Chapter 5

Catherine's Pov 

Evander forced all of us to dress up for Soren's wedding. For three days straight, I'd been locked in my room crying until my eyes burned raw. The MacBook screen lay shattered from when I'd hurled it across the room in a blind rage. Now, clutching the fabric of my dress in the back of the car leaving Silvermane Hotel, I kept my pregnancy secret from both Evander and Soren. 

How could I have been so stupid? So reckless? Letting him take me without protection - and now he was marrying someone else.

"Tell me it's not true," I'd begged that awful night, the phone pressed so hard against my ear it hurt, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. 

The silence on the other end had been answer enough. When he called back immediately, when the texts came flooding in - pleas to meet, to explain - I ignored them all. And now here I was, being dragged to witness him pledge his life to another woman.

My body felt hollowed out, weak with nausea and unshed tears. I couldn't breathe properly, my chest constricting like I was the one dying rather than just my foolish hopes. Had I ever been anything more than a distraction to him? A way to pass time until his real life began? Or worse - had I just been a weapon to wield against his fiancée during some lover's quarrel?

The car rolled into the venue's garage. The driver helped me out, and I fell into step behind Regina and the other wives, letting their glittering procession shield me. Soren was nowhere in sight, but his mother stood receiving guests - an elegant vision in pastel pink, her black hair swept into a flawless bun. Evander's cheeks flushed when they shook hands. 

He still loved her. The realization should have stung, but I felt nothing - until my knees nearly buckled at the entrance's welcome board: 

*The Holy Matrimony of Soren Bartholomew Ashford and Marie Grace Beckham*

Their engagement photo showed her beaming up at him, chestnut hair spilling over her shoulders, warm brown eyes full of adoration. And Soren - my Soren - gazing back with his hands possessive on her waist. 

Bile rose in my throat. I barely made it to our seats before excusing myself to find the restroom. 

The hallway stretched endlessly until strong arms yanked me into a dim side room, slamming me against the door as familiar lips crashed into mine. Soren's scent enveloped me - that intoxicating mix of cedar and something uniquely him - making my heart lurch before my mind could catch up.

"I've missed you," he gasped between feverish kisses, cupping my face like I might vanish. "God, I've missed you so much."

His desperation left me dizzy, his hands roaming my body with starving intensity. Heat pooled low in my belly - until the memory surfaced: those same hands holding her. Posing for cameras with her. 

I shoved him away hard, wiping my ruined lips with trembling fingers. We stood panting, two wild creatures cornered. 

He looked terrible - shadows bruising his bloodshot eyes, stubble darkening his jawline. The crisp tuxedo hung slightly loose on his frame, like he'd been forgetting to eat.

"Catherine, I'm sorry," he rasped, reaching for me again. "I just lost control—"

"Don't." I stepped back, voice cracking. 

His brow furrowed. "You look... breathtaking today. You always do."

"Stop it." My hand fluttered weakly between us. 

Part of me still hoped - prayed - he'd call everything off. That if I told him about the baby, he'd choose us instead. 

"Stop what? Admiring you?" 

The innocent act ignited something furious in my chest. "Was I just a game to you? Some twisted way to get back at your fiancée? Or just convenient stress relief while you planned your real future? Did you just use me for your pleasure?"

"Used you?" He dragged a hand through his hair, voice turning sharp. "You were never really mine to begin with, Catherine. This was always an affair. The only question is whether you want to continue it."

"An affair?" The word tasted like ash. "You told me you loved me."

"Because I do." A tear tracked down his stubbled cheek as he closed the distance between us. "Goodness, I love you so much and it's tearing me apart, but we can't have more than this. If you want me to visit often, I will. I'll keep Evander away, make sure you're protected—"

"Then don't marry her." The plea slipped out before I could stop it. 

He recoiled like I'd struck him. "I... I can't—"

I didn't wait for the rest. Shoving past him, I fled with a hand clamped over my mouth, his voice calling after me until some official intercepted him. The restroom stall became my sanctuary as I sobbed silently, the ceremony's opening music filtering through the walls.

He wanted to continue sneaking around. Maybe I was selfish for wanting more - for wanting him to choose me openly. Evander would never let me go, but now there was a baby. His baby. And he would belong to her in all the ways he'd once been mine.

Returning to the hall on unsteady legs, I took a seat in back just as their vows began. His voice over the microphone - that voice that had whispered sinful promises against my skin - now said "I do" to someone else.

The world tilted. My lungs seized as if filled with cement, the crowd's murmurs dissolving into white noise. I clawed at my chest, vision tunneling, until suddenly I was pressed against his solid warmth, his lips in my hair as he rubbed soothing circles on my back.

"Breathe, baby," he murmured, voice thick with worry. "In and out. Just follow me."

I clung to his instructions like a lifeline, the panic slowly ebbing. When my vision cleared, hundreds of eyes stared back, the groom had abandoned his bride to comfort his hysterical mistress. Evander's glare burned into me from across the room. I squeezed my eyes shut, feigning unconsciousness until the darkness swallowed me for real.

I woke hours later in my hotel room with a groan. The moment my eyes opened, Evander loomed over the bed like a storm cloud, his gaze promising violence.

He prowled closer, each step deliberate. I scrambled back against the headboard, sheets twisted in my fists.

"You're pregnant." Not a question.

I nodded, throat too tight to speak.

His hand shot out, gripping my chin hard enough to bruise. "Whose is it?"

When I stayed silent, the slap came fast and brutal, snapping my head sideways. Stars exploded across my vision as he forced me to meet his eyes again.

"You think I didn't know?" he his

sed, spit landing on my cheek. "That I was blind to my own son fucking my wife?"