POV: LAUREN
It 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: HENRYFor some reason, Lauren seemed nervous about that question. Her body went rigid, her eyes shifted to the side, and her breathing faltered. Something was bothering her, but she wouldn’t say it.“Theodor, Lauren is still tired.” My voice came out firm, catching his attention. “She went through a big scare and needs to rest. This is all very new for all of us.”Theo lowered his shoulders slightly, but the sweetness in his expression didn’t fade.“Fairy,” he called her softly, his little fingers fidgeting nervously. “You don’t want your baby to be my sibling? Is that why you won’t answer?”Lauren’s eyes widened as if the question had hit her straight in the chest. Her breathing became uneven, and tears welled up in her eyes.“Theo, no!” Her voice came out distressed. “You
POV: HENRYI gasped at the feeling of his firm touch, his warm hand wrapping around the nape of my neck, holding me still under his penetrating gaze that seemed to see right through me. My heart pounded, and my body reacted to his proximity in a way I didn’t want to admit.Why was Henry acting like this? What did he really want from me?“Henry, why do you insist on this so much?” My voice came out low, almost hesitant. I tried to pull away, but he only tightened his grip slightly, keeping me exactly where he wanted.A slow smile curled at the corner of his lips, full of mystery and something else that made my breath hitch.“You ask too many questions, Becker.” His voice was a husky murmur, laced with something dangerous. “And yet, you keep avoiding the ones I ask.”My hands instinctively slid to his shoulders, feeling the heat of his skin beneath the fabric of his shirt. My chest rose and fell rapidly, my breathing completely erratic.“Carter…” I swallowed hard, feeling the tension be
POV: LAUREN“I don’t like having my own words used against me,” he murmured, his tone laced with irony. “But I have to admit, that was an excellent argument.”I rolled my eyes, letting out a softchuckle.“Don’t be so full of yourself.”He just smiled, satisfied, while I leaned back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling. But my mind was elsewhere.The truth weighed heavily on my shoulders.I needed to tell him before things spiraled even further out of control.I swallowed hard, feeling anxiety creep in. Taking a deep breath, I shifted on the bed, trying to find the right words.“Henry, I need to tell you something.” My voice came out hesitant, and he turned to me patiently, waiting for me to continue.My hands were cold, my heart pounding against my chest. It was now or never.“My pregnancy… I mean, my baby isn’t…”Before I could finish, an unfamiliar voice cut through the moment, dripping with irony and mockery.“Well, well, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw
POV: JAMESI touched my sore chin, the metallic taste of blood spreading through my mouth. Something felt loose. I spat into my hand and saw a piece of my broken tooth.My blood boiled.“You stupid bastard!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the hospital corridors. “That damn bastard is going to pay for what he did!”I took a deep breath, trying to control my anger, but the fury pulsed through my veins. Henry Carter would regret laying hands on me.Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a nurse hurrying down the hallway toward the patient rooms.Perfect.With two quick strides, I grabbed her arm and yanked her roughly against the wall. My body leaned in, my hands flattening against the wall beside her head, trapping her.“Princess, you’re just the one I was looking for.” I smirked
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