01. TWO PINK LINES

Clara Bennett had never felt a happiness this fragile.

She sat in the examination room, staring at the ultrasound monitor with wide, tearful eyes. One hand rested over her stomach while the other clutched the edge of the examination bed.

There it was.

Her baby.

A tiny, barely distinguishable shape on the screen.

“Is everything all right, Doctor?” Clara asked.

Dr. Wilson smiled as she adjusted the monitor. “So far, everything looks promising. You’re still in the early stages of pregnancy, Mrs. Blackwood, so you’ll need to take good care of yourself. Get enough rest, eat well, and avoid unnecessary stress.”

Clara nodded eagerly. “I will. I promise.”

“Have you told your husband yet?”

The question made Clara pause.

Damien.

Her husband.

For a moment, she remembered the cold expression he wore whenever she tried to get close to him. She remembered the countless dinners she’d eaten alone, the nights he’d spent away from their bedroom, and the way he always seemed irritated whenever she asked when he would come home.

The memories dimmed her smile.

But only for a moment.

Today was different.

Today, she had something that might change everything.

“No,” Clara admitted, smiling shyly. “I wanted to surprise him.”

“Then I hope he receives the news well.”

Clara looked at the ultrasound photograph the doctor handed her. She couldn’t stop smiling.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

After finishing the appointment, Clara stepped outside the hospital with the ultrasound photograph carefully tucked inside a small envelope. She held it against her chest as though it were the most precious thing in the world.

Perhaps it was.

For months, she’d tried to convince herself that Damien’s coldness didn’t mean he would never love her. Their marriage might have started as a repayment of an old debt, but Clara had always believed that love could grow between two people who were willing to try.

She knew Damien hadn’t chosen her.

She knew he had never promised her a love story.

Still, she had hoped.

Now, she carried their child.

Surely, Damien wouldn’t remain indifferent to their baby.

Perhaps he’d finally smile at her without looking as though she were an inconvenience. Perhaps he’d come home earlier. Perhaps, for once, he’d hold her because he wanted to.

Clara laughed softly at her own thoughts.

“Your daddy is a difficult man, little one,” she whispered, looking down at the envelope. “But don’t worry. Mommy will make sure you know how much you’re loved.”

She carefully placed the envelope inside her handbag before heading toward the parking lot.

She was so distracted by her happiness that she failed to notice the man turning around the corner.

Bump!

“Oh!”

Her handbag slipped from her shoulder, and several items fell onto the floor.

“I’m sorry!”

The man reacted quickly, catching her by the arm before she lost her balance.

Clara looked up.

For a brief moment, she found herself staring into a pair of striking, dark eyes.

The stranger was tall, dressed in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit. His dark hair was neatly styled, and his expression was composed despite the unexpected collision. He looked like someone accustomed to being obeyed.

“I’m sorry,” Clara repeated, immediately stepping back. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Neither was I.” His voice was deep and calm.

The man crouched to pick up the items scattered across the floor. Clara quickly gathered her purse and phone, then reached for the small envelope that had slipped from her bag.

Their fingers almost touched.

She pulled it toward herself before he could pick it up.

The stranger glanced at the envelope, but his expression didn’t change.

“Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m fine. Thank you.”

Clara offered him a brief, polite smile.

“Sorry again.”

“It’s all right.”

She didn’t wait for another word. Clara slipped the envelope safely into her handbag, adjusted the strap over her shoulder, and hurried away.

***

The stranger watched her disappear into the crowd.

For a moment, his gaze lingered in the direction she’d gone.

Then his phone rang.

He answered without looking away from the hospital entrance.

“Mr. Cross, your meeting has been moved to three o’clock.”

“Fine. Tell them I’ll be there.”

He ended the call and walked toward the parking lot.

***

Clara headed upstairs, intending to freshen up before telling Damien her news.

She had spent the entire drive home rehearsing what she would say.

Damien, I have something to tell you.

No. Too serious.

You’re going to be a father.

That sounded better.

She imagined his reaction. Perhaps he’d be surprised. Perhaps he’d ask her to repeat it. Maybe, for once, the coldness in his eyes would soften.

She knew she was allowing herself to hope for too much.

But she couldn’t help it.

The thought of their child made her feel as though she had finally been given something that belonged to her.

As she passed the corridor leading to Damien’s study, she heard his voice.

“How much longer do I have to keep doing this?”

Clara stopped.

It was Derek speaking, Damien’s identical twin.

She frowned.

Doing what?

Damien answered with an irritated sigh.

“Keep your voice down.”

“Why? Afraid your precious wife might hear us?”

Clara’s fingers tightened around the strap of her handbag.

Your precious wife?

The words sounded strange coming from Derek.

She moved closer to the partially open door.

“You agreed to this arrangement,” Damien said.

“I agreed to help you avoid spending time with your wife. I didn’t agree to let this go on forever.”

Then Damien laughed.

“What’s the problem? Clara doesn’t suspect anything.”

Clara’s heart began to pound.

Suspect what?

Derek let out a bitter laugh.

“Of course she doesn’t. She thinks you’re the one sleeping with her.”

The world seemed to stop.

Clara stared at the narrow opening between the door and its frame.

She couldn’t breathe.

Damien spoke as casually as though they were discussing a business transaction.

“That’s the point.”

“And what happens when she finds out?”

“She won’t.”

“You can’t keep lying to her forever.”

“I don’t need to. Once the family debt is settled, I’ll divorce her.”

Clara’s fingers went numb.

Divorce?

She had known their marriage was an arrangement. She had known Damien hadn’t wanted her.

But she had believed that, despite everything, he was still her husband.

She had never imagined he could be planning to leave her while she was still trying to make their marriage work.

“But what about Scarlett?” Derek asked. “How long do you intend to keep her waiting?”

“Scarlett is the woman I want to marry. You know that.”

“And Clara?”

Damien’s response came without hesitation.

“Clara was never supposed to be anything more than an obligation.”

The ultrasound envelope crumpled in Clara’s trembling hand.

Inside it was the photograph of the baby she’d been so excited to show him.

Their baby.

“What if she gets pregnant?” Derek asked.

Damien laughed.

“It won’t change anything between us.”

Clara felt as though someone had driven a knife through her chest.

Her hand instinctively covered her stomach.

She wiped it away quickly, almost angrily.

No.

She wouldn’t cry.

Not here.

Not for him.

Inside the study, Derek spoke again.

“You’re a bastard, Damien.”

“Maybe. But at least I’m not stupid enough to fall for a woman I was never supposed to love.”

Clara closed her eyes.

And the worst part?

The man she’d believed was slowly warming up to her might not even have been her husband.

Derek had been taking Damien’s place.

She remembered the nights she’d thought Damien was finally reaching for her. The quiet moments when she’d felt a little less alone. The times she’d wondered why her husband seemed different, why his mannerisms didn’t quite match the man she’d come to know.

She had dismissed those doubts.

She had wanted to believe.

Now, every memory felt contaminated.

Clara opened her eyes.

The tears were still there, but she no longer felt the need to wipe them away.

She looked down at the envelope in her hand.

She took a slow, unsteady breath.

Then another.

Then she pushed the study door open.

“How long?”

Both men turned.

Damien’s expression darkened. Derek went pale.

Clara looked at Damien, her eyes burning with tears she refused to shed.

“How long have you been letting your brother sleep with your wife?”