaf.

Seeing Byeolha clinging to even a sliver of hope made Gyeoru chuckle.

‘Idiot. No wonder she lost him.’

Even after showing the invitation, she still doesn’t get it. Gyeoru decided she had to spell it out clearly.

“I’m pregnant with your husband’s child.”

“……!”

Thud.

‘I’m… she’s pregnant with my husband’s child?’

Byeolha’s heart sank. The shock made her suck in a breath. Her head spun, and her stomach churned.

‘No way. Why… with my husband…!’

Her hands trembled like tree branches in the wind as she covered her mouth. Gyeoru’s words didn’t feel real. She prayed Dohyeon would suddenly appear and say it was all a joke.

But that hope was in vain.

Dohyeon never showed up. Gyeoru gently stroked her still-flat belly and smiled triumphantly.

‘It must be a misunderstanding. My husband would never do this to me.’

Dohyeon was always the devoted type, admired by many for his love toward Byeolha. Even after seeing the invitation, she couldn’t accept the truth.

“I’ll tell you what November 28th means. It’s my and Dohyeon’s 6th anniversary. So don’t give me that nonsense about misunderstandings.”

Gyeoru seemed to know exactly what Byeolha was thinking. Her mention of six years left Byeolha frozen.

Not just a fleeting affair—but six whole years.

A storm of despair overwhelmed her. Her heart felt torn to shreds, her breath shallow with pain.

“Did you know he visited me even while I was studying in the U.S.? Dohyeon is really sweet. Not just in daily life, but in bed too.”

Gyeoru provocatively licked her lower lip, smiling slyly. She found Byeolha’s ignorant happiness laughable. She had longed to say it:

Your husband loves me.

Gyeoru looked down at the broken Byeolha with eyes full of triumph and then twisted the knife.

“Dohyeon and I were together the night before your wedding. We spent the night at a hotel, and then he went to the ceremony.”

Tears welled in Byeolha’s eyes. She couldn’t speak—just sat there, crying helplessly.

“Your husband never loved you. He always said it was me he loved, not you. So don’t be too sad. You’ll find someone else who can love you.”

Byeolha finally lowered her head, unable to listen any longer.

Her tears soaked into her lap as her shoulders shook with sobs.

“You’ll still congratulate us, right?”

Gyeoru’s devilish voice pierced Byeolha’s ears. It echoed, relentless, breaking her down.

You want me to congratulate you—for marrying my husband?

It was more than outrageous—it was unjust.

She wanted to scream, to yank Gyeoru’s hair and demand an explanation, but her body wouldn’t move.

The shock had drained all her strength.

“You think… I’ll agree to a divorce?”

Byeolha’s voice trembled. It was her final cry.

Despite her shaking, she was determined not to yield. Gyeoru laughed mockingly.

“Are you threatening me?”

Gyeoru burst out laughing, completely unshaken. She even mocked the idea of a divorce.

“You didn’t even register your marriage to Dohyeon.”

“……!”

“And you’re talking about divorce?”

Byeolha flinched. Gyeoru had hit a nerve.

She hadn’t legally married Dohyeon. She had respected his wish to wait until they had a child.

Gyeoru rummaged through her bag again and threw a document on the table.

“Legally, Dohyeon and I are already married.”

Byeolha finally looked up, her blurred vision catching the folded paper.

Slam!

“…Liar!”

Byeolha slammed the table and shouted, then stared blankly at the paper.

“You’ll know whether it’s a lie if you look with your own eyes.”

Gyeoru forced the document into Byeolha’s hands and smirked. Byeolha, seeing what it was, couldn’t say a word.

Everything Gyeoru said was true.

On the official family registry, Dohyeon was listed as her spouse.

“…Ha.”

“So, can you stop calling him your husband? He’s not yours—he’s mine.”

With arms crossed, she looked down at Byeolha with the smugness of a victor.

Byeolha finally let go of her last sliver of hope. Her six years of love and marriage were all denied.

The cruel reality strangled her. Without even grabbing her bag, she stumbled out of the café.

Outside, she collapsed after just a few steps. Under the gentle autumn sun, among the laughter of strangers, her shoulders silently shook.

****

At 26, that autumn was brutally cruel. Her heart crumbled like fallen leaves underfoot.

‘I’m hungry…’

In a cramped one-room apartment, she awoke, sprawled on the floor, driven by hunger.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she fumbled along the ground and grabbed her smartphone. Almost automatically, she opened Instagram.

Followers: 0. Following: 0.

That was her account. With practiced ease, she searched for usernames and checked in on the lives of her friends and family.

Her eyes, filled with a mixture of bitterness and guilt, stared at the phone for a long time.

After the divorce, Byeolha had spent over three years in seclusion. She could have leaned on friends or family, but being with them always reminded her of Lee Dohyeon.

So she ran away. To a place with no ties, where nothing reminded her of him. She even quit her job—she couldn’t stay at the same company as Dohyeon.

Byeolha changed her number, even her name, and tried to forget both Dohyeon and Gyeoru.

Whoever said humans are creatures of forgetfulness was wrong. Just when she thought she’d forgotten, the nightmare would resurface, tormenting her life.

She set down her phone and slowly rose to her feet. Shuffling across the room, she lit the gas stove to boil water for a meal.

The division of assets had been delayed because the apartment wouldn’t sell. It had already been three years since she started living in this one-room flat.

Byeolha pulled out one of the books left behind by the previous tenant and spread it out on the floor. Then, she placed the pot on top of it.

As she cooked her ramen, the title of the book caught her eye.

The Countess Caught in a Trap

She had come across the novel by chance after moving into this place. Out of curiosity, she flipped through its pages but never finished it.

It was a tragic romance about a count who constantly got involved with other women and the countess who suffered because of him.

Byeolha had become so emotionally invested in the female protagonist’s pain that she couldn’t bear to read it to the end.

“I should throw it out.”

Just seeing the title put her in a foul mood. Staring down at the book, she muttered to herself.

She picked it up with her index finger and tossed it into the trash can.

Thud!

That wasn’t just the sound of a discarded book. Byeolha frowned at the unfamiliar noise and strained to listen.

KA-BOOM!

Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the ground.

“W-what?!”

The earth trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck. Byeolha had no time to react before the building collapsed on top of her.

Alone in a place with no connections, Byeolha met her end. Her first life ended in a tragically pitiful way.

She couldn’t have known—within the pages of that discarded book, a brilliant second life awaited her.

As consciousness faded, she felt someone desperately calling her name.

“…Are you alright?!”

Relying on the faint voice, she forced her heavy eyelids open. The first thing she saw was an impossibly ornate chandelier.