Chapter 4

VANESSA'S POV

The hospital room felt like a cage the next morning.

I hadn't slept.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that video—the sex tape with Nicholas Lancaster that I'd never made, with a man I'd never even met. The video that had destroyed my marriage, ruined my life, and turned my husband against me.

The video was fake.

But Sebastian had believed it anyway.

Then my mind drifted to what was real—Sebastian and Isabella. Five months of their betrayal. Five months of him touching her, kissing her, making love to her while I waited at home like a faithful fool.

My ribs throbbed with every breath I took.

The TV had been on all morning, just background noise I wasn't paying attention to as I stared at the ceiling and tried to figure out how my life had fallen apart so completely.

Then I heard his name mentioned on the news.

"Sebastian Lancaster, the visionary CEO of Lancaster Global Industries, has just closed the largest tech acquisition deal of the year—"

My entire body went rigid.

I turned my head slowly toward the screen, and there he was.

Sebastian.

My husband.

No—my ex-husband now.

He stood at a podium in an expensive suit that probably cost more than I'd made in six months of double shifts, and cameras flashed around him as though he were a movie star. His smile was confident and bright, the smile I used to love waking up to every morning.

The smile that used to be just for me.

"The deal, valued at over two billion dollars, will officially make Sebastian Lancaster one of the youngest billionaires in the country at just twenty-eight years old," the news anchor announced with excitement. "Mr. Lancaster, how does it feel to achieve this level of success at such a young age?"

Sebastian's laugh was warm and charming as he answered. "Honestly, it feels amazing. This deal represents years of hard work, sacrifice, and dedication. But I didn't do this alone—"

My chest tightened painfully.

Because I knew he'd achieved all of this because of me.

I remembered every single moment. I'd been working double shifts at the diner until my feet bled and my back screamed in agony. I'd taken out loans when his company was struggling, and he'd promised we'd pay them back together.

Together...

What a joke.

"I have to give credit where credit is due," Sebastian continued, and the camera panned to show a woman stepping up beside him. "I couldn't have done this without the incredible woman standing next to me right now."

Isabella.

She looked absolutely stunning in a red dress that hugged every curve, her blonde hair falling in perfect waves over her shoulders. She glowed under the camera lights and smiled at Sebastian as though he'd hung the moon just for her.

My best friend.

The woman I'd cried to when Sebastian worked late nights. She'd been the one who'd held my hand after my miscarriage.

I still couldn't believe she'd betrayed me.

And I couldn't believe Sebastian was standing there, on national television, giving all the credit to her.

"We're also thrilled to announce that we're expecting our first child together," Sebastian added, and the crowd erupted in applause that made my ears ring.

Isabella's hand moved to her stomach, her smile widening as if she knew I'd be watching.

I felt something break inside my chest.

That should have been me standing there. That should have been my hand on my stomach, my smile for the cameras, my moment to celebrate with the man I'd sacrificed everything for.

But he'd thrown me away.

He'd called me barren and replaced me with someone who could give him what I supposedly couldn't.

Except I was pregnant too.

I was carrying his child right now, and he would never know because he didn't deserve to know.

I quickly grabbed the remote and turned off the TV because I couldn't bear to watch another second. Tears streamed down my face, and I was so tired of crying over a man who clearly never loved me at all.

My hand moved instinctively to my stomach, resting over the tiny life growing inside me.

"I'll take care of you," I whispered to my baby, my voice breaking. "I promise. Your father doesn't deserve us, but I'll make sure you have everything. I'll protect you, my child."

The door to my hospital room opened.

I looked up, expecting Dr. Anderson or a nurse, but froze when I saw who walked in.

A man—tall, broad-shouldered, and impossibly handsome in an expensive charcoal suit. He had dark hair, a sharp jawline, and piercing eyes that seemed to look right through me.

But it wasn't his appearance that made my breath catch in my throat.

It was his face.

He was the man from the sex tape.

Nicholas Lancaster.

Sebastian's older brother.

My heart pounded against my ribs as shock slammed into me. This was the man I'd supposedly cheated with, the man from that fake sex tape, the man I'd never met in my entire life until this very moment.

"What—what are you doing here?" I stammered, my voice shaking. "Get out!"

Nicholas closed the door behind him calmly, his expression unreadable.

"We need to talk, Vanessa."

"I have nothing to say to you!" I tried to sit up straighter despite the pain. "I don't know you! I've never even met you! That sex tape was fake—"

"I know it was fake," he interrupted quietly.

I froze.

"What?"

"I know the video was fake," Nicholas repeated, moving closer to my bed. "I've never touched you, Vanessa. Someone went to great lengths to destroy both of us."

My mind reeled. "Then why didn't you tell Sebastian? Why didn't you—"

"We haven't spoken since we became enemies, Vanessa," Nicholas answered bitterly. "He wouldn't have believed me any more than he believed you. My brother made up his mind the moment he saw that video. The truth didn't matter to him."

I stared at him, trying to process his words.

"I know about the divorce," he added, his eyes locked on mine. "And I know you're pregnant with my brother's child."

My blood ran cold.

"How... how do you know that?"

"I have my sources," he answered simply. "But that's not important right now. What's important is what Sebastian will do when he finds out."

Fear gripped my heart.

"He won't find out. I'm never telling him."

"He'll find out eventually," Nicholas replied. "And when he does, do you really think he'll just let you keep that baby? He'll take your child away from you, Vanessa. He'll use his money, his lawyers, and his power to destroy you and claim custody. You'll have nothing."

Tears burned my eyes because I knew he was right.

"Why are you telling me this?" I questioned. "What do you want?"

Nicholas's expression hardened, something dark and dangerous flashing in his eyes.

"I want revenge on my brother," he answered coldly. "Sebastian betrayed me too. He destroyed my reputation, turned our family against me, and manipulated our father into pushing me out of the company he built. Everything he has right now should have been mine."

I watched him carefully, my heart racing.

"I want to help you get your revenge too," Nicholas continued. "But you'll have to help me."

"Help you how?" My voice was barely a whisper.

Nicholas leaned closer, his eyes intense and unwavering.

"Become my wife, Vanessa," he offered. "Together, we'll take down Sebastian and make him pay for what he did to both of us. We'll destroy everything he's built, expose him for the monster he is, and take back what's rightfully ours."

I stared at him in shock, my mind spinning with everything he'd just said.

Marry him?

That was insane.

But as I looked into his eyes and saw the same pain, the same anger, the same need for justice that I felt in my own heart...

Maybe insane was exactly what I needed to be.

I didn't respond.

I couldn't.

Not yet.

But as Nicholas stood there waiting for my answer, my hand moved protectively over my stomach, and I thought about Sebastian on the news, smiling with Isabella and announcing their baby while the world celebrated him.

And I thought about revenge.