Chapter 3

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Ms. Hart! Please open the door!"

I stood frozen in the middle of my apartment.

Only minutes earlier, my entire future had changed because of two tiny pink lines.

Pregnant.

The word still felt impossible.

My hand drifted to my flat stomach. There was no bump, no movement—nothing to prove another life had begun growing inside me.

Yet I already wanted to protect it.

Outside, the pounding continued.

"Miss Hart!"

"We know you're in there!"

"Did Adrian Thorn leave you for Vanessa Sterling?"

"Are you planning to sue him?"

Camera shutters clicked relentlessly. Someone was filming through the hallway window.

I backed away from the door, panic tightening my chest.

Three days ago, I had been preparing to become Adrian Thorn's wife.

Now I was hiding inside my own apartment while strangers turned my heartbreak into headlines.

Another hard knock shook the door.

Then the noise stopped.

Three slow, measured taps followed.

A calm male voice spoke.

"Miss Hart?"

I remained silent.

"My name is Daniel Hayes."

A brief pause.

"I'm Mr. Thorn's attorney."

Attorney.

Not Adrian.

Not an apology.

He had sent a lawyer.

"I only need five minutes," the man continued. "I have documents Mr. Thorn instructed me to deliver personally."

"What does he want?" I asked through the door.

"My instructions are simply to deliver these papers."

"I don't want anything from him."

"I understand. But I was asked to make sure you received them."

After a long hesitation, I unlocked the deadbolt but left the security chain attached.

The door opened a few inches.

Daniel Hayes stood outside in a tailored charcoal suit, holding a leather briefcase. The moment he saw me, his expression softened.

I was still wearing my wedding dress.

Wrinkled.

Tearstained.

My veil hung crookedly over my shoulders.

"I truly am sorry for what happened, Miss Hart."

"I didn't ask for your sympathy."

"No," he admitted quietly.

He crouched and slid a large cream-colored envelope beneath the door.

"What is it?"

"A confidential agreement."

I didn't need to read it to know.

Money.

Powerful people always believed money could fix everything.

I removed the chain and opened the envelope.

The first page read:

CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

My stomach tightened.

I flipped to the next page.

One Hundred Million Dollars.

For a moment, I simply stared.

Not because I wanted it.

Because I couldn't believe Adrian thought my dignity had a price.

Daniel cleared his throat.

"Mr. Thorn wishes to compensate you for the emotional distress caused by recent events."

"Inconvenience?"

I looked at him in disbelief.

"My father nearly died."

"My wedding became national news."

"My life was destroyed."

"And he calls that an inconvenience?"

His face tightened.

"I'm only carrying out his instructions."

I continued reading until I reached the final clause.

Upon signing this agreement, Miss Evelyn Hart agrees not to pursue legal action, participate in interviews, disclose private information, or make public statements concerning her previous relationship with Mr. Adrian Thorn.

There it was.

The real reason he'd sent a lawyer.

Not guilt.

Damage control.

His reputation mattered more than the woman he'd betrayed.

Without another word, I folded the contract.

Then tore it in half.

Daniel blinked.

I tore it again.

And again.

Tiny white pieces drifted onto the hallway floor.

"You can tell Adrian Thorn something for me."

Daniel met my eyes.

"Tell him not everything has a price."

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Finally, he nodded.

"I'll tell him."

As he gathered the torn papers, he looked up again.

"For what it's worth... I advised him not to send those documents."

A bitter smile crossed my face.

"Then you were the only intelligent person in his office."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"I wish things had been different."

"So do I."

He walked away, immediately surrounded by reporters.

I closed the door before hearing a single question.

The apartment fell silent again.

My legs gave out, and I slid slowly to the floor.

My phone rang.

Chloe.

I answered immediately.

"Hey."

"How's your dad?"

"The doctors say he's improving."

"That's a relief."

A pause.

"And you?"

My eyes drifted toward the bathroom.

The pregnancy test still rested on the sink.

Two pink lines.

Unchanged.

"I'm pregnant," I whispered.

Silence.

Then Chloe inhaled sharply.

"Oh, Eve..."

"I checked three times."

"I believe you."

"I don't know what to do."

She hesitated before asking, "Are you going to tell Adrian?"

"No."

The answer came instantly.

"He deserves to know."

"He deserved to tell me the truth before proposing to another woman."

"I know you're angry."

"I'm broken."

I looked around the apartment.

The couch where we'd watched movies.

The kitchen where we'd danced while making dinner.

The balcony where he'd proposed.

Every room reminded me of promises that had meant nothing.

"I can't stay here."

"You mean another apartment?"

I shook my head.

"No."

"Another city?"

I closed my eyes.

"Another country."

The words surprised even me.

"I have enough savings. I can work remotely for a while."

"Evelyn..."

"If Adrian never finds out..."

I rested my hand over my stomach.

"...then he'll never be able to hurt this baby."

The words settled heavily between us.

My baby.

Not Adrian's.

Mine.

Chloe didn't argue.

Instead, she said softly, "Whatever you decide, I'm with you."

That evening, after visiting my father and reassuring him that he only needed to focus on recovering, I returned home with one decision.

I was leaving.

I pulled an old suitcase from the back of my closet.

It had belonged to my mother.

Running my fingers over the worn leather made my chest tighten.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

I packed only the essentials.

My passport.

Birth certificate.

Laptop.

Medical records.

A few changes of clothes.

Comfortable shoes.

Nothing else seemed important anymore.

As I reached for another bag, something fell from the shelf.

A velvet ring box.

I already knew what was inside.

The engagement ring Adrian had placed on my finger beneath a sky full of fireworks.

"Forever starts now," he'd whispered.

What a cruel promise.

The diamond still sparkled as brilliantly as it had that night.

I stared at it for a long moment before quietly closing the lid.

Then I placed it inside the bedside drawer.

It no longer belonged on my hand.

It no longer belonged in my life.

I zipped my suitcase halfway shut when my phone vibrated across the bed.

Absentmindedly, I glanced at the screen.

Then my breath caught.

Adrian Thorn Calling...

Three days.

No explanation.

No apology.

Only lawyers.

Only contracts.

Only silence.

And now...

He was calling.

My thumb hovered over the answer button.

Part of me wanted to hear his voice one last time.

Another part wanted to throw the phone across the room.

The phone kept ringing.

I drew a shaky breath.

Then reached toward the screen.