Chapter 1: I Want You Gone

Elena’s POV

Pregnant. 

I couldn’t even say the word without bursting into a smile. Dropping the grocery bags onto the counter, I unwrapped the pork chops while I hummed happily to myself. 

A quiet warmth spread through my chest. 

Tonight was the night. I was going to tell Lucian the good news. We’d celebrate over his favorite dinner. And everything would be fine moving forward. 

No, better than fine. 

It would be wonderful. 

Biting my lip as I seasoned the pork chops, I fantasized about the look on Lucian’s face when I told him the good news.  

An hour later, the front door opened. My heart jumped as Lucian’s footsteps echoed down the hall.

“You’re home,” I smiled as I met him in the living room. His back was turned to me and he was loosening his tie. I could barely contain the excitement bubbling up inside of me.  “I have something to tell you, Lucian…”

My voice trailed off as he turned around. His gaze was ice cold. 

“Let me guess,” he said, his tone flat. “Does it have something to do with this?”

He tossed a manilla folder onto the coffee table. 

“What’s this?” I asked, picking up the folder. 

But the moment I opened it, my heart sank. 

“You know damned well what that is,” Lucian snapped at me. 

“My medical records from the hospital? But how did you get these?” I asked. Medical records were supposed to be confidential. 

“Does it matter?” Lucian asked, voice sharp.

I didn’t understand. So he knew I was pregnant? Why the cold shoulder then?  

“Aren’t you happy,” I asked, searching his face. His expression remained cold. “We’re having a baby.”

“Not ‘we’, Elena. ‘You’. You’re having a baby.”

What?

My eyes scanned the medical report. What was he talking about?

But then I saw it. On the second page. 

The pregnancy timeline…

…with the wrong conception date. The day Lucian was still on a business trip.

“This is a mistake,” I said, my voice trembling.  

“Hospitals don’t make mistakes,” he quipped back. “The date is right there, clear as day. I was away that week. In Europe on a business trip.”

His words hung in the air between us. Did he really think that…

…that I’d cheated on him? That this baby wasn’t his?

I opened my mouth to reply, but the look of disdain in his eyes caused me to recoil. 

“Do you take me for a fool, Elena? Do you really think I’m going to sit here, like an idiot, and raise someone else’s baby?” His voice dripped with menace.

“I didn’t cheat on you,” I said, my voice shaking despite my efforts to stay calm. “Lucian, this child is yours. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“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.”

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 couldn't wait to refute her loudly.

"But Lydia... what are you saying? You were the one who went with me to get the report. You heard what the doctor said about the gestational period. You..." Before I could finish, Lydia ended the call.

I  couldn’t believe it. Was I dreaming? I had to be dreaming. Otherwise, why would my best friend, the person I trusted and confided in the most, betray me like this?

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. 

“Abort the child,” he hissed. “Or we get divorced.”

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. 

This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be.

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.”