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Lilian was all smiles as she approached her red SUV car, idling in the parking lot of a renowned Medical Hospital in California.

She felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach, her heart overwhelmed with feelings of being an expectant mother. Her motherly instincts kicked in as she subconsciously caressed her baby bump with her right hand, joyful tears brimming her bright brown eyes.

The baby bump wasn't visible yet, but Lilian knew from what the doctor told her that it would take a few weeks or months more before the whole world would become aware that she, Lilian Barker, CEO of Alx Designs, was pregnant with the famous fashion designer, Wilson Barker's baby.

She lifted up the pregnancy reports, taking an extra look at the scribbled words on the surface and her smile grew wider than before. It stretched to her eyes, even as her mind swarmed with thoughts of the baby in her belly.

'Baby, your dad is going to be over the moon when he finds out you're on your way. Even though you're not here yet, I already feel overwhelmed with so much love and joy just knowing you're with me, growing in my womb. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms, baby. I know when I tell your daddy, he’ll be so proud and happy like I am. He might even squeal like a little teenager, haha!'

Lilian giggled as she got to her car and was about to open the door when the buzz of her phone halted her midway. She swiftly reached out into her side bag, where she had left the phone before leaving the doctor's office earlier. 

 Lilian unlocked the screen and noticed a text from an unknown number and it read... 

"Hey, wifey. It's Wilson. Sorry for the unexpected text, but my phone died, so I had to borrow one from the receptionist downstairs while mine charged. Come to The Beverly Hills Hotel, Suite 928. I’ll be waiting for you here, My Love. It’s a surprise for my beautiful wife, so shhhh, don’t tell anyone. ;)"

The message ended with a playful wink emoji, and Lilian's cheeks were already heated by the time she was done reading. 

'Could this get any better, baby? He has a surprise for me while I have one for him, too. This is going to be so lit!' She beamed happily and got into her car in a hurry, heading for the hotel that her husband had told her to come to while wondering what the surprise could be. Because knowing Wilson; he had never failed to touch her soft spot with his sweet surprises.

By the time Lilian arrived at the hotel, she was awestruck and confused about the romantic setup. The hotel was romantically decorated like there was a huge celebration going on. Lilian was sure that Wilson must've bought the whole hotel for that day because it wasn't the first time he had done something similar. But what bothered her most was why he had to plan such a huge surprise when there wasn't any occasion to celebrate.

Nonetheless, Lilian went in, pushing the large entrance door open and stepping in. She walked up to the receptionist who sat behind her desk, wearing a polite, professional, and welcoming smile.

"Hello, I'm here to see Mr Wilson. I am his wife, Lilian Barker, and he told me to come over to The Beverly Hills Hotel, suit 928." She requested softly.

"Of course, ma'am! After all, the whole hotel was rented for you. So yes, go ahead and have great fun. This is a spare key to your room since Mr. Barker already has one. It's on Floor number 10. Mr Barker should be waiting for you in suit 928, as you already know," the receptionist said, handing the key to Lilian who accepted it with a broad smile.

"Thank you," She appreciated, before heading towards the elevator and getting in. She pressed the button for the tenth floor, and the elevator began moving. 

Soon, Lilian was on the 10th floor of the hotel and had already found the suit plate number '928' that hung on the door but a lone tear escaped her eyes as she leaned closer to the door, fingers trembling on the doorknob as she listened to more of the conversation going on inside the room.

She was sure the voices she heard belonged to her best friend, Emily, and her husband, Wilson Barker, because she could never mistake his voice for someone else while in her right senses, but at the same time, Wilson was the last person on earth that Lilian thought could be capable of ever betraying her trust because damn it! He was her fucking husband! What's the use of being her husband when the trust wasn't solid enough?

"She's so stupid," Lilian heard Emily scoff inside. "She thought you were my cousin then she foolishly fell in love with you and signed her company over to you after you simply got married to her, not knowing I am the only one you love. She's such a good little pawn, isn't she? Now take a good look at us. We're fucking rich, Wilson! We are wealthy with her money floating everywhere!" Emily exclaimed loudly, giggling and laughing.

