Chapter 3

Arianna

I found Damian in a private hallway away from the crowd. Tears blurred my vision as I stood in front of him.

“Who is she?” I asked, my voice shaking.

He looked at me indifferently. “You already know who she is.”

I grabbed the hem of my dress tightly. “Am I just her to replace her?” He said nothing. My heart ached. “Tell me the truth!” Tears rolled down my cheeks.

His jaw tightened. “You were never meant to replace her,” His eyes turned cold as ice and I stepped back in shock. “Just play your role as my wife.”

My stomach twisted painfully. I gulp, unable to hold back the irritation and the hurt, I rushed to the bathroom, dropping to my knees in front of the toilet, I vomited violently. My throat burned.

I gripped the sink and forced myself upright when I was done. I looked at the mirror, my face was pale, my eyes red and swollen.

My reflection stared back at me in horror, just then it hit me. I placed a trembling hand on my stomach.

“No… No…” I whispered.

The next day, I secretly visited a small clinic far from the mansion. I sat in the waiting room with my hands shaking, holding my bag so tightly my knuckles turned white.

After what felt like forever, the nurse called my name.

My legs felt numb as I followed her inside. The doctor smiled kindly as she read the results. “Congratulations, Mrs. Liam. You’re pregnant.”

The room spun. I gripped the edge of the chair to keep from falling. Tears filled my eyes before I could stop them. I pressed a hand to my stomach.

Despite everything, a tiny spark of hope spread through my heart. Maybe this baby will change Damian’s attitude towards me. Maybe he will finally look at me with warmth. We can become a real family, and he would love me and our child.

The next few days, I tried to tell him, but he was never around. He left early every morning and came home late at night. He was colder than before, and his phone kept ringing with Enola’s name flashing on the screen.

It hurt so much, now that she was back, now that she was in his life again, he barely looked at me.

One afternoon, while walking down the stairs, I felt dizzy and my knees went weak, before I could hit the ground, Damian’s strong arms caught me.

His face looked dark with worry. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

I blinked up at him. “Nothing, I’m fine.” I lied.

“You’re pale.” He said, staring at my face.

“I said I’m fine.” I looked away.

He didn’t listen. He carried me to the couch anyway. I gasped. “Put me down!”

“No.” He shunned me and barked orders at the servants. “Bring water.” He said to one servant and turned to the other. “Call a doctor.” And to another, he said. “Make soup.”

Soup? The thought almost made me smile. Damian Liam ordering soup for me, the thought alone warmed my heart. He looked like a caring husband.

The doctor said it was only exhaustion, Damian looked furious. “Exhaustion from what?”

I bit back a small smile. He was handsome when he showed he cared.

That night, a tray of warm soup appeared in my room but I knew Damian had asked them to bring it to me. I caught him watching me from across the hallway. My heart beat faster, maybe he was beginning to fall for me.

Two days later, I made a plan, if I told him gently about the pregnancy at the right time, he will be happy. He might touch my stomach and smile at me for the first time.

I spent the whole afternoon preparing dinner myself. The kitchen staff stared in shock as I cooked, but I laughed for the first time in days. I set the table with candles, placed roses in a pretty vase on the dinning table, my eyes sparkled.

I touched my stomach, and whispered with a smile. “I’ll tell him tonight.” I stared at the decorated tables with a grin.

When the maid told me Damian was back, and was at his study room. I walked there happily to call him for dinner. But as I approached, I heard voices.

I moved quietly toward the study, the door was slightly open, I peeked inside. Damien was in a heated conversation with another man who I discovered was the family lawyer, I shouldn’t have listened, but the man’s question to Damien stopped me. I couldn’t resist the urge to hear what it was about.

“So what happens if your wife gets pregnant?”  He asked, Damian didn’t answer right away. “Tell me, Damian, what will happen to her once she gives birth?”

My heart almost gave out as I stared at Damian who swirled his glass of whiskey lazily.

“She’ll leave.” Damian said coldly.

I covered my mouth in order not to make a sound, my body trembled as Enola chuckled coldly.

“I only married her for an heir.” Damian added.

The words broke me completely. My eyes dilated in shock and my blood ran cold. My whole body went numb, my heart, my breath, my soul, every bit of hope I have gathered the past few days all shattered.

It was all a lie, the way he caught me on the stairs, the soup he ordered the maids to prepare, every single thing about this marriage was a lie and I had been too dumb to think it will actually get better, to think he would finally love me.

I was never his wife, I was just a breeder, a womb he needed for an heir and the person he loves and truly want was Enola.

Tears blinded me and I stumbled backward. My hips slammed into the table in the hallway and a vase toppled and shattered to the ground.

The crash echoed through the mansion and my eyes widened.

Damian’s voice roared from the study. “Who’s there?!”