Chapter 1
Penelope Pierce's childhood friend, Stella Carter, had always been the type to breeze through a sea of admirers without getting attached to anyone.
Penelope thought she would never settle down with anyone in her life.
But today, Stella was surprisingly flustered.
Her hands were trembling.
She texted Penelope: [I accidentally got pregnant, and both my backups are eager to step up as the dad. Who should I choose?]
[Choose the one with money.] Penelope replied instantly.
The next moment, Stella sent over two screenshots of massive bank transfers. [Which one should I choose?]
Penelope sighed and rubbed her forehead. [I meant pick the person, not the money.]
Just as she was about to complain, she noticed that one of the profile pictures in the screenshots looked particularly familiar and unsettling.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the image to find it was a transfer of 15 thousand dollars labeled as nutritional support.
The sender's username was none other than her own fiancé, who was sound asleep beside her.
The note attached to the transfer read: Mr. Guzman.
*****
I was Penelope. I stared at those words, completely stunned.
Thomas Guzman was my fiancé, the kind of guy every girl dreams of, a hopeless romantic, according to everyone else.
To marry me, he signed a prenup and even spent a whole day and night begging at the Pierce residence just to get the marriage approved.
But now, he'd sent 15 thousand to my childhood bestie, and the note said [nutritional support.]
My hands and feet went cold as she tapped on Stella's profile pic. The woman who always kept things casual was still messaging her.
"Penelope, have you picked one for me yet?
"Even though Mr. Guzman's loaded, his fiancée looks like a real force to be reckoned with. I'm worried I might have to beg for forgiveness in front of the whole family.
"But he says he'll call off the engagement for me, as long as I have the baby," Stella said.
Every single word smacked me right in the face, stinging like hell and leaving me reeling.
Her hands shaking, I saved the screenshot of the transfer and uploaded it to the cloud.
Then I put the phone back where it was, jerking my hand back like I'd touched something filthy.
Thomas rolled over, his arm instinctively wrapping around my waist.
He mumbled in his sleep, "Penelope, stop messing around."
Back then, I would've thought it was sweet, a sign of how much he needed me.
Now, all I felt was my stomach twisting in disgust.
I shoved his arm off and padded barefoot into the bathroom.
My eyes rimmed red.
I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face, trying to wash away the fury boiling in my chest.
Stella was my childhood bestie.
We'd been inseparable since we were in diapers, and I'd shared every secret with her. I was even the one who introduced her to Thomas.
Back then, Stella had joked with a grin, "So this is your model boyfriend? He looks like he's got some serious self-restraint."
Thomas had slung his arm around my shoulders, not even glancing at anyone else. He smiled, "Penelope's the only one I want."
All that so-called self-restraint was just because he hadn't met the one who could make him break his own rules.
I stared at her reflection, the smile looking even uglier than crying.
For Thomas, 15 thousand was a lot of money.
His company had been tight on cash lately. Even the wedding expenses were coming out of my pocket.
He was using my money to bankroll my bestie, and now he wanted her to give me a godson. What a clever scheme he'd got going."
His phone buzzed again.
I stepped out and noticed Thomas's phone lighting up.
It was Stella again.
He texted: [Hey, are you up? The baby just kicked me. It really hurts.]
The next second, Thomas jerked awake, eyes snapping open.
He instinctively grabbed his phone, suddenly completely alert, not a hint of sleepiness left.
Catching me staring at him, his hand trembled, and his phone almost slipped right out of his grip.
"Penelope, why are you awake?" Thomas asked, his voice hoarse and uncertain.
I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, just watching him play pretend.
"Just had a nightmare. I dreamed you were sneaking around, keeping a side chick," I said coolly.
Thomas's face visibly froze.