Chapter 1

"You always seemed like such an honest, well-behaved person. I never thought you'd turn out to be just as irresponsible as every other deadbeat."

"You think ignoring me will make this go away?"

"Stop hiding and answer me!"

Notifications kept popping up on my phone.

I didn't need to look to know they were all from Claire.

I still had a mountain of work to finish and no time for her nonsense.

I silenced my phone and focused on my tasks.

A stack of documents suddenly landed on my desk with a loud smack.

I looked up and found Claire standing over me.

Her expression was imperious.

"Handle these for me.

"I need them back by two this afternoon.

"And write a summary report while you're at it."

I glanced at the documents she'd dropped in front of me.

They were all financial reports.

Claire worked in Finance. I worked in Marketing. Our responsibilities had nothing to do with each other.

I had no idea what had gotten into her.

Yet judging by her entitled attitude, she genuinely believed I should do her work for her.

"Why would I handle your workload?"

Claire placed a hand on her stomach.

"I'm pregnant. I can't overwork myself.

"This baby exists partly because of you. Doing my work is the least you can do."

I stared at her still-flat stomach, struggling not to laugh.

What did she mean, the baby was partly mine?

I wasn't the child's father or mother.

I'd assumed she would only dare make these ridiculous demands through text.

I never imagined she would actually say them to my face.

"What does your pregnancy have to do with me?"

I frowned.

My tedious workload had already put me in a bad mood, and Claire had chosen the worst possible time to start causing trouble.

"This baby only exists because of you. Are you seriously refusing to accept any responsibility?"

I had no idea where she found the confidence to demand that another woman take responsibility for her pregnancy.

"What exactly am I supposed to be responsible for?"

"You encouraged me to sleep with my ex!"

I stared at her in disbelief.

Claire and I barely knew each other. We'd hardly ever interacted, even at work.

I certainly had never encouraged her to sleep with anyone.

Then I remembered the only real conversation we'd ever had.

We'd crossed paths in the break room while she was making coffee.

I'd greeted her out of politeness.

Maybe she'd been bored, or perhaps she was simply the type to overshare. Either way, she'd shown me a photo of herself with her boyfriend.

I'd barely glanced at it before casually saying they looked good together.

Suddenly, everything clicked.

That was the compliment she was talking about.

I couldn't believe one casual remark had caused me this much trouble.

"All I said was that you two looked good together. That isn't the same as encouraging you to sleep with him. You made that decision yourself.

"And shouldn't the baby's father be taking responsibility? Why aren't you going after him?"

At the mention of the father, Claire's gaze darted away.

"He doesn't want to take responsibility."

I almost laughed.

The baby's actual father wanted nothing to do with her, so she'd decided to come after me instead.