Chapter 2

EVELYN

“Drag her out, this bitch has no place in my home” Mrs Victoria said, giving the guards orders to drag me out while I was pregnant and unconscious.

The guards didn’t hesitate. Rough hands grabbed me, lifting my unconscious body as if I were nothing. My head lolled to the side, my hair covering my face, my arms limp.

“Ma’am Victoria, She’s pregnant, it wouldn’t be too good if we drag her or rough handle her, she is going to lose her baby if this goes on” one of the guards muttered.

Mrs. Victoria’s cold gaze snapped to him. “She should lose that thing for all I care, She’s carrying filth. Get her out of here.”

They carried me into the car, tying my hands behind my back. The door slammed shut. The vehicle started moving.

Minutes later, I stirred. My head was pounding. The world was spinning. The cold bite of metal against my wrists sent a sickening jolt of panic through me.

I was tied up.

Darkness surrounded me. The faint hum of the engine, the rough fabric of the seat beneath me.

No—

I tried to move, but my body was sluggish. My mouth was covered. I couldn’t scream.

“You should have known your place,” Mrs. Victoria’s voice cut through the silence.

I jerked, my heartbeat slamming against my ribs.

“I am your son’s fiancée,” I tried to say, but the gag muffled my words.

Mrs. Victoria chuckled. “Oh, Evelyn. Do you think that title protects you?” She leaned closer, her breath warm against my skin. “It doesn’t. It never did.”

Terror clawed up my throat.

The car slowed. Then stopped.

The doors opened.

Strong hands yanked me out. My feet hit the ground, gravel biting into my skin. I swayed, disoriented. The scent of water filled my nostrils.

A river.

My stomach lurched.

“You can give birth in the river for all I care,” Mrs. Victoria sneered.

My eyes widened.

No. No, no, no.

I thrashed, but they were too strong.

“Goodbye, Evelyn.”

Then—

The push.

The cold impact of water.

Darkness.

Silence.

My body sank.

I fought. Kicked. Twisted. But the river pulled me under.

My lungs burned. My vision blurred.

Then—nothing.

DAMIAN’S HOTEL ROOM

A pounding headache. A dry mouth. The bitter taste of regret.

Damian groaned, pressing a hand to his temple.

“Awake?”

His eyes snapped open. Isabella was sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling.

“What the hell are you doing here?” His voice was rough.

She reached for him, but he pulled back.

“Today is our wedding day, of course I should be here with my groom,” she purred.

Damian’s stomach churned.

“What?” He shot up, shoving the covers off. “Where’s Evelyn?”

Isabella’s smile faltered.

Damian’s phone buzzed. He grabbed it. No messages from Evelyn.

Something was wrong.

“I have to find Evelyn, this is wrong you can’t be here with me, if they find out” he muttered, swinging his legs over the bed.

Isabella’s hand clamped onto his wrist.

“You’re not going anywhere,” she said sweetly.

Damian yanked his arm away. “The hell I’m not.”

He stormed toward the door—

“Wait, I have something important to show you, maybe once you see that you would be back to your senses,” Isabella called.

Damian turned.

She held up a phone. His phone.

And pressed play.

A video appeared on the screen—

Him and her naked. Twisted together in bed.

Damian’s blood ran cold.

“What is this? When did this happen? You set me up Isabelle”

Isabella tilted her head. “Of Course not, this is the proof.”

His jaw clenched. “That’s not—”

“You shut up, it is enough proof.” She smirked. “Tell me, Damian, will you replace Evelyn with me? Or should I send this to the press?”

Damian’s fingers curled into fists.

“Evelyn is the only woman I’ll ever marry,” he gritted out.

Isabella pouted. “Shame. Your mother thinks otherwise.”

The door creaked open.

Mrs. Victoria stepped in.

Damian’s gut twisted.

“Son,” she said smoothly. “It’s time to accept reality.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What did you do?”

Mrs. Victoria’s lips curled. “Evelyn is gone.”

Damian stilled.

The air shifted.

“Gone?” His voice was dangerously low.

Mrs. Victoria’s smile widened. “She left. And before she did, she confessed something.”

A letter landed in his lap.

His name was scrawled across the front.

Damian hesitated before tearing it open. His eyes scanned the words.

Then—his breath caught.

The child isn’t yours.

Lies.

He crumpled the letter in his fist. “This is bullshit.”

“Oh?” Mrs. Victoria arched a brow. “Then maybe you’d like to hear it from him, I think that should change your mind.”

The door opened again.

A man stepped in.

Evelyn’s ex.

Damian’s stomach twisted.

The man cleared his throat. “Evelyn was pregnant with my child. She said she’d pass it off as yours for the Blackwood fortune,I have tried to talk things out with her but she wouldn't accept me as the father of my child.”

Damian’s body went still.

A trap.

A setup.

His mind screamed at him to deny it—to fight—but the evidence was stacking up against him.

The video. The letter. The ex.

Evelyn…

Damian’s fists clenched.

His mother watched him carefully, waiting for him to break and then she spoke up.

“You should forget about her, today is your wedding day but she ruined everything by running away, she can't disgrace our family, this marriage has to be held” His mother said.

“Say something, son.” Mrs. Victoria’s voice was gentle now, feigning concern, but Damian knew her too well. There was nothing gentle about his mother. This was manipulation. This was power. This was her ensuring he played his role.

Damian’s fingers curled into his palm. His jaw clenched so tightly it ached.

But then he looked at the phone still in Isabella’s hands. The paused frame of their tangled bodies.

The damage had already been done.

Mrs. Victoria moved closer, lowering her voice. “Evelyn ran, Damian. She chose to disappear rather than face the truth. If she wanted to fight for you, she would have stayed.”

His stomach twisted. He hated how convincing she sounded, how easily she played with his mind.

His mother pressed a hand to his shoulder, her grip firm. “The press is waiting. The guests have arrived. It’s time to end this mess, just tell them the truth about her”

He turned to Isabella, who was still watching him with a knowing smirk.

“You expect me to marry you?” His voice was low, cold.

Isabella shrugged. “You don’t have much of a choice.”

Damian exhaled, long and slow.

A choice.

The truth was, there was no real choice left to make.

If he walked away now, his mother would win. The scandal would ruin him, his name, his company.

Evelyn had left him with nothing but doubt.

Maybe this was his only way forward.

He looked up, expression unreadable. Then, in a voice void of emotion, he spoke the words that sealed his fate.

“Call the priest. The wedding is happening.”

Mrs. Victoria smiled in satisfaction. Isabella’s grip on the phone tightened in victory.