Lilian stood frozen at the door as she struggled to breathe. The words cut through her like a knife, each one a fresh wound. Emily's voice was venomous, but it was Wilson's voice that sliced through her heart, leaving her shattered as she became the topic of mockery in their conversation.

"I agree with you, Emily love. She proved herself to be dumb after signing over her company and properties into my name to boost my fashion-designing business. She did it because we were smart enough to make her believe us, and when she gets here, I will divorce her right after framing her for adultery," Wilson chuckled deeply.

"I bet Dickson knows how he'd fuck the nuts out of her brains. We just have to wait for her to get here, and when she does, you'd get her to drink the wines since they're already spiked with the aphrodisiac in them. By the time she gets drunk and Dickson is finished with her, the whole media would be aware of the adultery she committed because it would have gone viral on the Internet that the famous CEO of Alx Designs, Lilian Barker, was caught cheating on her husband in bed with a stranger!" Emily's venomous voice added, laughing.

"No, no," Wilson disagreed, cutting in. "It's not going to be Lilian Barker anymore. It's Lilian West. While you, my darling, will be my sweet wife, Emily Barker, wife to the famous CEO and fashion designer of Alx Designs across the states!" Wilson boasted proudly while Emily giggled. "This way, I would get to have all her properties without giving her a dime. She'd be left roaming on the streets of LA, searching for a roof over her head and how to feed herself."

Lilian, who was still at the door, found it hard to breathe, her fingers tightening around the doorknob for support as she lost all her strength. She felt mentally and emotionally drained. 

Her chest was suffocating, her lungs unable to let air pass through and her heart wrenched with more tears threatening to spill. Her world crumbled after hearing those words from her beloved husband, Wilson, whom she held dear to her heart.

"No, he can not. How could Wilson do this to me? What is his reason for betraying me like this? He can't do this to me, right? And Emily? She lied to me. Wilson was never her cousin but her lover? Oh no. No, no, they can't—" Lilian muttered in self-denial.

She refused to accept and believe everything she overheard. It was too hard to digest.

How can the man she spent several years loving and caring end up breaking her trust this easily? 

It felt like a nightmare, and Lilian desperately wanted to wake up from the bad dream but could not do so because it was never a dream; it was the harsh reality of life.

She had been fooled by the people whom she loved and trusted. 

"I Love You, Wilson," Emily whispered with the most affectionate and sweetest voice she could make up. 

"I love you more, Emily. It's all because of you that all these were possible. If it weren't for you, then I don't know—but believe me, Emily. I would never trade you for anything. And if by any chance Lilian had a child for me, then I would have used my wealth to take them away from her. Afterward, when they come of age, they can become your slaves, working and doing whatever you tell them to do at any cost because you deserve the absolute best, Emily!" He said earnestly. 

Meanwhile, Lilian, who was still at the door, felt as fragile as ever. She felt heartbroken, shattered, betrayed, and most of all, devastated. But then, she heard something that made her blood run cold. Wilson's threat to take away any children she might have, to use his wealth to manipulate and control them, and to make them Emily's slaves. 

Lilian's hand instinctively went to her stomach, where her unborn child grew. She knew she had to protect her baby at all costs. 

"I won't let him hurt you, little one," she whispered, her voice trembling with the heartache she felt and an edge of determination. "He'll never know about you, not until he gives me a valid reason why he's doing this. Why he's hurting us so badly." 

Lilian carefully hid the pregnancy reports in her bag, her mind racing with thoughts of how to confront Wilson and Emily and how to safeguard her child's future as she wiped away her tears and then busted into the room without warning.

There, she caught them mid-affair. Emily was half-naked in a red lace G-string undies and half-cup bra that pushed up her peaches while she wrapped her legs intimately around Wilson's slender waist, who stood before the desk she sat on without a T-shirt on him, his chest bare for her hands to roam and her eyes to feast on.

Emily and Wilson's gazes darted to the door once they heard it open and their eyes instantly grew wide in absolute shock to see Lilian standing there.

"Lilian?" Wilson whispered, stunned to see her at the door.

"Dammit! Why didn't the receptionist inform us that she's here already?" Emily cussed, facepalming herself. "Everything is ruined now."