Chapter 1

 Get out of my face!” Edward Sanders bellowed. His voice vibrated in every corner of the tea room where he sat with his wife, his son and his daughter. “Get out of our lives! Consider yourself banished! You cannot expect any form of financial support from this family from now on!”

“Dad!” Julianne heard her twin brother plead. “That is too harsh a punishment! She made a mistake but she’s still my sister, she’s still your daughter! And the baby she is carrying in her tummy is every bit our flesh and blood! Do you really want your grandchild to grow up without a family?”

“What difference does it make? It will grow up without a father, right? Its poor excuse of a father chose for him to become a bastard! And its mother chose to smear this family’s name! Generations of good reputation, wealth and grace… gone because of your sister’s indiscretion!”

“I know she caused you grief. But I guarantee you it would break your heart even more if you choose to banish her from this family, father. Please don’t do this!” Gian tried desperately to defend his sister.

“I have made my decision. Your sister has made her bed, she has to go lie on it!”

Julianne listened in tears as her father and twin brother talked about her like she was not in the same room at all. Her mother cried silently beside her father. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at her.

“Where will she go?” Gian asked.

“I don’t care where she goes, so long as she and her bastard stay away from this family!”

Julianne’s heart broke even more for the baby inside her tummy. Usually, news of pregnancy was celebrated, particularly in their family. Her baby wasn’t even born yet and he was already hated, loathed and cursed by his very own grandfather.

“I am giving you three hours to pack,” her father said to her. “When I come back from my golf game, you better be gone.”

“You’re kicking her out of the house while you continue to have a good time with your golf buddies? What kind of a father are you?” Gian asked his father angrily.

“Don’t use that tone on me, Giancarlo Sanders! Or do you want to be the next to be disinherited?”

“You’re disinheriting her?” Gian echoed.

 “After what she did to tarnish our family name? After I had to swallow all my pride to tell the McAllisters that we could no longer honor our agreement? She should be thankful that’s the only thing I’m doing.”

“You are unbelievable,” Gian said, shaking his head. He turned to his sister. “Come on, Ian. We can figure something out.”

Julianne gave her father one pleading look. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to break your heart. I am so sorry.”

Her father turned away from her, without uttering another word. Gian quickly dragged her out of the room and into her bedroom so she could pack her precious belongings.

After she packed a few clothes, her eyes drifted to the cabinet in her room. It was full of her glass bottle collection. She walked towards the cabinet, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“You cannot bring that, sis,” Gian told her.

“Gian, I’ve collected these since I was young!”

“I know. I will safeguard them for you, don’t worry. Where you’re going, you cannot bring a cabinet full of fragile glass bottles.”

She nodded, and then took her bag from the bed.

A few hours later, Julianne found herself in the airport. Her cousin, Justin Adams, and his wife, Adrienne, were waiting for them.

“Ian!” Adrienne ran up to her and gave her a hug. “Oh, sweetheart, are you okay?”

Julianne opened her mouth to answer but no words came out. Instead, more tears came rolling down her cheeks.

“It’s going to be okay,” Adrienne whispered. “You are not going to do this alone. I promise, even if it’s against everybody’s will, I don’t care. I will be there for you.”

Justin came up behind his wife.

Tears fell from Julianne’s eyes. “My Dad is going to kill you for going against his will,” she told Justin.

“Well, this isn’t the first time I’m gonna go against their will. I’ve done this before and so far, nobody has banished me from the family,” Justin said confidently.

Julianne knew the risk Justin and Adrienne were taking. Their families were very close, their ties were hard to break. They all belonged to wealthy and prominent families, each one owning large businesses and conglomerates in the country. Reputation was of high importance. And so was respect. When one of the elders in their clan made a huge decision, the others were expected to keep quiet, to obey and concur out of respect. That was how they maintained balance and harmony.

When news of Julianne’s banishment reached the other members of their clan, all of her aunts and uncles were expected to respect her father’s decision, even if some of them did not agree that it was the proper punishment for her mistake. To disagree and do something about it might spark friction and unnecessary fights among the four powerful families.

But somehow, there she was, at the airport, about to board the Adams private jet. She didn’t know where the plane was taking her, but she didn’t care—well, she didn’t have much of a choice. Right then, she had nowhere to go.

“Justin, thank you,” Julianne whispered. “I know the risks you guys are taking.”

“Don’t thank me,” Justin said. “Thank this woman, who twisted my arm.” He put an arm around his wife’s shoulders.

Julianne smiled at Adrienne. “You have always been there for me. How could I ever thank you?”

“It’s okay. I know you’d do the same for me,” Adrienne said, smiling at her encouragingly.

“All set?” Gian asked behind her.

“Yes,” Justin replied. “Mason and Abi are going to pick her up at the airport. Ian will stay with them. And there, Uncle Edward cannot touch her. She will be taken care of.”

“I will take care of every single thing you will need. I will send you money. Make sure you take care of your baby. You don’t have to worry about anything. I will visit every single chance I get,” Gian said, hugging her. “You may have lost our parents, but don’t you ever think that you will lose me, too.”

“Us too,” Adrienne agreed. “Justin and I will check up on you. We’ll visit whenever we can. We’ll bring Jeffrey along so you can see your nephew.”

Julianne heaved a sigh. She realized how much her life was going to change now and how much she was going to leave behind.

She was the princess of their family—the only girl born in their family’s generation. She had a twin brother and three male cousins. Her family owned Sanders Incorporated, which manufactured cranes and heavy equipment. Justin’s family owned the biggest steel and mining company in the country. Her cousin Jordan’s family owned one of the biggest coffee chains. Her cousin Mason’s family owned a chain of hotel apartments.

