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Semua Bab With His Baby, Without Him: Bab 1 - Bab 7

7 Bab

Chapter 1

The night before I was supposed to marry the heir to the Moretti family, I found a string of ninety-nine filthy texts on my fiancé Leo’s phone. A woman named Ava Collins, telling him she loved him. Shameless. Desperate.She was begging him to call off our wedding, threatening to kill herself if he went through with it.I didn’t waste a second. I shoved the phone in his face and demanded an explanation.The silence stretched for an eternity before he finally broke.“Her brother was Liam. My underboss. He took a bullet for me. My bullet. I promised him I’d look after her.”"Jennifer, we grew up together. You know it’s you. It’s always been you. I swear, I’ll handle it. I’ll cut her off."I searched his eyes, hunting for the lie.I swallowed the acid in my throat and chose to believe him. The wedding was on.This was bigger than us. It was a treaty signed in blood between two families. And God help me, I still loved him.But on our wedding day, as we stood at the altar, vows on our li
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Chapter 2

Leo finally showed up six hours later.The door was thrown open.He stood there, soaked to the bone.He looked like he'd been dragged through hell and back. His tux was a ruined mess, his hair plastered to his skull.His eyes were full of exhaustion and despair."Jennifer," his voice was hoarse. "I'm sorry."My father and the elders shot to their feet. Their hands all moved to the guns at their waists."Out," I said, my voice dangerously low. "Leave us.""Jennifer…" my father hesitated."Out!"The room was empty except for me and Leo.He just stood there, looking like he’d been dragged out of the river himself."Is she alive?" I asked.Leo nodded. "I got her to a private hospital. She'll be okay.""So you saved her," my voice was terrifyingly calm. "Just like you promised.""Jennifer, please, let me explain…""Explain what?" I cut him off. "Explain why you ran out on our wedding to save another woman? Explain why you let every family in Chicago watch me get humiliated?""Liam took a b
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Chapter 3

I looked around the home I shared with Leo, my heart raw.I couldn't stay here.Tomorrow, I had to be gone.But first, I went to Dr. Romano's private clinic.He gave me some pills, said they'd help with the early pregnancy.I stared at the pills for a long moment before flushing them down the toilet.The clinic parking lot was quiet.Chicago is a dangerous city after dark, but tonight, the monsters were already inside me. I just needed to breathe.Then I saw them.Leo was gently draping his suit jacket over a girl's shoulders.She was thin, small, like a frightened deer.Her hands were shaking, and Leo was comforting her in a low voice.Ava Collins.The way she looked up at Leo was full of dependence and adoration.A pure, innocent kind of love.My stomach turned. Not from the pregnancy. From disgust.Leo sensed me. He turned and saw me standing at the clinic door.His brow furrowed immediately."Jennifer, what are you doing here?" His voice was a low warning, laced with disbelief. "I
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Chapter 4

“Are you insane?!”Elena’s scream shattered the air.She knelt by Leo’s side, trying to stop the bleeding.“Jennifer, he’s our son!” Leo forced the words through the pain, his voice trembling.“No.” I handed the gun back to my father. “He gets my name. My legacy. Period. He has nothing to do with the Moretti family. Or with you.”The room fell dead silent.Ava scrambled up from the floor, tears streaming down her face. “No… you can’t… He’s Leo’s blood…”“Shut up,” I said, looking at her. “You have no right to speak about my child.”Leo tried to stand. “Jennifer, please… We can start over. I can send her away. I can…”“Too late.” I turned and went back to packing.Ava shattered, collapsing into a hysterical heap on the floor. “It’s all my fault! It’s all because of me!”She ran for the door. “I’m going to the Feds! I’ll sing like a canary! Let them burn it all down!”“Ava, no!” Leo struggled to go after her.Elena grabbed his shoulder. “Haven’t you made enough of a mess?”But Leo had al
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Chapter 5

Three years later.“Mrs. Davenport, the quarterly report from the Zurich branch.”My assistant, Sophia, placed the file in front of me.Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows were the snow-capped Alps.It was quiet here. Cold. Good for thinking. Good for forgetting.Three years ago, I came to Europe with the Rossi family fortune and the child in my womb.Here, I met Julian Davenport, a man who truly understood respect and loyalty.He accepted my past, cherished me, and loved my son as his own.We married, and I quadrupled the Rossi family fortune.Not with guns, but with hostile takeovers, short selling, and leveraged buyouts. I wasn't just a shark; I was the monster the Wall Street wolves had nightmares about.“Anything else?” I asked, signing the documents.“There’s news from Chicago.” Sophia hesitated. “Leo Moretti married that girl, Ava, a year ago.”My pen paused for a second, then continued. “And?”“The marriage is not going well, I hear. Ava Moretti has frequent public breakdowns.
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Chapter 6

“Two and a half,” my voice was chillingly calm. “Is there a problem, Mr. Moretti?”Leo’s eyes were wide, fixed on Adrian’s face.That pair of brown eyes, identical to his own, burned him like a brand.The timeline was simple. It didn't need a calculator.“No… it’s impossible…” The blood drained from Leo’s face.“What’s impossible?” I stood, smoothing my dress. “After I left Chicago, I met Julian. We were married in London, and Adrian was born in Switzerland. Everything was perfect.”“But you were pregnant!” Leo was practically roaring now. “You were pregnant with my child!”The entire room held its breath.“Was I?” I let out a soft, cold laugh. “Funny, I only remember leaving with what was left of my dignity. Nothing else. This child is a Davenport. He has nothing to do with you. Or the Moretti family.”Leo sank into his chair. “You… you married someone else… You let my son call another man ‘daddy’…”“He is not your son,” I corrected him.“The right to be his father?” I smiled, a cruel
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Chapter 7

Leo’s POVI sat in the empty apartment, a bottle of whiskey in my hand.They took Ava’s body away three hours ago.Her blood still stained the bathroom tiles. A cleaning crew would handle it tomorrow.I should feel pain. Guilt.But I don’t.I feel relief.Goddamn relief.Back then, I was an arrogant fool. I thought she was making a point. I thought she was teaching me a lesson. I thought, eventually, she’d be waiting for me to bring her home.I was so wrong. So completely, utterly wrong.My marriage to Ava was a cage. Hell from day one.Her possessiveness, her hysterics, her jealousy of every woman who looked at me.It was suffocating.I started avoiding her.Working late, taking more business trips—any excuse to get away.The day she miscarried, I wasn’t even home.I was out with another woman, trying to forget Jennifer’s face.When Marco told me Ava had fallen down the stairs, my first thought was: Thank God. Now I don’t have to hear her crying about wanting a baby.I’m a monster. Bu
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