Chapter 1

ROSE

"You… you are pregnant." Of everything I expected to hear after waking up in the hospital bed, that was the least expected.

Without showing any reaction, my eyes lingers on the paper the doctor had just given me. The result confirming my pregnancy.

How did I feel about it? I don't know. Maybe if this were before now, I'd probably be over the moon, eager to share the news with my beloved husband. It's been three years now, after all, since we've been trying for a child. But right now, it doesn't matter anymore. I didn't even come to the hospital for this.

My eyes are still scanning the papers when the doctor adds, "We already told your husband about it, but… he wanted us to terminate it. He said he already filed for divorce, so there's no use keeping it."

I feel my chest squeeze painfully, but a managed a reply anyway. 

"Killian came here?" I asked. 

I honestly can't even remember how I got here since I passed out.

"Yes, he's the one who brought you."

A bitter scoff escapes me. Considering what's happened in the past few days, I sure as hell didn't expect that.

But regardless of our feud, it's unthinkable that Killian would give an order to terminate my baby! His unborn child?! And worse, while I was unconscious?! He couldn't even do me the honor of discussing it with me first?

Tears burn the back of my eyes, but I blink them back.

"Did you abort my baby?" I ask, turning to the doctor.

She shakes her head. "Not yet. I wanted your permission first. After all, you're the one carrying the child."

I smile and nod softly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she offers a gentle smile, her blue eyes lifting behind her glasses. "Try to get some rest. I'll be back to check on you."

As she leaves the ward, I settle back into the bed. I'm not sure what I want to do with this baby. Should I go ahead and terminate it, or should I keep it?

To be honest, I don't want to carry another child for another traitor.

After the first man I loved almost ruined me, Killian saved me from the ruins. He literally swept me off my feet and taught me how to love again. But then he too turned out to be everything I hate. He crushed me even more than the first, such that the thought of carrying his offspring is too traumatic for me.

But at the same time, this is my baby. Do I want to kill him or her just because the father turned out to be a monster?

I inhale deeply as the events of the past few weeks come to the forefront of my mind.

***

It all began on my anniversary when Killian—who I had thought was the love of my life—prepared a private lodge for us. I got there on time, but he was late.

I was so sure there was an explanation for that, so I waited for him while sipping the wine that had been in the room when I arrived.

The last thing I remembered was falling asleep on the bed that had been sprayed with Rose petals. But when I woke up, I was in a stranger's bed.

When I got back home, I explained everything to Killian, but he refused to believe me, showing me my sex video that had been posted anonymously that morning.

It was already trending, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. There was literally no explanation for it, and at the same time, I couldn't remember it.

"So you're just a whore, huh? Not only did you cheat on me on our anniversary, but you also allowed your sex tape to be recorded. After everything we've been through?" It was the first time I'd seen Killian so enraged and disappointed in me. He was hurt, and the only thing in his eyes was disdain.

There was nothing I could do, so I just cried and begged. But he had already made up his mind. He sent me out of our matrimonial home that day and filed for divorce a day later. I didn't blame him. He was just acting on the evidence he saw.

But just yesterday, I had gone to a bar to drink my sorrows away when one of Killian's workers approached me with a tape.

Apparently, he had planted a CCTV camera in Killian's office. According to him, Killian had gotten his sister pregnant and forced her to get an abortion. And now she's dead because of the abortion she got for Killian. It happened last year.

I actually didn't believe him. I couldn't. The Killian I knew wasn't that heartless. And above all, he would never cheat on me. But I decided to listen to what he had to say.

"After recording the tape, I felt like you should be aware of what your husband has done," Marco, the worker, told me.

When I watched the tape, it felt like my whole world crashed. Not only did Killian have a mistress, but the mistress was my twin sister.

That wasn't even the part that broke me. The worst part was when the tape showed both Killian and my sister planning to set me up on my anniversary night.

They were the ones behind the video that was leaked. They were the ones who drugged the wine I drank that night. I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't.

How could they do that?

I was so angry after watching the video that I went to my parents' house to confront my sister first. But I was welcomed with a celebration scene of my entire family and my ex-husband in their midst, all having dinner and making merry.

Finding out Killian was now business partners with my family was shocking enough. To think that my family never accepted him when I met him poor. Well, he's now CEO of a prominent winery, all thanks to me. But what completely crushed me was when I showed them the video.

Killian and Mariegold were both stunned—not by my discovery, but by how I managed to get the tape. My feelings didn't really affect them. And Killian didn't waste time telling me the reason he did it. He wanted me out so he could marry my sister and seal his company with my family. He shamelessly said it to my face, adding the fact that I'd been useless to him. Though I supported him in building his scaling wine company, I hadn't been able to give him a biological heir. My daughter wasn't his, and he needed a child of his own. That was his excuse!

As for my parents, they didn't waste time threatening me to conceal the video. They couldn't afford scandals for their company. As far as I've known my parents, the only thing that mattered to them most is business! They would literally trade anyone's life for their company to thrive.

And to top it off, I'm the daughter they've always considered a rebel for not choosing the career they wanted, for getting pregnant outside wedlock, for marrying a pauper—the same man they just struck a deal with.

And for the sake of that partnership, they cared less about my image, which is currently being slandered online. My father stared me in the eye and said, "If that footage gets on the net, you'll have to forget about your daughter's treatment. You won't get a dime from us."

Knowing I'd never play to their tune, he used my only weakness.

My daughter.

The last thing I remembered was my legs giving in, and I found myself on the ground. I was immensely overwhelmed by shock, betrayal, and pain. I let the darkness engulf me, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the hospital.

With my mind reminiscing on everything, the vague realization strikes me harder than a brutal blow.

Killian.

He never truly loved me.

That bastard sure as hell played his way into my life just to buy his way into my father's company.

As a detective, I've dealt with way too many cases like this that right now, I'm feeling so stupid for letting that motherfucker fool me!

But I swear to God, he won't get away. I just don't know how yet. I can't do anything that'll risk Arabella's life. But I'll make him pay… dearly!