Chapter Twenty Two

Elena

"I can't believe this is you talking. The man who fought for me—" My voice breaks.

"That man was a fool. Blinded by attraction. By the illusion of connection. But I see clearly now. You're just like Jasmine. Just like every other woman who's tried to use me. Except you're more calculating. More patient. More convincing."

"I'm nothing like Jasmine!"

"You're exactly like her. She pretended to love me too. She played the perfect partner too. And then I found out she was sleeping with my business partner, stealing company secrets, planning to destroy me from the in

side. So forgive me if I don't take your protestations of love seriously."

That has nothing to do with me—"

"It has everything to do with you! Because it taught me people lie. Manipulate. They'll say and do anything to get what they want. And what you want is access to my money through this convenient pregnancy."

"I want you! I want us! I want—" My voice breaks completely.

"Well, you can't have me. Or us. There is no us. There never really was. Just a fantasy I allowed myself to believe for three stupid weeks."

The cruelty in his voice is breathtaking.

"What about the baby?" I whisper.

"If—and that's a significant if—the paternity test proves it's mine, we'll establish a legal custody arrangement. Supervised visitation. Financial support calculated to the letter of the law. Nothing more. You won't get my name. You won't get my family. You won't get anything except what the court mandates."

"You're going to punish an innocent baby for something you think I did?"

"I'm protecting myself and my future children—the legitimate ones I'll have with someone I actually choose—from a woman trying to trap me."

The words hit like physical blows.

"I need you to understand something," he continues, voice dropping colder. "I will make your life hell if you try to claim this baby is mine without proof. I will hire the best lawyers money can buy. I will destroy your reputation. I will make sure everyone knows you're a gold-digger who tried to baby-trap a billionaire. Your career? Over. Your credibility? Gone. Your future? Ruined."

"You would do that? Destroy me? After everything—"

"After everything, I'm protecting myself. Which is what I should have done the moment you walked into my office. But I was weak. Distracted. Stupid. I won't make that mistake again."

"I'm choosing me. And my baby. Over the man who broke my heart. Starting now."

Sophia emerges from her bedroom, takes one look at my face, and rushes over.

"What happened?"

"He hates me. He thinks I planned this. That I trapped him. He's going to fight me for custody, destroy my reputation, ruin my life."

"That bastard—"

"He thinks I'm like Jasmine. That I lied about everything. That I sabotaged the condom to get pregnant."

"Elena, you have to fight back. Get your own lawyer. Protect yourself—"

"How? He has unlimited resources. Unlimited power. He can do exactly what he threatened—destroy me completely. And I—" I look at my best friend through tears, "—I have nothing. No job. No money. No way to fight a billionaire who wants me gone."

"You have the truth."

"The truth doesn't matter. Not against his money. His lawyers. His influence."

My phone buzzes. Email from an unknown sender.

Subject: From Damien Blackwood's Legal Team

I open it with shaking hands.

It's a cease and desist letter. Ordering me not to contact Damien. Not to discuss the pregnancy publicly. Not to make any claims of paternity without DNA evidence.

Treating me like a criminal.

"I have to leave," I say quietly.

"Leave where?"

"The city. His reach. Everything." I stand, start pacing. "I'll go to San Esperanza. To Grandmother Rosa. Somewhere he can't find me. Can't hurt me. Can't—"

"Elena, you can't run from this—"

"I'm not running. I'm protecting myself. And my baby. From a man who just made it very clear he views us as enemies."

"What about your job? You just got it back—"

"Do you really think I can work at Blackwood Enterprises now? With him hating me? Thinking I'm a liar? No. I'll resign. Again. For real this time."

"He's probably counting on that. Pushing you out. Making you disappear."

"Then I'll give him what he wants. I'll disappear. And in eight months, when this baby is born and the paternity test proves I was telling the truth, he can live with the knowledge that he destroyed the only woman who actually loved him for him."

Sophia hugs me while I cry. Great, heaving sobs that feel like they're tearing me apart from the inside.

"I loved him," I whisper. "I actually loved him. And he thinks I'm a con artist."

"He's scared. And hurt. And—"

"And cruel. Don't make excuses for him, Soph. He chose to say those things. Chose to believe the worst of me. Chose to threaten me instead of trust me."

She nods. "You're right. What do you need?"

"Help packing. A bus ticket to San Esperanza. And—" my voice breaks, "—a lawyer. I need a lawyer who can protect me and my baby from whatever Damien does next."

"I know someone. Family law specialist. She handles cases against powerful men who try to bully their way out of responsibility. I'll call her."

While Sophia makes calls, I sit on her couch and try to process the fact that the man I love hates me.

Thinks I'm manipulating him.

Wants to destroy me.

My hand rests on my stomach. "I'm sorry," I whisper to the baby who can't hear me. "I'm sorry your father is like this. I'm sorry you'll grow up knowing he denied you. But I promise—I'll love you enough for both of us. I'll protect you. I'll—"

I can't finish. The tears won't stop.

My phone buzzes again. Another message from Damien's lawyer.

Ms. Martinez, be advised that any attempt to publicly claim Mr. Blackwood as the father of your child without DNA verification will result in immediate legal action for defamation and harassment.

They're building a case. Treating me like I'm the aggressor. The villain.

When all I did was fall in love with the wrong man.

And make the mistake of getting pregnant.

"The lawyer can see you tomorrow," Sophia says. "She says to document everything. Every message. Every threat. Every interaction."

"Okay."

"And Elena? She says what he's doing—the threats, the intimidation—it's actually helping your case. Proving he's hostile. Unfit."

The word unfit makes my stomach turn.

I don't want to fight Damien for custody. Don't want to prove he's a bad father before he even has a chance to be one.

I just want him to believe me. To trust me. To love me the way he said he did.

But that man is gone.

Replaced by this cold, cruel stranger who sees enemies everywhere.

Who sees me as the enemy.

And I can't fight someone who's already decided I'm guilty.

So I'll leave. Disappear. Raise my baby in peace.

And if Damien Blackwood ever realizes he was wrong?

It'll be too late.

Because I'm done.

Done fighting. Done crying. Done hoping he'll see the truth.

I'm choosing me. And my baby.

Over the man who broke my heart.

Starting now.

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