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I don't understand what's going on. I've never been with another man. Lucian is the man I love most—how could I betray him?
"How do you explain it? You got pregnant while I was on another continent?"He glared at me, his expression darkening.My head spun. That wasn't how things were. What was happening? Why would Lucian have gotten an incorrect medical report?Suddenly, I remembered something."Wait," I said. "Lydia. My best friend! She was with me at the hospital. She’ll tell you. This report is wrong."This report must be wrong. I was at the hospital with Lydia at the time. We both heard the doctor say the gestational period! She can definitely prove my innocence!
Quickly, I pulled out my phone and dialed Lydia’s number.
"Lydia," I said anxiously. "There’s been a mix-up with my pregnancy report. You need to tell Lucian the truth. Here, I’ll put you on speaker phone. He thinks that…"I gradually relaxed, waiting for Lydia to tell Lucian exactly that, but the next words out of my best friend’s mouth sent my whole world crashing down."The truth?" Lydia interrupted. She inhaled a sharp breath. "Which truth, Elena? The 'fake' truth about your pregnancy? Or the real truth. The one where you asked the doctor to change the timeline on your report.""What?" I gasped. "I never did that. Why…""I’m sorry," Lydia said. "I can’t lie to you anymore. It’s not right. I can’t let you trick Lucian into raising someone else’s child. Lucian is a good man and he doesn’t deserve your deceptions."Lydia's denial was like a slap, causing me to stumble backward in shock. I was desperate to defend myself."But Lydia... what are you saying? You were the one who went with me! You heard what the doctor said about the dates! You..." Before I could finish, Lydia ended the call.I couldn’t believe it. Was I dreaming? I had to be dreaming.Everything that happened today was completely unexpected. First, my husband accused me of having an affair and said my child was other’s; then my best friend actually gave false testimony!
What is going on? Why are they doing this to me?
Tears blurred my vision as I looked at Lucian. His fists were clenched by his side, a dark storm in his eyes.I turned to Lucian, looking at him pleadingly. "Baby, please, I... I don’t know why Lydia is lying, but please believe me. I haven’t done anything. I never—""Enough," Lucian barked. "No more lies." He took a step towards me, lifting his finger.A shiver ran down my spine."Abort the child," he said, his jaw tense. He was holding back his rage, struggling to remain calm.But I could tell he was only moments away from completely exploding."Lucian, please," I begged him."Or we get divorced." He hissed. It was an ultimatum. Lucian or the child. My hand instinctively covered my stomach.His words were like knives, piercing right through my heart."The child is innocent." I shook my head in desperation. "I can’t…do that.""I see," he said, his lips curling into a cold, mocking smile."You’re more attached to another man’s child than you are to your own husband? Is that it?You must really love him. The man who put that baby in you. God, you’re disgusting.""No," I wailed. "I didn’t cheat on you. There is no lover. Lucian, I love YOU. I would never do that to you. Please, you have to believe me.""GET OUT," he hollered, cutting me off. His voice reverberated around the room. His face was red with fury.He took a deep breath, calming himself, before he took his coat from the sofa.When he spoke again, his voice was low, devoid of any emotion."When I come home, I want you gone, Elena.""Lucian, you don’t mean that…" I stared, but he shot me a look that made me shrink back towards the wall.A lump formed in my throat, making it hard to swallow. He was shattering my heart with his words.I can't believe Lucian could be so heartless. As if I'm trash that can just be kicked out at will.
I bit back a sob."I want nothing to do with this baby. I want nothing to do with you. Not anymore."He punctuated each final word before he turned and stormed out. "I. Want. You. Gone."One Year Later…Elena’s POV“Elena. Come back to the house. I have a surprise for you.”Lucian’s text came through on my phone and I smiled. I was sitting at the pond, our private pond, feeding the ducks. We’d moved into this new house about five months ago, and it was perfect. A sprawling estate with a pool, tennis courts, a stable, a massive garden, and a house far bigger than we’d ever need.It had taken a long time to find the perfect house, and Lucian had been incredibly patient. The moment I saw this house though, I knew. It was the one. It was the house I would spend the rest of my life in.Lucian had given me everything I could ever want. He showered me with expensive gifts and designer clothes. We went out regularly to eat at the most exclusive restaurants. Sometimes I felt like I had to pinch myself, like I was living in a dream, a real-life fairy tale.As I finished reading the text message, a news article flashed onto my screen. It was about Lydia. Her court date was loomi
Elena’s POVLucian was waiting for us back on the patio. He’d cleaned up the glass, and tried to fix the table. It was still a little lopsided, but it was usable. He’d also relit the candles.He was sitting on a chair, his hands wrapped around a wine glass. When he saw us coming, he looked up, a terrified look in his eyes.“Well?” he said, standing up so fast he almost spilled his wine. “How was the talk?”“It was fine,” Leon replied. “But sit back down. We have something we want to talk to you about.”With a perplexed look, Lucian sat down back down. He eyed us both suspiciously, but I shook my head.I knew what he was thinking. He thought I’d chosen Leon and that’s what we wanted to talk to him about. I would tell him that wasn’t the case. After we discussed the business deal. Leon was planning on leaving as soon as the conversation was done. I wanted to tell Lucian in private that I’d made my decision.“This is about business,” I said. “Not about this little love triangle.”Leon h
