Chapter 2

Katherina 

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I stood there, trapped in the moment, everything around me crashing down in silence.

Her eyes opened, and she looked directly at me and smiled. That slow, cruel smile I knew too well.

"Lysander, darling..." Seraphina purred, her fingers running through his damp hair. "We’ve got company."

I couldn’t react. My brain refused to process what my eyes were seeing.

Seraphina sat up, letting the sheet fall away. She reached for the nightstand and lifted something small and shiny between her fingers.

My engagement ring.

It dangled like garbage.

"Looking for this, Kat?" she asked, her voice sickly sweet, laced with venom. Her eyes traveled down to my swollen belly. “He needed heat. Not a baby bump.”

“You were the warm-up act, Kat. “He needed a real woman, not an incubator.”

Lysander finally turned around. His face was blank for a second, and then, bored. "You’re early," he said flatly, reaching for his robe, as if I had interrupted a business meeting.

“What are you trying to do, Katherina? Make me feel guilty?” He let out a low, humorless laugh. “You deserve every bit of pain you’re going through. And I’m glad, because your actions brought me everything I wanted.”

I stared at him, the man I had loved, the man I was carrying a child for. I remembered every time he had asked me to hide my pregnancy, to keep it quiet. Let me build something first, he said. Let me create an empire worthy of our child.

I had believed him. I had trusted him. I thought I was part of that dream.

But now, standing there while everything fell apart around me, the truth hit like a punch in the stomach.

“What actions are you talking about?” I asked, tears slipping down my cheeks. “What the hell are you saying, Lysander?”

He turned, just enough for me to catch the smug curve of his lips.

“That baby you’re carrying isn’t mine,” he said coldly. “You cheated on me. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out? Seraphina showed me everything—the pictures don’t lie, Katherina.”

My knees gave out beneath me. I crawled toward him, trembling, my hands shaking as I reached for his.

“I never lied to you, my love,” I cried, my voice breaking. “The baby is yours. I swear it, I would never lie to you, Seraphina is lying against me.”

He shoved me backward.

I hit the floor hard, a jolt of white-hot pain shooting through my spine and radiating across my swollen belly. I gasped, clutching myself as the baby shifted violently inside me, a sharp kick of protest or fear

“Stop embarrassing yourself, Katherina,” he snapped.

Then he pulled out his phone and turned the screen to me. A photo of the new company, his company,set to launch tomorrow.

“Thanks for everything. You were useful,” he said, his voice disturbingly calm. “ThorneTech is thriving today because you cheated on me. I took that rage and turned it into fuel. Used you. Used all of it to build my success.”

He slid the phone back into his pocket and looked down at me, disgusted.

“You know who got you pregnant. Go to him. And leave me the hell alone.”

Then he turned to Seraphina, his expression softening in a way it never had for me. "The future looks sleeker, baby."

It hit me like a slap across the face. My mouth went dry, and my hands moved instinctively to cover my belly, as if I could somehow protect the baby from the humiliation burning through me. The betrayal was thick in my throat, bitter and choking.

I should’ve seen it coming. I should’ve known all along. The way he convinced me to merge my company funds with his. The sweet words about building an empire together. The promises, the paperwork, the trust I handed him so blindly. He said we’d own it equally, that ThorneTech would be our legacy.

Tears welled and spilled over before I could stop them. My chest ached as I clutched at my heart, trying to hold it together even as it shattered inside me.

The baby kicked again. Harder this time.

Seraphina laughed and flipped her hair off her shoulder. "Run along, big sis. The adults are busy."

I didn’t speak. I didn’t scream. I just turned around and walked out.

I didn’t remember pressing the elevator button or making my way to the garage. Everything blurred around the edges. My vision, my hearing, my thoughts, everything.

The garage was cold. The lights above flickered slightly, casting shadows across the walls. The Aston Martin sat in the middle, quiet and perfect like nothing had gone wrong.

I slid into the freezing leather seat, my belly pressing uncomfortably against the steering wheel as my hands fumbled with the keys, still shaking from what I had just witnessed.

The engine started.

My foot hit the gas. The tires squealed as I drove out of the driveway. I didn’t even know where I was going. I just needed to get away. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

Rain started falling. Light at first, then harder. It hit the windshield fast, making it hard to see. I gripped the wheel tighter. My knuckles were white. My chest felt like it was about to explode.

Tears rolled down my face. My body started to shake. I couldn’t stop crying. I wiped my face with my sleeve, but the tears kept coming.

My chest tightened, not just from crying, but like something heavy was crushing my ribs. Every breath felt sharp, like glass in my lungs. The baby kept kicking, fast and hard, like a drum beating inside me.

The road twisted ahead. I didn’t care. I just kept driving.

I looked up and realized I was on the way to the cliffs. The same place where he told me he loved me. Where we talked about our future. About raising our baby. I was such a fool.

My shoulders started to shake harder. I let out a loud sob. My whole body hurt. My heart felt like it was breaking in pieces. I could barely see through the rain and the tears.

I saw the curve too late. As I turned the wheel, the car spun out of control. The tires screeched, and my heart leapt into my throat. I slammed on the brakes, nothing happened. I tried again, still nothing.

“No, no, please,” I cried, panic rising in my chest. I yanked the emergency brake, but all I got was a loud grinding sound as the car kept moving. The guardrail rushed toward me.

“MY BABY!” I screamed, clutching my belly with both hands.

The crash came fast. Metal tore apart, glass shattered, and the car flew through the air before slamming down hard. Pain exploded through my body. The seatbelt slammed across my belly like a vice. I heard a sickening, wet crunch after the glass shattered. I didn’t know if it was metal or bone. Pain shot through my stomach—sharp and blinding. Then the baby’s frantic kicking... stopped.

Then everything went still.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I felt something wet between my legs, and I already knew what it was…blood, thick and terrifying, soaked through my dress between my legs. Not just blood. My baby's life, seeping away."

I reached through the broken glass and wreckage until my fingers found my phone. The screen was cracked but still working. The battery was low. I opened my contacts, ready to call Ryan or an ambulance.

But then—the screen buzzed.

Then a message popped up.

From Seraphina:

“Did the brakes feel like love, sis? That’s for always being our parents’ favorite. And for stealing Lysander when you knew I loved him. I’m going to take everything that belongs to you including your…..”

I tried to read the rest, but the cracked screen wouldn’t let me. It was just broken lines… like me.

I stared at the screen. My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t cry.

The baby wasn’t moving.

My arms fell to my sides. Everything felt heavy. Everything felt cold.

And everything I saw…was red.