1

The love of my life was going to marry my older half-sister.

That single thought had been repeating in my head like a broken record all night. Alexander Sterling, the man I had loved since I was a little girl, was going to belong to Vanessa Morgan. My own sister.

I had foolishly hoped it would be me one day. That maybe, just maybe, he would notice me. But life was never kind to the daughter of a mistress.

Tonight, I wanted to forget. I needed to erase him from my mind, even if it was only for a few hours.

The world spun around me as I stumbled through the dimly lit hallway of the luxurious hotel. My heels clicked unsteadily on the marble floor. I had drunk far too much, but the alcohol still wasn’t enough to dull the sharp pain in my chest.

I swayed dangerously and suddenly bumped into a tall, hard chest. Strong hands immediately grabbed my waist, steadying me before I could fall.

“Careful,” a deep, husky voice said.

I looked up through my blurred vision. The man in front of me was incredibly handsome sharp jawline, messy dark hair, and broad shoulders. He smelled like expensive whiskey and danger. He was clearly drunk too, but he was still standing straight, holding me firmly.

My desperate, broken heart made the decision before my brain could catch up.

“Would you sleep with me?” I blurted out, my voice slurred but direct.

The man blinked, clearly confused. “What?”

I didn’t give him time to think. I grabbed his shirt, pulled him down, and kissed him hard. His lips were warm and tasted like whiskey. For a moment, he froze. Then I pulled back, breathing heavily, staring into his eyes.

“Please,” I whispered desperately. “I need to forget someone. I need to sleep with someone else tonight so I can get him out of my head.”

He stared at me, still processing my words. I continued, my voice cracking with pain and alcohol.

“The guy I love… he’s going to marry my older half-sister. And I’ll have to stand there like some pathetic flower girl at their wedding, smiling while my heart breaks.” Tears stung my eyes. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. I can’t. So please… sleep with me. I’ll pay you. I have money. Just help me forget him tonight.”

Something shifted in his eyes. Whether it was the alcohol, my desperation, or the raw honesty in my voice, he didn’t push me away.

Before he could answer, I grabbed him by his tie and pulled him with me down the hallway. He followed without resistance, his hand still gripping my waist as we stumbled into the nearest available room.

The moment the door closed, I pushed him toward the bed with all the strength I had left. He fell back onto the mattress, watching me with dark, hazy eyes.

I climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. My dress rode up my thighs as I leaned down, my hair falling around us.

“Shhh…” I whispered playfully, pressing a finger to his lips. “No names. No questions. Just make me forget.”

He grabbed my wrist. “You’re really drunk. Are you sure about this?”

I gave him a teasing, almost bratty smile. “Aww, are you nervous?” I traced my finger slowly down his chest. “Don’t tell me a big, handsome man like you is actually a shy little virgin? How cute.”

My words clearly hit a nerve. His expression darkened with irritation and desire. In one powerful move, he flipped me onto my back and pinned my wrists above my head.

“You better not regret this,” he growled.

He sat up, freed himself from his pants, and I gasped when I saw how big he was. A wave of hesitation hit me, but he didn’t give me time to overthink. He grabbed my thighs, pulled me closer, and pressed against my entrance.

“Wait ah!”

He captured my lips in a deep, hungry kiss, swallowing my cry as he pushed inside me in one long, forceful thrust. I felt every thick inch stretching me open, filling me so completely that my back arched sharply off the bed. The sensation was overwhelming burning pleasure mixed with delicious pain.

He started moving, deep and powerful strokes that made me moan shamelessly. Even as my body trembled beneath him, I kept being playfully provocative.

“Deeper…” I whispered breathlessly between moans. “Make me forget him… Please…”

In my drunken haze, every thrust blurred his face into Alexander’s. I cupped his jaw, tears slipping down my cheeks as I kissed him desperately.

“Even now… I can’t stop thinking about you,” I whispered brokenly. “How pathetic am I?”

He responded by thrusting harder, as if determined to drive every thought out of my mind. We lost ourselves completely in each other that night raw, passionate, and wild.

The Next Morning

I woke up feeling destroyed.

My body ached everywhere. Bite marks decorated my neck and breasts. My inner thighs were covered in hickeys, and the soreness between my legs was almost unbearable. I sat up slowly, wincing with every movement.

Memories from last night flooded back.

We had done it raw. Multiple times.

“Oh God…” I whispered in panic.

I quickly got dressed in my torn clothes, left all the cash I had on the bedside table, and turned to look at the man still sleeping on his stomach. Deep scratch marks from my nails covered his muscular back.

My heart stopped.

It was Alexander Sterling.

The man I loved. My half-sister’s future husband.

I slapped a hand over my mouth, horror crashing over me like ice-cold water. “What have I done…?” I whispered, tears filling my eyes. “I slept with Alexander…”

He stirred slightly. Before he could wake up, I grabbed my heels and ran out of the room barefoot, tears streaming down my face as I fled down the corridor.

Little did I know…

That one desperate, drunken night would ruin my entire future.

One Month Later

The consequences of my reckless actions had finally arrived.

On the day I dreaded most, I stood locked inside the luxurious marble bathroom at the grand engagement ceremony of Alexander Sterling and Vanessa Morgan my half-sister.

My hands were trembling violently as I stared down at the pregnancy test in my grip. This was the third one I had taken tonight. All of them showed the same result.

Two bold, bright red lines screamed back at me.

Positive.

I gulped nervously, my eyes watering as the horrifying truth sank in.

“I’m pregnant…” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “With Alexander’s child?”

My legs felt weak. I held onto the cold wall for support, my breathing growing ragged.

My grandfather would kill me if he found out.

A mistress’s daughter like me was never important. I was nothing more than a tool useful only when needed. The moment I became a burden, he would erase me just like he had erased my mother. No one would ask questions. No one would care.

Tears blurred my vision as I hyperventilated, my chest tightening painfully.

“I can’t keep this baby,” I whispered desperately to myself. “I have to abort it. No one can ever know…”

My mind was spiraling. The shame, the fear, the impossible situation it was all too much.

Suddenly, a loud knock echoed through the bathroom.

“Victoria? Are you okay in there?” Emily’s worried voice called out. “You’ve been inside for almost thirty minutes! The ring exchange is already done. Your Grandpa was looking for you.

The hair on my back stood up when she mentioned that old wicked man.

Emily my best friend and Alexander’s younger sister. She was the one person I could usually tell anything to… but not this. Never this. I couldn’t drag her into this mess.

“I-I’m fine!” I called back, my voice shaking. I quickly wrapped the pregnancy test in several layers of toilet paper and shoved it deep into the dustbin, pushing it far under the sink where no one would find it.

I turned on the faucet with trembling hands and splashed cold water on my face repeatedly, trying to wash away the redness in my eyes and the panic written all over my features.

Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile in the mirror. It looked fake, but it would have to do.

I couldn’t let anyone know.

This secret… I would have to carry it to my grave.

I unlocked the door and stepped out, still wearing that painful, forced smile.

Emily looked at me with concern. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look really pale.”

“I’m fine,” I lied smoothly. “Just felt a little nauseous from all the champagne. Let’s go back to the party.”

As we walked down the hallway together, laughter and cheers from the grand ballroom grew louder. Alexander and Vanessa were probably smiling for the cameras right now the perfect couple.

Meanwhile, I was carrying the groom’s child.