She had always thought that being the only girl, she was the only one free to choose her own destiny. Gian would take over the family business, like Justin and Jordan. She, on the other hand, could do whatever she wanted with her life.

But the news of Justin’s arranged marriage two years ago revealed that she too had been arranged to marry one of the country’s most eligible bachelors, Patrick McAllister, who came from a generation of politicians.

It was a great match and everybody agreed, including her family. But Julianne wanted the freedom to explore, to make mistakes and to fall in love.

When she learned of her arranged marriage, she fought hard against it. She had only met Patrick McAllister once. Yes, he was handsome and smart. But Julianne wanted passion and excitement. She wanted love that would consume her, a man who would make her senses go numb and her mind go blank.

And in those last two weeks in Paris… she had everything she ever dreamt of.

“You’re not going to tell us who he is, are you?” Gian asked, his voice cold and his expression sullen.

Julianne blinked back at her brother, like she was coming out of a trance.

“Yeah, Ian. He got you into so much trouble. It’s not fair that you have to go through this alone,” Justin said. It was a trick sentence. She knew what Justin and Gian would do the minute she told them his name—the guy she fell in love with in Paris.

“Guys!” Adrienne hissed. “I’m sure when Ian is ready, she will tell us exactly what happened in her trip. Right now is not the time to deal with this. She’s a grown woman and I’m sure she doesn’t regret being with this guy.” Adrienne looked at her with a slightly raised brow, as if begging her to agree with her.

Julianne nodded in agreement. “I know this is a lot to take. You guys may think that I just threw away my bright future. But… I’m gonna take care of this baby. No matter what Dad or Mom says, I’m going to do this.”

“That son of a bitch is going to pay for leaving you to do this on your own!” Gian said between gritted teeth. “I’m going to beat him black and blue. If only you tell me his name!”

Julianne rolled her eyes. “Now that you say that… there is absolutely no way you’re going to find out!” She looked at them pleadingly. “Look guys. I know you’re mad and you’re putting the blame on him. But did it ever occur to you that I just met a great guy, had a wonderful week in Paris? We fell in love and decided to part ways… damn the consequences? I mean… what if I’ve always wanted to do this alone?”

Gian smirked. “What woman would want to raise a child alone?”

Julianne raised a brow at him. “Excuse me! Women do not need men to take care of their babies! We’re stronger than you give us credit for, you chauvinist pig!”

“It’s the hormones, Gian. Don’t take it personally,” Justin quipped. “When Adrienne was pregnant, I’d get snapped at and cursed at every other half an hour. And she’s never looked more beautiful and fiery in my eyes.”

“That’s because you’re the reason a person was growing inside of her. But in my case, there’s a bastard somewhere in Europe who got lucky for a night and left my sister in ruins for the rest of her life!”

“Gian!” Julianne snapped. “One more word and I swear I will banish you from my life! I know you’re mad. But the father of my baby is a wonderful person.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s a dreamboat. Otherwise, I would be seriously disappointed,” Justin said sarcastically.

“Cut it out boys. There will be a time and a place to discuss this. Right now, let’s just focus on getting Ian out of here, before Uncle Edward suspects anything,” Adrienne said.

“Thank you for doing this,” Julianne told Adrienne. “I’ll make it up to you someday, I promise.”

“Don’t worry about that. Let’s get you out of here,”

Julianne hugged Adrienne, Justin and her twin brother. “I’m going to miss you, guys. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to miss us, sis. We’ll visit as soon as things settle down here,” Gian promised.

A few minutes later, Julianne sat alone in the luxurious seats of Adams Industries’ private jet. She felt comfortable, yes, but deep inside, the pain still felt raw and fresh.

Gian was right. She didn’t have to do this alone. Somewhere in the other part of the world, there was a wonderful, handsome Frenchman who made her fall head over heels in love with him in the two weeks she spent in Paris. He was handsome as hell, and he was the sweetest man she had ever met.

She remembered his face like it was only yesterday. He was not just cute, not just hot… he was beautiful. He was an old soul with creative hands and a deep imagination.

She knew him for a brief moment. Fourteen days, twelve long-stemmed roses, a hundred kisses and one night together were all they had and it was enough to last forever.

She came back to the States thinking if she was going to be doomed to a loveless marriage, a marriage for business purposes, then that two weeks in Paris with that wonderful man would have been enough to last her a lifetime. She found the love that consumed her. One night was enough. She didn’t care if she never experienced love again for the rest of her life.

She closed her eyes to imagine him once more…

“Tu es ravissante…” She could still remember his low, guttural voice, thick with emotions, laced with desire. “Mon amour…”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Her whole family thought he had abandoned her. It wasn’t fair. The truth is... he never even got the chance to come after her. Even if he wanted to find her, how could he? When she met him, she didn’t think of having a future with him. She was engaged to someone else.

“Arabella…” She remembered the first time she met him. “My name is Arabella Adams.”

When she left his studio apartment that morning before she boarded the plane back to America, she didn’t think it was necessary to tell him her real name. What for? They didn’t have tomorrow. All her tomorrows were already promised to another man against her will. So, it didn’t matter if she didn’t tell him who she really was… it didn’t matter if she didn’t give him her real name. She might never even see him again.

Who would have known that she would fall in love in two weeks, if she didn’t fall in love with him at first sight? And who would have known she was ovulating the day she finally decided to lose her virginity to the first guy she ever loved? Who would have known he wouldn’t use protection when he’s only met her two weeks ago? Who would have known she would end up pregnant after spending just one night with him?

Julianne gently caressed her abdomen.

“I’m gonna do this,” she whispered. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m going to love you. I’m going to take care of you. We’re going to be just fine.”