CHAPTER 3

DIANA’S POV

I didn’t waste any time leaving the mansion after ending the call. My life was turning upside down. I had wanted a child throughout my three years of marriage, but I couldn’t conceive. But the doctor just confirmed that I was pregnant—after Leonard divorced me? My heart kept pounding in my chest as I walked down the street.

At that moment, I couldn’t even afford a cab anymore. Yes, I was the wife of a billionaire for three years, but I had nothing to my name. When Leonard’s mother began accusing me of being a gold digger who didn’t really love her son, I stopped accepting money and gifts from my husband, all in the name of proving my love for him.

“It can’t be... I can’t be pregnant now,” I murmured as I tried to cross the road. A headache instantly seized me as I pictured raising a child all by myself without a father, without money, bringing the child into this world to suffer.

“I can’t keep it,” I murmured, the reality of my future dawning on me. I knew I’d have to consider ending the pregnancy because I was financially incapable of taking care of a child. My heart was heavy as I trudged toward the hospital, thinking about getting rid of what I had been praying for.

Suddenly, right in the middle of the road, I felt drowsy for just a second, and before I knew it, I saw a car—a black SUV—screeching toward me.

“Watch out!” someone yelled from the roadside, and I turned, disoriented. My pulse quickened as I tried to move out of the way, but it was too late.

The car hit me, and I fell, my eyes forced closed as my consciousness slipped…

-----

My eyes opened, and all I saw were white walls surrounding me. I tried to raise my head and clasp it as I felt it pounding painfully. It took me a few seconds to realize where I was. I was at HealthSpace Clinic, the same clinic I was on my way to before the car hit me.

Just as I was reeling from the pain, the door burst open, and I expected to see Doctor Fred. But instead, someone entirely different walked in—a man who looked to be in his late twenties, around six feet tall, dressed in a tightly fitting tuxedo that strained against his muscles.

“Who are you?” I asked, but instead of replying, he gave me a cold, stern look.

“Couldn’t you have watched where you were going, huh? What if I had run you down completely? What if you had died?” he said with the same stern expression, his sharp jawline clenching in irritation.

He didn’t need to say more for me to understand that he was the one who hit me. He’d been driving so fast I couldn’t have made it out of the way in time. Seeing I didn’t respond to him, he flared up.

“Are you even listening to me? Is your life worth anything to you?! What reckless act did you pull out there? What would you have said if you hadn’t survived it?” he yelled, furious.

A tear slipped down my cheek as his harsh words hit me. I was already going through so much—the last thing I needed was someone yelling at me.

“I’m sorry. Maybe...if you had hit me harder, I wouldn’t have had to wake up to this nightmare,” I whispered through the tears. He stared at me, and it seemed my tears made him flinch a little, softening the hard expression on his face.

“I have no idea what that means, but just be careful next time, okay?” he said neutrally, and I nodded. With that, he turned as if to leave the room, but then he paused, turning around as Doctor Fred walked in.

“Mrs. Nelson, thank goodness you’re awake,” Doctor Fred said with a sigh of relief. He looked a bit worried, and I had no idea why.

“I tried to reach out to your husband. I told him you’d been in an accident, but...he told me never to call him or tell him anything about you again. He blocked my line afterward; I have no idea why. Maybe you should try calling him,” Doctor Fred suggested, shocked.

Leonard was the one who had recommended the clinic to me months ago, so Doctor Fred knew him a little. But what he didn’t know was how my husband had rejected me.

I felt so ashamed by what Doctor Fred had said, especially since the man who brought me to the hospital was still standing there, listening.

“Or maybe I should try calling him again, so you can see for yourself,” he offered, reaching for his phone, but I wiped the tear from my eye and shook my head.

“There’ll be no need, Doctor Fred. He won’t pick up if he knows it’s about me,” I said, trying to hide the humiliating part. Suddenly, I saw the stranger turn to face me.

“Why? He’s your husband, isn’t he?” he asked, and at that moment, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“He divorced me. He’s getting married to another woman. He no longer cares if I live or die...”

Hearing this, his brows drew together in shock. He seemed at a loss for words, so he remained silent.

-----

It was late at night, and all I could think about was whether I could live with the decision to end the pregnancy. It had been something I wanted for so long. But would I be able to take care of it?

Just as I was lost in thought, the door slowly opened, and there he was again—the man who hit me and brought me to the hospital.

“I thought you’d left,” I said, remembering hearing him pay the doctor and assuming he was long gone. He cleared his throat as he came closer, frustration flashing in his eyes.

“I was coming to the hospital too before I hit you. That’s why I was in such a hurry. The woman I’m supposed to marry in two days was hit by a car too and rushed here. She lost her pregnancy, and that’s a big problem,” he said slowly.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry for your loss. Your fiancée, is...is she alright?” I asked, genuinely feeling his pain at losing a child.

“It’s okay. The child wasn’t mine. I...I can’t father a child; I’m...I’m infertile. No treatment has been able to help," he said, his eyes darting away from me towards the corner of them room.

"She isn’t my fiancée either. I paid her to pretend to be my fiancée and marry me,” he said calmly, sounding ashamed of his condition but still unable to hide it.

I didn’t know how to react. Why was he so desperate to have a child that he planned to marry a woman carrying another man’s baby?

“I’m sorry, but...why?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. He took a deep breath, rubbing his head in a way that showed he was struggling.

“I’m my parents’ firstborn, making me the heir to the family business. My father wants to strip me of ownership and hand it to my stepbrother because I haven’t given him a grandchild. What he doesn’t know is that I can’t father a child,” he said, and my brows furrowed as I began to understand.

He needed to provide a grandchild to keep control of the company, so he sought a woman who was already pregnant to claim her child.

“The wedding is in two days, and my parents are already thrilled, wanting to meet my bride-to-be tomorrow. They’re all eager to see the woman who’s going to give them a grandchild. But that woman just had a miscarriage and is lying in this hospital. I have no idea how to navigate this,” he said bitterly. I could see how reddened his eyes had become from the stress.

Before I could respond, Doctor Fred came in, relief on his face.

“Miss Diana, I’m glad to let you know that the test results are back, and the baby is alright. The accident didn’t affect it at all. I’ll let you rest now,” Doctor Fred said, rushing out again.

“You’re pregnant?” he asked, staring at me in shock. He walked closer. I nodded, still feeling ashamed of how my husband, Leonard, had abandoned me. But the truth was, Leonard didn't know I was pregnant, he had concluded I was barren.

“Your husband divorced you, right? And you plan to raise this baby alone?” he asked. I couldn’t respond yet. There was a moment of silence, and then he spoke again, his next words shaking my world.

“Marry me, Diana...”

My brows drew together in shock, taken aback by his request. Before I could process his initial statement, he continued...

“I promise I’ll be a father to your child. I’ll take care of the baby, give it the best life. I’ll take care of both of you. I...I just need a wife and a child. I don’t know how this sounds to you, but...” he trailed off as my mind raced.

“I...don’t even know your name. You're just a stranger. H-How...how can you—” I stammered, but he cut me off.

“My name is Connor, Diana. Connor McGrath. I want you to be my wife, please...” he pleaded, and my mind swirled in shock, confusion, and uncertainty.

“Consider your child growing up without a father, Diana. I’ll raise him or her as my own; no one ever has to know. It’ll be our agreement.”

I was stunned by his words, my head spinning in circles as I fought hard to understand his proposal.

“What do you say?” he asked, and I kept staring at him, unsure of what to say.