Chapter 3

Charlotte didn’t give much thought to Kiki’s birthday party after that call.

She had no intention of showing up just to humiliate herself, and with her condition, there was no way the hospital would discharge her anyway.

What she hadn’t expected was for Bruce to be this ruthless.

Charlotte had just returned to her room after a short walk when a group of bodyguards dressed in black suddenly barged in.

The man leading them was Bruce’s secretary, Gavin Stone.

“Gavin, what is this?”

“Mr. Ford sent me to bring you to Miss Kiki’s birthday party.”

“This is your idea of an invitation?”

Charlotte’s gaze sharpened.

Gavin lifted his chin slightly, his usual contempt clear in his voice.

“Mrs. Ford, I suggest you cooperate. After all, compared to Miss Kiki, you mean absolutely nothing to Mr. Ford.”

So whatever Gavin was doing, Bruce had approved it.

Charlotte pressed her lips together.

“Fine. I’ll go. But you can’t seriously expect me to attend a birthday party dressed like this.”

Gavin gave her a slow once-over.

Once he was satisfied she was in no condition to put up much of a fight, he nodded.

“You have three minutes. After that, I’m coming back in.”

Then he led the bodyguards out.

The second the door closed, Charlotte grabbed the phone from under her pillow and quickly typed out an SOS message to her best friend, Summer.

She was in such a hurry that she didn’t realize she had sent it to the wrong number.

Instead of Summer, the message went to someone else.

Exactly three minutes later, Gavin pushed the door open without knocking.

“Time to go, Mrs. Ford.”

They watched Charlotte closely the entire way, clearly afraid she might try to escape.

The security didn’t ease up until they reached the hotel.

By the time Charlotte entered the ballroom at the Majestic Hotel, it was already packed with wealthy and influential guests.

But her gaze immediately found the family of three at the center of the crowd.

Bruce wore a custom white suit. The cold, ruthless businessman she knew was nowhere to be seen. Tonight, his handsome face was softened by a warm smile.

He held a little girl in a pink dress in his arms.

The child looked remarkably like Xena, who stood beside him.

Xena wore an ivory mermaid gown, her long hair swept into an elegant updo. She looked soft and radiant beneath the ballroom lights.

She leaned naturally against Bruce, the two of them so close and comfortable together that anyone would have assumed she was Mrs. Ford.

“Mr. Ford, you’ve been keeping quite a secret. You have such a beautiful wife and daughter, and you’re only introducing them to us now?”

The guests around them laughed and teased, their voices full of envy.

Bruce looked down at Xena, his expression impossibly gentle.

“I’d tell the whole world if it were up to me. But Xena likes to keep things private, and I respect that.”

“Daddy loves Mommy and Kiki more than anyone!”

Four-year-old Kiki snuggled into Bruce’s arms, lifting her chin proudly.

“Kiki, don’t say that.”

Xena blushed, but the happiness in her eyes gave her away.

Watching the three of them together like a happy little family sent a sharp pain through Charlotte’s chest.

Her stomach lurched.

Her vision blurred, and she stumbled, bumping into a server passing behind her.

Crash!

The silver tray slipped from his hands and hit the floor.

Wineglasses shattered, the sharp sound cutting through the lively ballroom.

Everyone turned to look.

Bruce’s smile disappeared the instant he saw her.

He strode over, grabbed her arm, and stared at her visibly pregnant belly.

“Why the hell didn’t you get an abortion?”

She had heard everything on the phone.

She knew the baby wasn’t his.

How could she still have chosen to keep it?

Charlotte hadn’t expected him to react so violently.

She tried to pull her arm free.

“Bruce, let go of me!”

“Bruce!”

Xena hurried over with her parents, Adam and Susan Norman.

She immediately clung to Bruce’s arm, a flash of panic and resentment crossing her face.

Adam went to calm the guests, while Susan stayed behind.

Susan shot Charlotte a hostile look.

“You little brat. Did you come here just to ruin the party?”

Then she dug her fingers into Charlotte’s arm and hissed under her breath.

“Today is Kiki’s birthday. If you dare cause a scene, don’t ever call me Mom again.”

