POV: HENRY
I parked in the company’s underground garage and stepped out of the car, feeling the weight of the corporate world settle over me once again. The environment was familiar, yet today there was a tension in the air that seemed to press down on me.
I barely closed the door before spotting Mia waiting on the other side, arms crossed, an impatient glare fixed on me. I sighed, already expecting the drama that was about to unfold.
“We need to talk,” she said, stepping closer, her voice laced with accusation.
I ran a hand over my jacket, adjusting it slowly before casting a bored look in her direction.
“If this is about my personal life, Mia, I don’t have time for it.” I spoke plainly, making my way toward the elevator. “If you need a meeting with me, schedule one with my secretary.”
She followed, the sharp sound of her he
POV: HENRYThe silence of the night wrapped around me as I parked in front of the mansion. It was late—later than usual—and even though I was exhausted after a hellish day, something inside me had driven me home with an inexplicable sense of urgency. A tightness in my chest that I couldn’t ignore. I needed to see my family to make sure everything was in its place.I took a deep breath before stepping inside. The house was dark and quiet. I removed my jacket and climbed the stairs toward the bedroom. The weight of exhaustion pressed down on my shoulders, but the unease kept me from simply collapsing into sleep. I headed straight to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and let the hot water cascade over my body. It should have relaxed me, but my mind remained on high alert.Something was wrong.I stepped out of the shower and into the bedroom. As soon as I lay down, an immediate sense of discomfort
POV: HENRYI stood frozen, watching as the doctors and nurses wheeled Lauren inside, the fresh blood still staining my hands. A nurse said something about not being allowed past that point, but her voice felt distant. My heart pounded so hard that I could barely think.“Henry, come on. You need to clean up.” I heard Lucian say beside me. “I’ll have the driver bring you a fresh change of clothes.”I turned to him with a cold glare, my fists clenching.“I’m not going anywhere.” My voice came out sharp as a blade. “She’s pregnant!”Lucian let out a long sigh, choosing his words carefully.“Supposedly. The doctor could have assumed that because of the bleeding.” He spoke cautiously. “It could be a number of things, Henry. You need to stay calm and be ready when they let you see her.”I shook my head, still trying to process everything.“Pregnant…” I murmured, my chest tightening. My gaze snapped back to the closed doors. “And if it’s true?”Lucian raised a brow, trying to ease the tension
POV: HENRY“It will be arranged.” The doctor confirmed. “Would you like to see her now?”“Of course.” I responded without a second thought.Before following him, I turned to Lucian, who simply nodded.“Don’t worry, I’ll go to your house, take care of Theodor, and organize everything with the staff.” He assured me. “Focus on Miss Becker.”I ran a hand down my face, still feeling the weight of the shock in my body. The image of her—pale and covered in blood—continued to haunt me.“Thanks… for everything.” I murmured, still trying to process everything that had happened.Lucian looked at me with a mix of amusement and understanding.“And why, exactly, were you at my house so late?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes.
POV: LAURENIt took me a moment to process everything. His question caught me off guard, and my eyes filled with tears. Fear, pain, and uncertainty piled up in my chest.“My baby?” I mumbled, my lips trembling.Henry sighed, moving closer and wiping away the tear that rolled down my face with a firm yet gentle touch.“The baby is safe and protected in here.” He placed his hand on my belly, catching me off guard. His fingers slid over my skin slowly, caressing it, as if trying to feel every heartbeat of the new life growing inside me. “The detachment caused the bleeding. Lauren, why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well? Why didn’t you say you needed to rest?”My throat tightened. The weight of my emotions was overwhelming.“I…” My voice failed, my body trembling. The sobs escaped uncontrollably,
POV: LAURENHis tone carried weight, responsibility, and perhaps a trace of uncertainty.“It’s the right thing to do,” he continued, now looking directly at me. “Going through with the marriage and making this work.”I shook my head, unable to believe what he was saying.“You think that’s.” I started to argue, but a soft knock on the door interrupted me.Henry quickly stood up, carefully adjusting my position on the bed before the doctor entered, accompanied by a nurse and a medical device.Our conversation wasn’t over.But at that moment, the tension between us seemed like only a fraction of what was still to come.“Mrs. Carter, I’m glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?” The doctor asked while performing a series of assessments.I opened my mouth to correct him about the last name, but before I could speak, I felt Henry’s warm hand grasp mine, intertwining our fingers firmly and decisively. My gaze shot to his, but he simply turned to the doctor and nodded.“Please.” Henry resp
