[Sasha]I hate him. Hate that he’s right.I did all of this, went through every humiliating step, so Caden would finally marry me. But that bastard—after everything I’ve done, everything I’ve put myself through—hasn’t even mentioned marriage. Not even a damn engagement.I scowl, clenching my hands into fists at my sides. “Well, it’s not my fault your family’s dumb as fuck.”Samuel’s smirk widens. “Oh, you couldn’t be more wrong,” he says, turning around and plopping down on the dingy couch. “They’re not dumb, Sasha. They’re the exact opposite. Why else do you think they handed over the entire business to Caden, knowing full well he isn’t even their real son?”My eyes widen, and my breath catches.“Wait a second. What?”He arches a brow, feigning surprise. “What? You didn’t know? Oops!”There’s no way I could have missed this. “When were you planning to tell me all this? How—I mean—what? How is that even possible? I’ve never heard of this before.”“You didn’t?” He swirls his tongue aro
[Sasha]Once I’m done pacing and stressing over the fact that the Lawrence family isn’t what I thought, I decide it really doesn’t matter. Adopted or not, Caden is still my golden ticket to being rich, especially after I’ve spent so many years of my life pining for him.I turn to face Samuel. “Whatever. I don’t care if Caden is a real Lawrence or not. I love him. And I will do anything for him. So what if he’s taking his time to realize that? He just got divorced. I understand if he needs more time. I’m happy to wait as long as he wants…”I haven’t even finished when Samuel starts laughing, and he laughs so hard and for so long that irritation bubbles up inside me, sharp and hot.“Oh, oh, oh,” he gasps, holding his stomach as if he can’t breathe. “Come on, Sasha, darling. Let’s not fake this, at least not in front of me. I understand if my parents or Caden buy it, but me? Come on! I’m better than that.”I roll my eyes. “I do love him, you know. Why else do you think I’m wasting my tim
[Vivienne]“We need to destroy that woman,” Theo grunts for the thousandth time as we sit at a fine restaurant, waiting for my brother to arrive.I shake my head. “We need to relax. Especially you. No offense, but you’ve been pretty wound up ever since that meeting.”His gaze sharpens as he looks at me. “And I have a damn good reason to be. Did you see the way she talked about you? I’ve never seen such a vile woman in my life. What does she even think of herself? That she can just waltz in and insult you? Well, I’m going to teach her a lesson, that’s for sure. Just wait until Harvey gets here. I’ve already briefed him on everything, and he assured me that we’re not going to let this go.”I rub my head, deciding it’s not worth trying to reason with him—or Harvey, if Theo really told him everything. My brother can be incredibly stubborn when he wants to be. And with family being the most important thing to him, he definitely isn’t going to let this slide.“Fine, fine. Do whatever please
[Caden]My flight is delayed again, and I end up sitting at the bar. A drink in my hand, a million thoughts in my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice someone taking the stool next to me, but I barely turn or acknowledge them. I just want to be left alone.After what Dr. Kaito said about my unborn child, I can’t stop wondering what to do next. Convincing Vivienne to give up the baby is out of the question. She already thinks the worst of me, and no matter what I say, she won’t listen.But isn’t that what I’ve always been afraid of?It’s not that I don’t want a child—who the hell wouldn’t? The problem is this damned treatment I’ve been going through. I never found the courage to tell Vivienne about my… issue. I knew she would have understood, but she always saw me as this perfect man. I couldn’t shatter that image. I never wanted to be anything but perfect—not for anyone but myself, and for her. If she knew how broken I really was, how my own family abandoned me because they con
[Caden]I cannot help but roll my eyes when Alexander slipped on the seat next to me.If only I had the energy to get up and leave—I would have loved to ignore whatever he was here for.But I couldn’t even do that. After learning that my already fallen world was about to implode too, I felt drained and useless and meaningless.Nothing mattered. Not even the care that he’s the last person I should be dealing with right now.I focus on my half-finished drink.“You are very hard to find, Caden,” he says, and that too ever so smoothly.I hate it. I hate it so much I want to punch him in the face. But that would require interest, and I don’t have it either.“What do you want now?” I take a long sip, wanting to dull the effects of the words that are sure to come out of his mouth.He orders himself a whiskey and then dribbles on the wooden counter, probably testing my patience here. “Mother wants to meet you.”“Not happening,” I say and finish my drink in one go. The mention of that woman fi
[Vivienne]I wake up in the middle of night, feeling thirsty.I turn on the lamp and grab the bottle, hoping to pour myself some water.Only to find the bottle is empty.Of course, it is. I have been so thirsty recently, gulping down water as if not an entire waterfall could satisfy me.I sigh and get out of bed, heading out of my bedroom.I could have called one of the staff to bring me another bottle of water, but one look at the clock made me reluctant. It’s half past two. Not the time to disturb someone, especially when I can do that myself.I take the stairs and enter the kitchen. And as I do, my stomach grumbles as if I haven’t eaten anything for ages.God, this pregnancy. It’s turning me into an animal. I have no control over my diet, and I definitely have no control ov
[Vivienne]We rush to the hospital, and I can’t help but panic at the thought of the worst happening.I can’t lose my baby. I just can’t.This has to be some kind of misunderstanding.Maybe what I saw isn’t as scary as it seemed. Maybe I’m overreacting.Yes, I have to cling to that thought—to that hope. There’s no way I’m going to let anything happen to my child.When we reach the hospital, the nurse confirms that I’m still bleeding.My heart clenches at the news, and I pray to whoever is listening, Please, please, please help me just this once.The doctor arrives and asks me some routine questions. He orders an urgent ultrasound, and we all exhale in relief when he finally says the child is fine.I nearly cry from the overwhelming rush of relief. “Thank you, doctor. You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that.”The kind doctor offers a reassuring smile as he explains the next steps. “Ms. Sinclair, I understand how frightening this must be for you, but I want you to know that we’