Charlotte looked straight at her.

“Have you ever treated me like your daughter?”

Her arm ached under Susan’s grip, but she didn’t back down.

“You and Dad knew all along that Xena and Bruce were together. You knew they had a child. You helped them hide it from me, and then you stood by and let me marry him anyway.

“Are you two even my real parents?”

Years ago, Xena had gotten pregnant before she was married and refused to tell anyone who the father was.

She had cried constantly, saying she didn’t want an abortion because it could harm her health, but she was too ashamed to stay and face everyone.

Their parents had worried about her day and night.

Charlotte had felt sorry for her, so she had given Xena the opportunity to study abroad that had originally been meant for her.

Bruce was already successful by then.

Even now, Charlotte couldn’t understand why her parents, who had known the truth all along, had kept quiet and let her marry him.

If she hadn’t married Bruce, she never would have given up that identity.

“What are you talking about?”

A flicker of guilt crossed Susan’s face before disappearing.

She glared at Charlotte.

“Do you know how many women would kill to marry into the Ford family? Your sister needed time overseas to build herself up. Otherwise, do you really think Bruce’s parents would’ve accepted her?

“They would’ve treated her just as badly as they treated you.”

Charlotte stared at her.

“So that was my purpose? I was supposed to hold Xena’s place until she was ready to take it?”

“Don’t make it sound so awful. You got to be Mrs. Ford for three years, didn’t you?”

Susan rolled her eyes as though Charlotte should’ve been grateful.

Charlotte almost laughed.

Her entire life suddenly felt like one sick joke.

Susan had kept her voice low, so Bruce hadn’t heard any of it.

By then, his expression had returned to normal, though his tone left no room for argument.

“Mom, Xena, I’ll take care of this. Go look after Kiki. Don’t let this ruin her birthday.”

“All right. Whatever you say.”

Xena nodded sweetly and led Susan away.

Bruce turned back to Charlotte, his gaze dropping to her pregnant belly.

“Why didn’t you get rid of the baby?”

For some reason, the sight of her still pregnant made something twist uncomfortably in his chest.

He had done all this just to humiliate her. So why was he the one feeling so irritated now?

“Why should I?”

Three years of hurt, anger, and humiliation finally came crashing out.

Charlotte’s voice rose, cracking as she shouted, “Bruce Ford, isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”

The ballroom went dead silent.

“You’re a bad woman! Don’t yell at my daddy!”

Kiki squirmed out of Xena’s arms and ran toward Charlotte, clutching a toy wand.

Charlotte instinctively stepped aside.

Kiki lost her footing and fell onto the carpet.

She immediately burst into tears.

“Kiki!”

Bruce’s expression changed instantly.

He shoved Charlotte aside without a second thought, sending her crashing to the floor.

She threw out a hand to protect her stomach, but her palm landed on the broken glass. The sharp shards sliced into her skin, and blood immediately welled from the cuts.

Bruce carefully picked Kiki up and held her against his chest, gently patting her back.

Then he looked at Charlotte.

The tenderness vanished from his face.

“If anything happens to Kiki, I’ll make you regret ever being born.”

Once Xena saw that Kiki was fine, she visibly relaxed.

Then she turned toward Charlotte and held out a hand, her face full of concern.

“Lottie, are you okay? Come on, let me help you up. There’s glass everywhere.”

“Get away from me!”

Xena sighed, looking at her with the kind of patience someone might show a difficult child.

“Lottie, if you wanted Bruce that badly, you could’ve just told me. I would’ve stepped aside for you. There was no need to make a scene like this.”

Charlotte stared at her in disbelief.

And for the first time, she caught something in the eyes of the sister who had always seemed so gentle and understanding.

Satisfaction.

Xena had done it on purpose.

Whispers immediately spread through the crowd.

“I can’t believe she’d actually try to steal her own sister’s man.”

“She’s pregnant and still going after someone else’s husband? That’s disgusting.”

“Wait... you don’t think the baby is Mr. Ford’s, do you?”

The moment someone said it, the entire ballroom went silent.