POV: HENRYBecker hesitated, and that was enough for me to narrow my eyes and analyze every nuance of her expression. There was something she still wasn’t telling me. Her tense body, trembling fingers, the way she avoided looking at me directly. Was she afraid of getting hurt again?“Lauren.” I moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. I took her hands in mine, feeling her cold, delicate skin. Her eyes widened, shifting from the contact to my face. “I am not your ex-husband. I have no intention of hurting you or abandoning you when you need me most.”Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Her lips trembled under the pressure of her own teeth. I didn’t like that. I loosened my grip, sliding my thumb under her chin, tilting her face up to meet mine.“You just sealed the worst deal with me, Becker.” I smirked, watching confusion take over her expression. “Now, you both belong to me.”“Henry, this…” She stammered, her hand tightening around mine, her voice coming out as a hesitant whis
POV: LAUREN“He thinks he's the father.” I murmured, lost in my own thoughts, covering my mouth with a trembling hand.Everything Henry had said—his actions, his care, his words—kept echoing in my mind. “Give us a chance to be something more than just a contract.”Silent tears slipped down my face as I leaned against the pillow, my hand instinctively caressing my belly. The weight of the lie I carried was becoming unbearable.“Would you still feel the same if you knew my baby isn’t yours?” My voice was low and hesitant in the empty room. “Would you still want to try if you knew the truth?”A sob escaped me, and I bit the inside of my cheek to hold it back. Wrapping my arms around my stomach, an overwhelming need to protect my child from the world—and from the mess I had dragged us into—washed over me.
POV: LAUREN“You can't let him believe in something that's not real.”I swallowed hard, averting my gaze. I knew I needed to tell the truth. But the fear of Henry's reaction—and what it would mean for me and my baby—paralyzed me.What if, after finding out, he just walked away and left us behind?“I know, okay?” My response came out harsher than I intended as I stared at the ceiling. “I didn’t want him to find out this way, and I definitely didn’t want him jumping to conclusions. But… Carter took on the role so easily, Kate. There was happiness in his voice and in his posture. You should have seen him during the ultrasound—he almost cried, emotional, accepting my baby as if it were his.”Kate held my hands, her expression softening.“I understand that you don’t want to hurt him or take tha
POV: VIOLETI froze for a second. My stomach twisted. A chill ran down my spine, followed by a hot, acidic wave rising to my face.“What?!” I screamed, my voice cracking, the shock unraveling me from the inside. “That’s a lie! That bitch is trying to fool everyone again!”“It’s not a lie.” Ravi kept chewing slowly, savoring every second of my reaction. “I saw the first ultrasound. I was around at the beginning of the pregnancy. And, by the timing, she and Henry weren’t together yet.” He let out a short, soulless laugh. “When I hinted that I knew the truth, Lauren freaked out. She cried, stuttered, and totally lost it.”My fingers started tingling. Rage blinded me. That filthy whore could destroy all our plans and ruin my comfortable life.“That damn bitch… pretending to be fragile, innocent, sweet&hellip
POV: VIOLET“Talk, Ravi… I heard you wanted to see me.” My voice came out impatient, forced, as I removed the damn cucumber slices from my eyes and kept my hands extended, fingers stiff, waiting for the manicurist to finish applying the polish.He walked in like he owned the place. That smug smile, his eyes scanning every corner of my living room with a kind of contempt so well-disguised it almost looked like charm. Almost.“You really moved up in life, cousin,” he muttered, his voice slow, dripping with sarcasm, like poison seeping through. “When you said you’d manage to rope in a billionaire, I thought it was just one of your delusions. But you pulled it off. What a pathetic show.”I rolled my eyes and scoffed.“Did you come here to be jealous?” I shot back, with a mocking smile I knew would trigger the same fury in him that he stirred in me. I
POV: LAUREN“Forget about it, Lauren,” Henry murmured in a low, husky voice, caressing my bare arms with firm fingers, sending immediate shivers all over my body. “Mia didn’t get what she wanted that night. And she’s going to pay for every damn second of it. I’ve already filed a lawsuit against her and James. The media may have bought that manipulative liar’s story, but I have enough evidence to destroy them both.”I closed my eyes for a second, feeling the weight of reality mix with everything I feared. I opened my mouth, hesitant, trying to find steadiness in my voice.“And you think she won’t fight back?” I asked, sitting up in bed, sliding my fingers across his bare chest. The touch felt natural yet full of tension. My fingers trembled slightly, and still, he shuddered under the contact, as if every gesture of mine still affected him deeply.“That doesn’t matter to me,” he replied firmly, and in one swift move
