56

TWENTY SIX

Mrs. Donovan laughed sarcastically, her tone dripping with malice. "I’m a stepmother too, Talia. Do you think I wouldn’t know how these things work? Dare it not?" She touched her cheek, her eyes gleaming with cruel amusement. "Think it through, okay?" she added, flashing a wicked smile before turning to leave.

Talia stood frozen, her tears flowing freely, her body trembling with despair. As Mrs. Donovan’s footsteps faded, Talia sank deeper into her grief, her mind racing with the impossible choices laid before her. She raised her tear-streaked face to the ceiling, her voice quivering with desperation. "Mom, what should I do?" she cried out, her heart aching with the weight of her situation.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. *Pregnant!* Her eyes widened as the thought took hold. "Yes! In three months, I’ll get pregnant… with Leo’s child," she whispered, her voice filled with determination as she clutched her chest. "Leo's child is also a Donovan child, right? If I