ANMELDENJuliusI was in a damn good mood when I walked through the door that evening.My meeting had gone better than expected. I landed a deal that would have normally consumed my thoughts for the rest of the night, but as soon as I stepped into the penthouse, all I could think about was Jane.She usually came home first on some days when I had to work later than usual.I loosened my tie as I walked through the foyer, listening for sounds of her presence. Music from the kitchen or the soft pad of her feet on the marble floors. She had a way of moving through my space that made it feel less like a cold showpiece and more like a home."Jane?" I called out."In here."Her voice came from the living room, and something in her tone made me pause. It was flat and lifeless and nothing like the warm, slightly teasing way she usually greeted me when I came home.I found her sitting on the edge of the sofa, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She was still wearing the elegant dress she had worn t
JaneMy legs felt weak. I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the dirty ground, my expensive dress that Julius had bought me pooling around me."What do you want from me?" I asked again, but this time, my voice was hollow. Hudson crouched down in front of me, his eyes gleaming with triumph. "I want you to tell Julius the truth.""The truth?""I want you to tell him the baby isn't his. I want you to tell him it's mine."The world tilted. For a moment, I thought I actually might vomit right there in the alley."You're insane," I whispered. "Why would I do that?""Because if you don't, I'm going to release every single one of these photos to the media. The Times, the Post, every gossip blog and tabloid in the city. By tomorrow morning, everyone will know that you fucked your fiancé's father in a parking garage while wearing your wedding dress. They'll know you've been living with him. They'll know you're pregnant, and I'll make sure everyone believes you did it for the money.""Ju
JaneI couldn't stop shaking. My hands trembled so violently that I dropped my phone twice before I even made it out of the parking lot. Maribel's face kept flashing through my mind. That knowing smirk on her lips and the way her eyes had gleamed when she realized I was pregnant. God, I was so stupid. I should have been more careful. I should have gone to a clinic across town where no one would recognize me, but I had been so desperate to confirm what I already suspected, that I hadn't thought about running into anyone I knew.Now Maribel knew. Which meant Hudson would know soon, if he didn't already. The thought made my stomach twist painfully.I needed to tell Julius right now before this spiraled even further out of my control. I needed to tell Julius about the baby and pray that he wanted this as much as I did, but every time I tried to form the words in my head, they dissolved into panic.What if he didn't want children? What if he thought I had gotten pregnant on purpose to t
HudsonMy breath hitched as my hands clenched into fists by my sides.The video jumped ahead, showing Julius leading Jane through a back exit toward the parking garage."This is where it gets interesting," Stanton said. He pulled up another video, this one showing the parking garage. The angle was not great, but I could make out Julius's car parked in a corner spot.And then I saw movement inside the car. Two figures, close together. The windows were tinted, but every so often I could see flashes of pale skin, Jane's auburn hair, the white fabric of her wedding dress bunched up around her waist."She fucked him in the car," I said, my voice hollow. "She fucked my father in his car while I was standing at the altar waiting for her.""That is what it looks like, yes. The timestamp puts this about an hour after the ceremony was supposed to start."I felt something inside me crack. All this time, I had told myself that Jane had run away because she was emotional and because she could not
HudsonMy phone buzzed during an important meeting., and I almost ignored it, but something made me glance at the screen, and when I saw Maribel's name, I excused myself and stepped out into the hallway.The text message was short, but its contents nearly made me stumble on my feet."Just ran into Jane at the OB/GYN. She's pregnant."I stared at the words, reading them over and over again. Jane was pregnant?!My first thought was that it was mine. Maybe we slept together before the wedding and I had forgotten, but no, that was impossible. I had not touched Jane in months. I had been too busy with Maribel to bother with my fiancée's needy and clingy attempts at affection.Which meant the baby was someone else's.My second thought was immediate and visceral. My father. It had to be Julius.My father had fucked my fiancée and gotten her pregnant.I called Maribel immediately, not bothering to return to the meeting."Hudson?" Her voice was cautious, like she was not sure what kind of moo
JaneI sat in the OB/GYN waiting room, trying to focus on the magazine in my lap but the words kept blurring together.Around me, pregnant women chatted with partners or scrolled through their phones. One woman across from me had her hand on her swollen belly, smiling down at it with such contentment that it made my chest ache.Would that be me in a few months? Would I be sitting here with that same peaceful smile, or would I be alone?"Jane Parker?"I looked up, expecting to see the nurse, but it was just the receptionist calling someone else. A different Jane. I settled back into my seat, my hands gripping the magazine tighter.The door to the waiting room opened and someone walked in. I didn't look up immediately, too lost in my own thoughts, but then I heard a voice that made my blood run cold."You have got to be kidding me."I lifted my head and found Maribel standing three feet away, staring at me with wide eyes. She was dressed in designer jeans and a silk blouse, her blonde
JaneThe woman staring back at me in the mirror looked like a bride. White lace clung to curves I had learned to hide and to despise. My auburn hair was pinned into an elegant updo that had taken the stylist two hours. My makeup had been carefully applied to make my green eyes look less tired and
HudsonI straightened my tie in the bathroom mirror, checking my reflection with satisfaction. I was perfectly composed and there was not a strand of hair out of place. No one would ever know I had just spent the last twenty minutes balls-deep in my fiancée's best friend.Maribel emerged from the
JaneMy eyes locked with Julius’s and in that moment, I saw my own desperation reflected back at me.“Please,” I whispered, my hands sliding up his chest to frame his face. “Please make me forget. Just for a few minutes. Make me forget Hudson. Make me forget—” My voice cracked. “Make me forget eve
JaneJulius Armstrong's piercing grey gaze locked with mine, and I didn’t think it was possible, but the humiliation grew even worse. It wasn't enough that I had caught my fiancé fucking my best friend minutes before our wedding. It wasn't enough that Hudson had kept going, had mocked me and had