Tears burn my eyes as I hear Mr. Parker’s words.But he’s not wrong. I don’t have to be alone in this. I don’t have to keep my troubles to myself, especially now that I have people who genuinely care.Of course, my family was always there, and I was the one who distanced myself from them in the first place. But still, I can’t make the same mistake again.I remember that one time when I fractured my ankle after twisting my foot on the stairs. I was all alone in the hospital, and at home too. No one came to see me. Caden was off on his business trips, and his family never cared enough to even ask if I was alive or dead. I spent the entire week by myself, surrounded only by maids. When Caden finally returned home and learned about my fall, all he did was ask how I was doing and make some extra arrangements to oversee my health. Nothing more. We didn’t even sleep in the same room.I mean, I knew he was quiet and mostly kept to himself from the start, but he wasn’t exactly dumb, was he? Co
[Sasha]I can’t believe I’m back here.After everything this family has done to ignore me, to ensure I never received a single penny from them, I’m still here, hoping for some help.Never in my life did I think I’d be in a position where I’d have to beg for my next meal. But here I am, and it’s the only option I have left. After selling the company and using half of the money to pay off the loan shark, and the other half to cover Dad’s hospital bills and pay the overdue salaries of employees we’d kept waiting for years, it wasn’t surprising that I was left with absolutely nothing.It doesn’t help that my idiot brother, Arthur, is nowhere to be found. Ever since he was released from the hospital and learned what I had to do to get rid of the jerk he borrowed from, he’s completely disappeared.Damn it. If I see him next time, I swear to God, I’m going to kill him.“How long is this going to take?” I ask, standing up from the couch as I spot one of the maids of the Lawrence residence pas
[Vivienne]“Where are you? You were supposed to be here hours ago,” I say over the phone, carefully walking down the stairs per the doctor’s instructions during my last visit.“On my way, I swear. Just got caught up in a call and couldn’t put it off,” Rosita says huffing, and not at all sounding as if she’s in a car.I reach the end of the stairs, frowning. “Have you even left? Please be honest with me.”“Of course,” she says as a matter of fact, but then right after a moment, she blurts out. “Actually, no.”Before I even respond to that, she rushes to explain. “Before you get mad, just hear me out. I swear I was leaving, I was almost ready to leave the house, get into my car, and reach you, but then…then someone came over and it seemed like urgent. And I could have told you all about that but…but…but…”“Hey, hey, hey,” I laugh. “Calm down, Ro. You’re making me sound like some tyrannical friend or something. It’s fine, really. The only reason I asked you to come over is because you sa
[Caden]Since our last meeting at the courthouse, I decided to keep my distance from Vivienne.A few weeks have passed now, and I think it’s enough time and space she might have needed to get used to the new reality of our lives—the kind of reality where she sees me around more often. The kind of reality where she allows me to be there for her and our child.“Excuse me, sir,” Betty Adams—my assistant—pulls me out of my thoughts.I look up to find her standing at the door. “The meeting starts in five.”The meeting. Of course. My last task of the day. After this, I’ll be free to visit Vivienne.Speaking of which—I get up from my chair, reaching for my suit jacket. “Did you find Vivienne’s new address?”I hear footsteps behind me. “About that…”When it feels like she’s going to leave it at that, I turn around, frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”“I mean, I tried, sir.”She must be out of her mind. “Well, clearly, you haven’t tried hard enough.”“But, sir—”“Leave it.”I walk past
[Vivienne]I can’t believe he’s here.But why?“Hey,” I manage, even though his unexpected appearance has completely thrown me off. “Long time no see.”“You don’t say,” he replies, placing the glass of water on the table in front of me when I make no move to take it. I might have zoned out for a second there. “So, how have you been? And may I just add—you’re a very hard person to find.”I smile faintly. That’s exactly what I’ve been aiming for since moving to my grandparents’ home in the hills. “Maybe that’s the point. I like my life quieter these days, away from all the chaos.”“I get it,” he says with a soft chuckle, his expression neither offended nor prying. “For a while, I thought it was me who chased you away, you know—with all those talks about faking an engagement and everything.”Oh. Right. I almost forgot about that. The proposal he made—the arrangement he thought would make his mother happy.Too bad I had far more pressing problems to deal with at the time.“Trust me, it wa
[Vivienne]“Are you sure you want to attend this event?” Harvey asks as I walk into my walk-in wardrobe, trying to pick an appropriate evening gown for the night.“Of course, I’m sure. I wouldn’t have asked you to accompany me if I wasn’t,” I shrug, leaning towards a stunning black dress but quickly getting distracted by a shimmery white gown with a sexy slit.“That, I understand. But considering your health…”“I’m fine, Harvey,” I roll my eyes. It’s been two months since that night when I rushed myself to the hospital after spotting blood on my sheets. “According to my doctor, I’m well past the risk phase, and I can start getting back to my daily routine.”“But still,” he says, sounding as if he still has doubts.Look, I know he cares. He’s my big brother, after all. I’ve known about his possessiveness for a very long time. But the reason I don’t want to spend my days sitting like a duck at home is that I’ve started to get terribly bored.Besides, tonight’s event is kind of special.