Leon’s POVI kept a pretty calm demeanor. Although I was shaking inside.When Lucian told me it was my turn to go and see Elena, my heart leapt up. She’d chosen to see Lucian first. In my mind, that meant she was saving the best for last. Which was me.I’d practically skipped down the path to the garden. I couldn’t wait to tell her all about the beautiful life I had planned for us.As I got closer to her though, I saw her face.And the expression in her eyes said it all.I didn’t stand a chance. She’d already made her choice. And it wasn’t me.Pausing for a beat, I felt a crack in my heart. How was this possible? Those were my first thoughts. I’d been so certain that she would choose me. I hadn’t even entertained the thought of her choosing Lucian.Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe I was just being paranoid.But the more I looked at her face, the clearer it became.I lost. He won. She wanted him. Not me.The wind knocked right out of me. She was stunning, standing there in the moon
Elena’s POVLeon walked towards me. But he took one look at my face and stopped.“I’ve already lost, haven't I?” he said.My chest squeezed. I really hated this. I wished he’d never had feelings for me. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Leon. He’d saved me. Bought me plastic surgery. Gave me a job and a new life.If I could have loved him, I would.“How did you know?” I whispered.“Your face,” he said. “You might not think so, but I know you very well, Elena. I knew the moment I saw your face that you’d already chosen Lucian.”His voice was low. He was doing his best to hide his heartbreak, but it wasn’t working. I could see right through the thin façade of a smile.The clouds broke just then and moonlight flooded down. It hit his eyes.“You’re so handsome,” I said. “I don’t if I’ve ever told you that before. But you really are.”I meant it. He was, with his dark hair and bright eyes. He was shorter than Lucian, but more muscular in build.“You haven’t,” he said, his lips tuggin
Elena’s POVHis lips on mine ignited a fire inside of me that had been sleeping for a long time. Greedily, I kissed him back. I reached around and clawed at his back. Our kiss deepened. He furled his hands in my hair.There was nothing else in that moment. Just him and me and our hot, wet lips. I gave myself over to the kiss completely.That is..until I snapped back to the present.I broke the kiss and took a step back. With a gasp, I brought my fingers up to my lips. Lucian held my gaze, his eyes steady and intense.“I’ve missed that,” he said with the tug of a smile.I was speechless. My heart was still racing from the kiss.“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Lucian teased. “I guess you forgot what it was like to kiss your husband?”I had forgotten. I’d completely forgotten the heat and the passion that Lucian had once shared. But it was all coming back to me now.“Elena,” Lucian said, stepping towards me. He took one of my hands in his. “I know I already said this before. But I’m
Elena’s POVThe fight had come out of nowhere. That’s how I felt. One moment, we were eating a nice dinner. And the next?The men were rolling around on the ground, punching each other in the face.I was devastated. I knew they were fighting over me. But this was the last thing I wanted. Glass shattered, the table broke, the wine spilled. I watched it unfold, horrified by what I was seeing.The sound of their fists hitting each other cracked through the otherwise silent night. They yelled profanities at one another. They were like savage beasts.I would expect this from two men who grew up on the streets. Or at a skeezy bar somewhere after too many cheap beers.But both of these men were CEOs of highly successful companies. This simply wasn’t how high society behaved. I was mortified and embarrassed for both of them.Lunging at Lucian, I tried to pull him off. But I wasn’t strong enough. So I did the only thing I could think of.I begged them to stop.Thankfully, that worked. They fin
Elena’s POV“What’s so funny?” Meredith haughtily demanded, her hands on her hips.With my sleeve, I dabbed at the corners of my eyes. It was a full belly laugh, and it took me a moment to get the laughter under control.“Why are you laughing? Do you know how rude that is?” she squawked at me. “You
Elena’s POV“What did you say?” Vivenne asked, whipping her head towards Lucian. Her face had gone a ghastly pale color as she glared at Lucian.“You heard me,” Lucian said, his voice low, his eyes fixed on me. “This is Elena. My ex-wife.”“But that’s not possible,” Lydia said, stepping forward. “E
Lucian’s POVThe bidding for the new island had me completely devoted for 48 consecutive hours.I spent the entire day in my office, sustained by cold coffee and the adrenaline of completing Walker Industries' biggest deal in five years."Lucian, love. You need to rest. Come. Here, I’ve made you so
Elena’s POVBefore my eyes fluttered open, I felt a deep, throbbing ache all over my body. At first, I was confused.The last thing I remembered was a figure emerging, his arm over his face, his eyes searching through the flames.I couldn't see his face clearly, but a name echoed in my mind.Lucian







