#Chapter 6: Fated Mate

Tessa’s POV

"Fated–fated mate?"

I breathe out the words like they’re the opening lines to a horror movie, like I’m terrified of speaking them aloud.

Like if I somehow hold them back, they’d somehow stop being true.

Evander has found his Fated mate. Which means things between the two of us…

As I stare up at them wide-eyed, Carol’s rude voice cuts through the room eagerly.

"Since Evander has found his Fated mate, it’s time to get things ready for the Rejection Ceremony and the divorce."

"I agree," Mira chimes in, lips pursed in a prim and deceptively sweet smile.

Carol and Mira look down at me, eyes gleaming something wicked and vicious. I know this isn’t anyone’s doing. It’s not anyone’s fault.

It’s fate.

Still, they both seem awfully pleased by just how fate has decided to conspire against me.

My hands curl into fists beneath the dining room table. I can feel each individual shard of my heart clinking around my ribcage like loose dice.

And our baby…

I squeeze my eyes shut briefly. No. Can’t think about that now. I’ll have to figure it out later.

I glance at Evander with wide, pleading eyes, desperate to see what he has to say.

There’s a cool hesitation haunting him as he glances passively between Mira and I. Just as he’s about to speak, though, a sharp ringing sound cuts through the air.

Evander pulls his phone out of his pocket and glancing at the caller ID. "I’ve got to take this."

He slips out of the dining room quickly and closes the door behind him, leaving Carol, Mira, and I alone.

Evander’s POV

By the time I hang up the phone, I couldn’t be more grateful for the distraction.

The tension when I introduced Mira to Tessa as my Fated mate…

Oh, she looked heartbroken.

Rationally, Mira and Carol and everyone else are right. I want to be with my Fated mate–it’s time to make that happen.

But it all feels… Off, somehow.

I can’t shake the image from my mind.

Tessa standing in front of me, eyes wide and pleading and utterly devastated.

It’s those eyes. Those damn pleading eyes.

By doing this, I’m going to hurt her. And knowing that is somehow stopping me from doing what needs to be done.

Tessa’s POV

I couldn’t come up with a more hellish combination if I wanted to.

Still, I do my best to extend a weak smile towards Mira. There’s no reason we can’t handle this gracefully. We lock eyes, and I raise a hand.

"I…" I begin slowly.

Mira looks away from me abruptly, gaze sliding past me like I’m not even there.

My jaw tightens.

"Beta, give me a tour of the villa," Mira says coolly. "I’d like to familiarize myself with my future home."

I barely manage to suppress my scowl.

This is my home. The home Evander and I share–have shared for years.

"It would be my pleasure," Carol replies, bowing her head to Mira.

They both shoot me thin, plastic smiles as they slip out of the room.

The door slams shut behind them, rattling the house to the foundations.

At least now I get the chance to plan my next move.

So Mira is Evander’s Fated mate, and as our marriage contract suggested, he’s going to leave me for her. But I’m carrying Evander’s child now...

I should let him know about my pregnancy before he makes any decision, right?

I need to check the contract.

With some difficulty thanks to my injuries from the accident, I stand up from the table and take stock of my injuries.

Bruises, scraps, and cuts make up the majority of it, but my bones ache in a way that has me clenching my knuckles and gritting my teeth.

Still, I manage to make my way upstairs to my bedroom. Once I’m there, I cross the room to my dresser drawer, where I keep all my important files and documents.

I pull out a copy of the contract I’d signed years ago, back when Evander and I first agreed to get married.

I sink into an armchair and grip the thick stack of paper tightly.

Way back at the very start of things, I’d been swept away by excitement, overpowered by the strength of my own love for Evander. So I’d barely bothered to read the prenuptial agreement before signing it.

But now, I’m hoping there’s something in it that could save me and my baby.

I skim through the fine print, turning the pages with care. Most of this is what I’d initially assumed it to be–statements on division of finances, on managing media appearance, on the terms and conditions of a potential child–

Wait.

My heart suddenly freezes in my chest like it’s been struck by a  of ice.

There.

Tucked away in small black text at the corner of a page are the words that have the potential to ruin my whole life.

It’s a small supplementary clause in the child-rearing and parental rights section:

Unless the decision is revised at a later point, Tessa Everly will remain on birth control for the duration of this matrimonial agreement.

Should Ms. Everly unexpectedly become pregnant, Evander Redding will maintain sole custody of any resulting children, with Ms. Everly fully forfeiting parental rights upon the signing of this contract.

I can hardly believe what I’m reading.

Ms. Everly fully forfeiting parental rights upon the signing of this contract.

That means if our marriage is over, I won’t just be losing Evander.

I’ll be losing my baby, too.

The weight of the words hit me like a ton of bricks. The dread settles heavy in my chest.

I stare at the contract, my mind racing for a way out of this terrible situation. Then—click. The bedroom door creaks open.

I freeze and look towards the door, wide-eyed and still holding the marriage contract.

Evander hovers in the doorway, gaze raking over me slowly. His brow is furrowed, lips pursed.

When he speaks, his voice is cold.

"What are you doing?"