[Sasha]“What the hell is this place?” Dad fumes, glancing around the cramped, one-room apartment I brought him to straight from the hospital.“It’s…” I glance around myself, wrinkling my nose at the awful smell wafting in from the nearby window. “…something.”“Sasha,” Mom calls out, drawing my attention. Her voice holds a mix of confusion and concern. “What is this? Why aren’t we home?”“Mom, there’s something you should know,” I begin, feeling beads of sweat forming on my forehead and trickling down my back. I turn to Dad, bracing myself. “Remember the loan Arthur took from that loan shark?”“Of course, I do. How could I forget the biggest disappointment of my life?” he huffs, walking over to the old, sagging couch in the corner. He pauses before sitting down, noticing the thick layer of dust covering it, and chooses to stand instead. “What I don’t understand is—what are we doing here? Didn’t you hear what the doctor said? I need rest. I need to be home. And this place is far from i
[Caden]“Congratulations, Mr. Lawrence. You got what you wanted.” My advocate—Atlas Norman—extends his hand for a handshake. “Despite my better judgment, of course.”I return the handshake, albeit a little reluctantly. “You say that as if I ruined your fun.”“Well, you did. Especially since I enjoy a good challenge. But either way, my client’s satisfaction is what matters most. So, I’m glad I could be of service.”I have a strong urge to roll my eyes but manage to keep my composure. “Thanks for your efforts.”“All my pleasure. Now that the restraining order has been lifted, you need to be very careful with how you conduct yourself, Mr. Lawrence. As the judge mentioned, all eyes will be on you, and if you mistreat your ex-wife or the unborn child in any way, the order could be reinstated. From this point on, it’s about walking on eggshells. I hope you’ll remember that.”Of course, I do. That’s all I can think about—how not to screw this up.I might not have been the best husband a woma
[Vivienne]I answer the call—it’s Elijah.“Hey,” I say, watching Theo get up and resume pacing back and forth across the room.“Hey. How are you now?”“Much better. In fact, I’m just waiting for my discharge papers.”“That’s good to hear, Vivienne. I’ll come by to visit as soon as I can.”“Sure.” But something about his tone feels off. “Is everything okay? You sound… serious.”Elijah exhales, his tone growing heavier. “I won’t lie to you. I just got word from your ex-husband’s attorney.”The mention of Caden makes my throat go dry. Why is he suddenly everywhere today? Why can’t he just leave me alone?I shake my head, trying to dispel the rising anxiety. “What the hell is he up to now?”“Nothing good, if I’m being honest.”“Just tell me already.”“They’re preparing to file a motion to contest the restraining order.”“He’s doing what?” Did I just hear that right? Is Caden out of his mind? Why would he fight something he never cared about in the first place? What’s his goal here? A sudde
[Vivienne]“Ms. Sinclair?”I snap back into focus, realizing I’ve zoned out again.Damn it. Why am I thinking about him again? What is there to even think about? He broke my heart, shattered my life, and yet, here I am—wondering what else I could’ve said, what more I could’ve done, just to get some reaction out of him.I shake my head, trying to pull myself out of this vicious spiral. It’s the same toxic loop I always fell into when we were married—constantly questioning myself. What could I have done differently? What could I have said better? Anything that might’ve made him stay a little longer, look at me with more than passing interest, spend more than just a fleeting part of his day with me. Anything that might’ve made him care for me like a real husband, like someone who actually loved his wife.But no. I can’t let myself fall back into that labyrinth of false hope and endless what-ifs. Not again.Taking a steadying breath, I force a smile for the doctor, doing my best to seem c