Chapter 1: Beginning of the end

Arabella’s eyelids felt unbearably heavy.

When she finally opened them, a sterile white hospital ceiling came into focus.

Her head throbbed. Her body ached all over,

but none of it mattered.

Her hands moved instinctively to her stomach.

A weak smile tugged at her lips as realization slowly dawned on her. She had finally given birth. Everett must have been so happy when he heard the news. After all, this was what they had been waiting for for the past three years.

She tried to sit up, wincing at the sharp pull of stitches, and glanced around the room. Her smile faltered when she found it empty.

She had expected the room to be noisy. Everett holding her hand. Their baby resting peacefully in a bassinet beside her. But there was nothing. No laughter. No warmth. No sign of him.

Was he with the baby?

He was probably out there holding their son or daughter.

Arabella could not contain her smile anymore. Her heart fluttered with excitement as she imagined his voice, the way he would beam with pride. She reached for her phone on the bedside table, fingers trembling with exhaustion and joy. She needed to know if their baby had his eyes or hers.

The screen lit up.

One notification.

Everett Quinn posted two hours ago.

Her smile widened.

“He posted something,” she whispered. “He probably couldn’t wait to announce it.”

She tapped the notification, already imagining the photo. Everett holding their tiny bundle, a caption like Best day of my life or She’s here and she’s perfect.

Then the image loaded, Arabella’s smile froze and crumbled.

In the photo, red roses scattered across polished marble. A man on one knee, and an opened ring box in his hand.

A woman’s delicate hand stretched toward the diamond.

And Everett, looking up at the woman like she was his entire world.

The phone slipped from Arabella’s fingers and clattered against the metal bed rail.

“No,” she whispered. “No… that can’t be real.”

Her hands shook violently as she snatched the phone back up, zooming in as if the image might change.

But It didn't. It was sill the same Everett, the same man whose child she had just pushed out of her body. The same man who had promised her forever. Her husband.

She had just given birth to their baby, and he was out there proposing to another woman.

No, there has to be some kind of mistake somewhere. Maybe a bad edit from someone who wanted to destroy her marriage.

She looked at the photo again, trying to notice for any small flaw— but there wasn't any. It was perfect. Real.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she struggled to make sense of the image. Her heart tugged painfully as she studied the way he looked at the woman.

In their 3 years of marriage, Everett had never looked her like that. She used to think it was just him. He would tell her he was just incapable of showing his emotions. But looking at the photo in her phone, Arabella could read every emotion that was plastered on his face.

He adores this woman.

And that's when she saw it. She recognised this woman. It was Lilian.

The same one Everett had once introduced as his distant cousin. According to him, she was an actress, always busy on set whenever Arabella asked why she never visited.

So that was just a lie he used to bring his mistress home.

She felt foolish to have believed him in the first place. She should have seen it. The way his eyes lingered on her when he thought no one was watching.

Oh God! How could you do this to me Everett?!

“No! No!” She whispered as years flowed for her eyes. She just couldn't believe it.

Even though the picture starred right at her, the glow of their laughter burned right through her head.

A bitter, broken laugh escaped her lips as she stared at the timestamp. While she was here giving birth to their child, her husband was proposing to another woman.

Her chest tightened painfully.

She dialed his number, her heart racing uncontrollably. Tears blurred her vision. She needed to hear his voice before she lost her mind. Everett could not do this to her. He loved her. In three years of marriage, she could not remember ever offending him.

So why would he do this?

The phone rang once. Then twice.

Voicemail.

A sob tore from her throat. “Please…please just pick the call,” she whispered to no one in particular.

Then, as if the universe was mocking her, the door to her hospital room opened.

Everett walked in.

Six feet tall. Sharp suit with a cold expression.

When his gaze met hers, Arabella felt it instantly. The truth. His eyes were no longer the ones she had known for three years. There was no warmth. No love. Just cold indifference that crawled through her skin like sharp needles.

“Ever—”she muttered as stried to get off the bed.

But before she could, he was already standing in front of her.

“Take this,” he said flatly, pulling an envelope from his jacket and tossing it onto the foot of the bed.

Her brows rose in surprise wondering what what was in the envelope. With shaky hands, she pulled it to her and slowly opened it, her heard racing the entire time.

“Wh– what? “ She gasped as she saw the huge bundles of cash that filled the envelope. “Why are you giving me this? I never asked for mon–”

“That’s your payment due the service you've done for me,” he cut her off, his voice sharp like the lady thing he wanted was having this conversation with her.

Her mind went blank.

Service? What service?

She looked up at him again, confusion lacing her face.

“Everett what are you talking about?”

“Stop asking questions and listen!” he snapped.

His eyes held no emotion, as if he was tired of pretending. “There’s a check in there. More than generous for your time and trouble. Consider us even.”

Her fingers clenched the hospital sheets, nails digging into the fabric.

“I don’t understand,” she said, her voice breaking. Panic clawed up her throat. “We’re married. We just had a baby. Our baby. Where is my baby?”

She forced herself to move, ignoring the pain screaming through her body. Her legs trembled as she slid off the bed, gripping the rail for balance.

“Please,” she begged, reaching toward him. “Look at me. Talk to me. What’s happening? Did I do something wrong? I just gave birth to your child, Everett. Your child. Where is—”

“Don’t touch him.”

The voice sliced through the room.

Click. Click. Click.

Heels echoed against the tiled floor.

Lilian walked in like she owned everything. Her designer dress flowed elegantly behind her, her hair styled in flawless waves. She moved to Everett’s side and slid her arm through his as if it belonged there.

Arabella’s tears spilled freely now.

“You two…” Her voice cracked as she stumbled back onto the bed, staring at them. Her gaze lifted to Everett’s hand wrapped possessively around Lilian.

Then her eyes dropped to Lilian’s left hand.

A ring.

The same massive diamond engagement ring.

It hadn't been a lie then. What are saw in the picture was true, and it seemed they had come to rub it off in her face.

“Everett,” she whispered, shaking her head. “You’ve been lying to me?”

Her voice rose, raw and broken. “She wasn’t your cousin, was she? I just gave birth to our child and you…”

Her gaze fell to the envelope on the floor, then back to him.

“Enough,” Everett snapped.

She flinched as if he had struck her.

He pointed at the envelope. “Take the money. Sign the NDA inside. And leave. Is that so hard to understand?”

“NDA?” Arabella whispered, her entire body trembling. This could not be what she thought it was.

“What are you saying?” she cried. “We’re married! We’re having a baby together! Where is my baby?!”

“Our baby, actually,” Lilian corrected smoothly, her smile sharp and cruel. She stepped closer, her expensive perfume suffocating. “Not yours. Ours. Mine and Everett’s.”

Arabella shook her head slowly, tears blinding her. “I don’t understand. Everett, please. Tell me this isn’t true.”

"What's happening," Lilian purred, examining her nails like this was all terribly boring, "is that you've done your job. And now it's time for you to leave.”

“My… job?” Arabella whispered, her heart shattering.

Lilian laughed softly. “You really are slow, aren't you?. You were a surrogate, darling. A womb for hire.”She leaned closer, her smile vicious.

“And you played your part beautifully.”