POV: LAURENI closed my eyes, biting my lips, trying to catch my breath, but the words slipped out in a trembling whisper, full of emotion:“I accept...” I managed to say in a breathy, needy murmur.I rested my head on his shoulder, searching for his face. Our eyes met for a brief second before his lips crashed into mine with raw hunger. The kiss was wet, deep, desperate. We moaned at the same time, and in that moment, he thrust into me all at once, filling me completely. I let out a long, drawn-out moan, pushing my hips back, wanting more, wanting everything.“I love you, Henry Carter,” I confessed without fear, between heavy breaths, feeling my body open entirely for him.He turned me to face him with ease, lifted me off the floor like I weighed nothing, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Our bodies were pressed together—skin to skin, sweat to sweat. When h
POV: LAURENI took a step back, but he moved forward too, until he pinned me against the cold wall of the room. The contrast between his warm touch and the hard plaster behind me sent a shiver through my entire body.His eyes were dark, intense, almost wild. Lust, desire, passion, anger, pain—all mixed in a stare that pierced right through me.“Do you love me?” the question came out dry, direct.“Henry, that doesn’t matter right now. This is crazy.” I tried to argue, but my voice came out weak, hesitant.“Do you love me?” he repeated, even more firmly. The tone was commanding, impossible to ignore. I felt a tremor run through my body. The wall behind me seemed to vanish under the weight of his presence.I closed my eyes for a second. The knot in my throat tightened even more. I couldn’t lie anymore. Not to myself. Not t
POV: LAUREN“What I should have done on the night of our date… when everything went wrong,” Henry replied, his voice heavy with intensity.I frowned, confused, watching as he opened a small box. Inside, there was a ring with a brilliant blue stone that reflected the light in the room. It was mesmerizing. Beside it, a folded note with my handwriting.“What is this?” I exclaimed, a lump forming in my throat. My hands visibly trembled as I brought them to my lips, in shock.“Our marriage was forged through a contract,” he began, his voice now lower but steady. “But I want it to be real, Lauren. I had this ring made especially for you. These stones are rare and unique, just like you.”My tears started falling uncontrollably, burning my eyes. There was so much about him that confused me: the provocative touch, the almost cruel desire, the domin
POV: LAURENHis hands slowly slid up my bare thigh, firm and commanding. The shirt I was wearing—his shirt—lifted gradually, revealing my skin as his fingers pressed with intention, claiming territory. The loose fabric, which looked more like a dress on me, rose along with the tension spreading through my body. And he didn’t stop kissing me. Henry’s mouth was locked on mine—hot, demanding, hungry. His tongue explored mine with such urgency, like he wanted to erase every boundary between us and take everything I was.A shiver ran up my spine when I felt his fingers slide into the crease between my thighs, teasing with soft, circular strokes over my most sensitive spot. My body arched, trembling beneath him, and my lip caught between my teeth to hold back a moan. My lungs gasped for air between one sigh and the next.“Henry…” I whispered, my voice weak, shaking, fighting against the storm
POV: LAUREN“Henry, please… you’re exhausted. Today was a hard day.” I tried to stay calm, but my voice cracked. I just wanted to stop him. Furthermore, I wanted to silence him before his words shattered me completely.“It’s been hard since we broke up!” he burst out, his voice firm and full of pain, throwing the truth at me without any filter. My body frozen. My eyes widened, and I felt the blood drain from my face. “Theodor ran away because he couldn’t handle the pain of not seeing us together anymore. And I know exactly how much that hurts. Every single day, Lauren. I hate coming home and not finding you here. I hate the silence. Furthermore, I hate not hearing Theo’s laughter echoing through the rooms while you two played. Furthermore, I hate this empty, cold bed—where you used to throw yourselves into my arms, barely leaving me space but filling me with so much more love. I hate prete
POV: LAURENI watched him grab two towels and one of his oversized shirts—the kind that always wrapped around my whole body.“Go dry off and warm up, please. I don’t want you getting sick, especially now… it wouldn’t be good for you or the baby,” Henry said, his voice softer and more careful than usual.I felt my stomach tighten when I heard him mention the baby. Furthermore, I was speechless for a few seconds.“You don’t have to, Carter,” I murmured with a weak smile. “I… I’ll go back home.”Even as I said that, my body was lightly trembling, my feet still damp, clothes clinging to my skin. I was tired, emotionally drained—but what hurt the most was the way he made me feel, just by the way he looked at me. As if he was saying everything he couldn’t put into words.“It’s