Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Daniella’s Pov

Freya’s sharp voice echoes off the hard marble floors like a gunshot, freezing us all in place.

"You think you can play me for a fool?" Freya screams again, marching right into the grand foyer. Her expensive heels click loudly against the stone, and her face is twisted into an ugly, furious mask. She stops just inches away from me, her eyes burning with pure hate as she points a shaking finger right at my stomach. "I found out the truth! I know what you are hiding under that dress! You trapped him, didn't you? You spread your legs for a rich professor just to steal my fiancé and ruin my life!"

My breath catches in my throat. For a second, the old fear tries to grab hold of me. I want to step back, pull my coat tight, and hide from her screaming face.

Then I look past Freya. I see Kent stepping forward, his jaw locked hard, ready to tear into her. And I realize I am done hiding. I am done letting rich people treat me like trash.

I step forward, lifting my chin high, and look right into Freya’s angry eyes.

"I never trapped him," I say, my voice ringing out clear, steady, and loud across the grand foyer. "I didn't plan any of this, Freya. I didn't want his money, and I certainly never expected him to choose me. You can scream and insult me all you want, but your anger shouldn't be aimed at me. It should be aimed at the man who never loved you in the first place."

Freya gasps like I just slapped her across the face. Her mouth opens and closes, but no words come out for a second. Then she spins around, tears of pure rage springing to her eyes, and stares up at Kent.

"Kent!" she shrieks, her voice cracking. "Tell her she's lying! Tell me she's lying right now! Look at me and tell me you don't love this pathetic little nobody!"

The heavy double doors of the study open behind us, and Kent’s father and grandfather step out into the hallway, watching the scene unfold in dead silence.

Kent doesn't blink. He doesn't look away, and he doesn't hesitate. He steps right up beside me, his shoulder brushing mine, and his dark eyes lock onto Freya with absolute, unbreakable honesty.

"I won't lie to you, Freya," Kent says, his voice low, firm, and steady. "I don't love you. I never did. And my feelings for Daniella are real. I am choosing her."

The words hang in the air like heavy iron.

Freya looks like she has just been stabbed in the heart. All the color drains from her face, leaving her completely white. Her hands shake at her sides.

"You're throwing everything away," Freya whispers, her voice trembling with a mix of heartbreak and pure venom. She turns her cold, sharp gaze back to Kent’s grandfather standing down the hall. "You know what our contract says! My father’s company will pull every single penny out of your accounts! We will sue your firm into the ground, take your family home, and leave you with nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

Hearing those words, a cold wave of dread crashes over my chest.

Nothing.

She is talking about total ruin. Multi-million-dollar lawsuits, lost homes, shattered careers, and a bankrupt family. And it is all happening because of me. Because I got pregnant. Because Kent fell in love with a poor student on a scholarship instead of a billionaire's daughter.

I look up at Kent’s face. He looks calm, but the sheer weight of what he is giving up for me hits me like a physical blow.

Is this right? Am I destroying the man I love just because I want to be with him? If he loses everything—his job, his family's legacy, his entire future—will he eventually look at me and feel resentment?

Freya glares at us one last time, turning on her high heels and storming back out the front doors, slamming them so hard the walls shake.

The heavy silence returns to the grand foyer. Kent’s father and grandfather turn around and walk back into the study without saying a single word, leaving us standing alone in the massive, echoing hallway.

My hands begin to shake violently. I pull my arms away from Kent and take a step backward, putting distance between us.

"Daniella?" Kent asks, his dark eyes instantly filling with worry as he reaches out for me. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

"You heard what she said," I whisper, my voice cracking as hot tears spill over my eyelashes. I look away, unable to meet his gaze. "Lawsuits, bankruptcy, losing your entire life. Kent, she's right. You can't just throw away everything your family built just for me."

"I am not throwing it away," Kent insists, taking another step closer. "I am walking away from a cage."

"No, you don't understand!" I cry out, the stress and guilt finally breaking me completely. "You are going to lose your home, your job, your money! What kind of life are we going to have when your family's lawyers strip you of everything? You're going to hate me, Kent. Eventually, you're going to look at me and wish you never met me."

"Never," Kent says fiercely. He closes the distance between us in two giant strides, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me tight against his chest before I can push him away. He holds me so close I can hear the fast, heavy beating of his heart. "Listen to me, Daniella. Look at my eyes."

I slowly lift my head, looking up into his dark, unwavering face.

"Money comes and goes," Kent tells me, his voice thick with absolute, fierce conviction. "Titles and corporate contracts are just pieces of paper. They don't mean anything. You and our baby... you are my real life."

"I'm destroying your life," I whisper, a sob catching in my throat.

"You aren't destroying my life, Daniella," Kent says softly, a tender, beautiful smile breaking through the tension on his face as he presses his forehead gently against mine. "For the very first time... you are finally giving me the life I actually want."