Since she was a child, Elizabeth Grant had known she would be the richest, most popular, and best-known among her group of privileged friends. Young Elizabeth had never had cause to ponder her own importance. Her early years had been a young girl’s perfection, right from the very day of her birth. It was true that Elizabeth was the heir to an old and affluent nobility, but unlike most other lordly families, her parents, Lord and Lady Grant, were an odd couple. Married without love, they hated each other to death. Both were resentful, rude, and selfish. They saw their daughter’s birth not as the arrival of an heir but rather as that of a child who would save their already failing business and wealth. And so there were celebrations, fêtes, and festivities other than those of a mother and father staring in wonderment at their new daughter. The Grants were young parents—Edward was barely twenty-two and Vivian had just turned twenty—but they were practical, ambitious, and strong, and the

Shawn questions his own naveté. Of course, Catherine would not allow it or agree with him if he made another contract, but his grandfather had been telling him about wanting to hold a grandchild soon, and he wanted nothing but to make the old man happy. After all, he would do everything to make him optimistic. Shawn knew he was dying, and he wanted to give him everything before his last breath. But somehow, money couldn't save a life. He had been born with a golden and silver spoon in his mouth, and even after his parents' accident, their memory had been too far away for him to remember. Still, he was more than delighted to be supervised by his grandfather. Since his parents had passed away for many years, he was never forced to economise because his grandfather owned a hefty sum of states and businesses, but everything would be useless if he couldn't give the old man his final request, right? And who was he to ignore his last wishes? Shawn sighed and explained, "Catherine, please re

One week later, Yes, it was simple. Catherine collapsed in front of Shawn, and, of course, he called the doctor, who informed Shawn that she was two months pregnant after a series of laboratory tests. To say Shawn was shocked was an understatement. He was so angry at her for not telling him. It took him two days to talk to her again when she went to the kitchen in the middle of the night to look for something to eat. Shawn had awoken and walked to the kitchen, where he discovered her eating a chocolate cake. “Catherine?” “Don't you dare judge!” she muttered, licking the icing on her finger. “I'm not here to judge. Um, are you okay?" To make matters more awkward, he ended up asking her about everything, even what she wanted to eat and how much she disliked eating food with garlic and cheese, and Shawn has been spoiling her ever since. Even asking Catherine to stop working as his secretary resulted in an argument, but he eventually relented. The next day, Catherine sat at her desk, s

A few hours later, Javier was wondering where the hell Elizabeth was and what she wanted from Richmond's doctor. However, he walked out of the room and went to the VIP lounge whenever he slept on the premises. While the others spoke to some of the other gangs, he’d intended to make some calls and try to get a bead on the assholes who would mess up Shawn's marriage enough that he would want nothing from his wife. An hour later, Elizabeth returned with a smile on her face. "What took you so long?" He withdrew a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, his gaze never leaving the now naked woman on the bed. "Well, shopping, of course, it's none of your business, but well, I need a quick fuck to ease the tension, and I'll tell you about my plan with the doctor,” she smirked. “And guess what? Shawn's wife is pregnant." That bitch! She sneered as her smile faded, molten anger rolled through her, and rage gripped her upon thinking about the bitch. “They fuck! That alone is so obvious.” Rolling

Being completely naked, with an almost visible baby bump, in a mildly cold lake was beyond Catherine's comprehension. Of course, she wanted adventure, and she got it. Stupid, yes, but this isolated privacy was all she needed, of course, to think about her life, as she had immediately tucked herself in the warm, cold embrace of the lake as she shivered, unable to even fathom her foolishness, but was she crazier? Shawn had become nothing but sweet and overprotective of her, not that marrying her and bearing his child was any weirder, but yes, now she had more questions than answers. Besides, she heard him talking to Elizabeth, and it was not civil enough. She believed that the bitch was threatening her and her child's lives. Where the bitch had come to know puzzled Catherine even more. Not that Shawn's treatment of her had done anything but threaten her heart, and though she wasn't expecting more, expecting too much of his sweet, caring demeanour towards her made her uneasy. But, of cour