One

Nita lay on the wide, empty bed, her brows drawn tight, her thoughts circling endlessly. The silence of the room pressed against her ears, thick and heavy, as if even the walls were mocking her. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to believe that the night before had been nothing but a terrible dream. A nightmare. Something she would eventually wake from.

But the brown envelope resting on the nightstand made sure she could not escape reality. It sat there like a silent enemy, its edges sharp and accusing. Nick had gave it to her the previous night – with few words, without a flicker of remorse.

Her temples still throbbed from the storm of events that had unfolded. Every detail replayed in her mind – the dinner she had prepared with so much hope, the cold expression on his face, the quiet yet brutal words he had spoken as he slid the papers towards her. Divorce. The word rang in her skull like a curse she couldn’t wash away.

It had been meant to be a love dinner, a night to bridge the gap that had grown between them. She had hoped for laughter, for even the faintest smile to prove that somewhere behind his hardened exterior, the man she had once glimpsed still existed. Instead, he had shattered what little hope she had been clutching. He had chosen to end their marriage.

Her chest tightened. She was supposed to sign the divorce agreement, quietly disappear from his life, and pretend that what they had never existed. But how could she? How could she when she carried a piece of him inside her?

Her hand instinctively slid to her stomach. Her child. Their child.

A lump rose in her throat, chocking her. Nick didn’t know. He couldn’t know. Because if he did, he would never have dared to do this to her. He wouldn’t abandon their child. He couldn’t want his son – or daughter – to grow up fatherless. He wasn’t that cruel.

Was he?

She pressed her palm harder against her abdomen as though to shield the tiny life inside from the cruelty of the world outside. No, she couldn’t accept it. Nick had to know. He needed to understand that their baby changed everything.

If he wasn’t at the mansion, there was only one other place he could be. She had never stepped into his office before – he had always kept his professional world separate, walled away from her – but today she would break that rule. For the sake of their child. For the sake of her sanity.

She dragged herself from the bed, her body sluggish from the weight of both exhaustion and despair. After dressing quickly, she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her face looked pale, her eyes swollen from sleepless tears, but there was determination in her gaze. Whatever humiliation lay ahead, she would endure it. She had no choice.

Grimm’s group headquarter was nothing like she had imagined.

Nita stood outside the towering glass building, her heart thudding against her ribs. It was bigger than she expected, intimidating in its sheer size and grandeur. The glossy exterior reflected the morning sunlight, blinding her momentarily. She smoothed her dress, inhaling deeply before stepping inside.

The lobby buzzed with life. Men and women in sharp suits strode purposefully across the polished floor, their heels clicking like clockwork. None of them spared her a glance. She was invisible in this world, a stranger in her husband’s empire.

Her eyes dared around until she spotted what she was looking for – a desk tucked in the corner, neat and orderly, with a nameplate that read RECEPTION. Relief eased her tense shoulder. Finally, a starting point.

She approached quickly, “Good morning.”

The receptionist didn’t look up. Fingers danced across her keyboard, the glow of the screen reflecting in her glasses.

Nita blinked, stunned by the rudeness. Was this how Nick’s employee’s treated people?

“Good morning,” She tried again, her voice steadier. “I’m here to see the C.E.O.”

The woman finally lifted her head, her eyes scanning Nita with polite detachment. “Do you have an appointment with him?”

Nita shook her head.

The woman dropped her gaze back to her laptop, already dismissing her.

Panic prickled under Nita’s skin. “I don’t need an appointment. He’s my husband.”

The receptionist arched an unimpressed brow. “Yes. And I’m the Queen of England. Please, madam, I’m busy. If you’ll excuse me.”

Nita stepped back, stung by the casual cruelty. She hadn’t expected it to be this hard. Nick’s world was truly impenetrable – even to his own wife.

She sank into a chair nearby, clutching her bag against her stomach. Hours tickled by. She tried calling him, but he ignored her as he had the night before. Her nerves frayed with each passing minutes, her legs stiff from sitting too long. Finally, she stood to stretch – just as the doors opened.

Her breath froze in her chest.

Nick.

He was walking in, tall and commanding in his perfectly tailored suit, his presence as magnetic as ever. But he wasn’t alone. A woman clung to his side, laughing softly at something he had said. Her arm was looped through his, her body pressed close, as though she had every right to be there.

Nita’s heart plummeted.

Without thinking, she rushed forward, planting herself in his path.

“Nick.”

At last, he stopped. For a moment she thought – hoped – he would soften, that he would see her and remembered who she was to him. But instead, his hand moved to the waist of the woman beside him, holding her with practiced ease. The woman leaned into him, comfortable, as though she belonged in his arms.

The sight stole the air from Nita’s lungs.

She swallowed hard. “Can we talk? In private?”

The woman turned, eyeing her with open disdain. “Who is she?”

Nita’s lips trembled. She wanted to scream the truth – that she was his wife, the woman who shared his nights, his secrets, his vows. But she couldn’t. She had signed the contract that kept their marriage hidden until Nick deemed it convenient to reveal. Her silence was the price she had agreed to pay.

“She’s nobody,” Nick said flatly.

The words slashed through her, sharp as broken glass. Nobody. That’s what she was to him.

Her vision blurred, but she forced her voice out. “Nick, please. What I have to say is important.”

His gaze locked with hers, unfeeling, unmovable. “I told you last night – I don’t ever want to see you again.”

The woman laughed cruelly. “Oh, I get it. She’s one of those desperate girls trying to latch onto you.” She stepped closer to Nita, her finger jabbing the air. “Listen, bitch. Nic is mine. He would never stoop so low as to be with someone like you. Do yourself a favor – go find a man in your class and stop embarrassing yourself.”

Nita’s breath hitched. Rage sparked in her veins, but her voice shook as she asked, “Your man?”

The woman smiled smugly, “Yes. Nick is my man. We’re getting married soon.”

She pressed herself against him again like a possessive child.

Nita turned to Nick, praying – begging – for him to deny it. To tell her this stranger was lying. That he was hers.

But he only stared at her, cold and silent.

“Is it true, Nick?” Her voice cracked.

His lips curled into a smirk. “What do you think?”

Nita’s hand pressed to her stomach. Her baby. Their baby. But as she looked at him – this stranger who wore her husband’s face – she knew. Her child did not deserve a father like this. A man so cold-blooded, so merciless.

She stepped back, her vision swimming. People were watching now, whispering, pity etched in their eyes. Every murmur, every stolen glance felt like another stone added to the crushing weight on her chest.

Humiliation burned her skin.

She wished the ground would split open and swallow her whole. She wished she could vanish into nothingness. But reality was merciless. She was trapped in the moment, drowning in shame while Nick held another woman in plain view.

No. He would never know about the child. Not now. Not ever. This baby would be hers alone. She would protect it with every ounce of strength she had left.

Because a man like Nick Grimm didn’t deserve to be called a father.