I CAUGHT HIM CHEATING!

CHAPTER 6

I pressed a hand to my still-flat stomach, tears slipping silently down my cheeks. 

This baby hadn’t asked for any of this, hadn’t asked to be conceived on a night of drunken mistake and whispered wrong names. They hadn’t asked for a mother who was little more than a ghost in her husband’s mansion or a father who looked at her with nothing but contempt.

But he or she was mine.

For the first time in months, something fierce and protective ignited in my chest. I wouldn’t let them grow up in this cold, loveless house. I wouldn’t let them be raised as pawns or spares. But before I could make any real plans, I had to do one thing: I had to tell Kade.

He deserved to know, even if he hated me. Even if he would see the child as another complication in his perfect business arrangement.

I spent the rest of that afternoon pacing my small room, practicing the words in the mirror until my voice stopped shaking.

 “Kade, I’m pregnant. It’s yours. I’m not asking for anything from you, but you have a right to know.” 

Simple. Honest. No begging. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me break again.

Or, what if I begged a little? For the sake of my child?

"Kade. Please, I'm pregnant. We're having a baby. Please."

Maybe that would work.

That evening, after the house had quieted and dinner had been delivered to my door on a tray I barely touched, I gathered my courage. I slipped on a simple gray sweater and leggings—clothes that made me feel invisible—and made my way through the quiet hallways toward Kade’s study. My bare feet were silent on the marble floors.

 My heart felt like it was trying to escape my chest.

As I approached the heavy wooden door, I heard voices coming from inside. They were low, intimate, and undeniable.

I should have turned around. But something—morbid curiosity, or the need to finally face the truth—made me pause. The door was slightly ajar. Just enough.

I peeked through the crack, and my eyes bulged at the sight.

Bella was sitting on the edge of Kade’s large oak desk, her cream skirt pulled up above her knees. Kade was standing between her legs, his hands pinned possessively to her waist, pulling her flush against his body. He was kissing her—hard, hungry, his head tilted as his mouth moved over hers with a familiar, dangerous passion. Bella’s arms were tangled around his neck, her fingers clutched in his dark hair as she whimpered into his mouth.

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. All the air left my lungs at once.

Kade pulled back just an inch, his voice rough with lust as his thumb dragged over her lower lip. “Fuck, Bella… you feel so good. So much better than her.”

Bella laughed—a low, triumphant and evil sound—and ran her hands down his broad chest. “I told you she was nothing but a mistake. You should have been mine from the beginning.”

Kade leaned down, burying his face in the crook of her neck, sucking lightly against her skin until she gasped. “You’re right,” he growled against her skin. “That replacement was nothing. I’ll be rid of her soon, Bella. Six months and she’s gone. Then… we can make this real.”

Each word carved into me like broken glass.

I stood there frozen, one hand slammed over my mouth to stifle the scream building in my throat, the other moving instinctively to my stomach to shield my baby. 

My child’s father had his hands all over my sister, telling her the exact words I had always feared: I was disposable. A mistake. A placeholder who didn’t even deserve basic human decency.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and silent. The betrayal was complete. Not just from him—from my entire family, from the life I had been sacrificed to save.

I backed away slowly, careful not to let my feet squeak, and fled back to my room on trembling, wooden legs.

I closed the door and sank to the floor, sobbing until my chest ached and my throat burned. The pain was so deep it felt physical, like something vital inside me had finally snapped into pieces.

But beneath the agony, something else stirred.

Resolve. Pure, burning anger.

I was done being the fucking spare. Done being invisible. Done sacrificing myself and my child for people who saw me as nothing.

I stood up on shaky legs and began to pack. One small bag—just a few changes of clothes, the little cash I had managed to hide, and the notebook where I had secretly sketched fashion ideas during my loneliest nights. I threw the positive pregnancy test wrapped in tissue into the trash. I pulled off my wedding ring and placed it on the desk alongside a short note.

“The six months are over early. I’m setting you free. Don’t look for me.”

— Aurora

No tears on the paper. I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction.

I waited until the house was completely dark and silent. Midnight came and went. At two in the morning, I slipped out of my room, bag slung over my shoulder, and crept through the servants’ entrance.

The rain had started—cold, steady sheets that soaked me instantly as I stepped outside. I didn’t care.

I walked down the long driveway, as discreet as I could, the mansion looming behind me like a monster I was finally escaping. My hand stayed protectively over my stomach the entire way.

When I reached the main road, I didn’t look back. Not once.

This time, no one would stop me. No father dragging me back. No locked doors. No more sacrifices.

I was choosing myself.

And I was choosing my child.

The rain washed away the last of my tears as I disappeared into the night, toward a future I would build with my own two hands—no matter how hard it would be.

But, fate had worse plans for me, because I got caught. Again.