Chapter 3

The body hit the floor with a heavy thud.

I could no longer maintain my eerie calm. I shoved Clayton away, threw myself onto the floor, and desperately tried to haul the man back onto the table.

"Darling, did that hurt? I'm so sorry! I'm sorry I didn't protect you!"

Clayton stared at me in absolute horror.

"If I'm not mistaken... that's Fulton Kennedy. The eldest son of the Kennedy family. One of the most powerful old-money families in New York. How the hell are you with him..."

The funeral home manager hesitated for a long time before whispering,

"Mr. Clayton... Fulton Kennedy was declared dead a few months ago. Rumor has it that a certain faction within the Kennedy family has been looking for women to... participate in a posthumous marriage ritual with him..."

Clayton looked like he'd been hit by a truck. His chest heaved violently.

"The Kennedys would never play along with your sick little act. Don't tell me you..."

He suddenly lunged forward and crushed me in his arms, his voice choking up.

"Eve, what the hell did you go through? I'm taking you home. I'll get you a doctor! I swear I'll get to the bottom of this and get you justice!"

A flash of sheer panic crossed Karina's face. She quickly forced out fresh tears.

"But I heard the Hales and the Kennedys are old family friends. Eve probably knew Fulton from before... Besides, the Kennedys know you two are married. Why would they ever choose her for something like that?"

"Eve, please stop acting. If word of this gets out, how is Clayton supposed to show his face in public?"

Clayton's expression slowly cooled.

He released me, reached into his tailored jacket, and pulled out the marriage certificate he always carried with him.

"I almost let you fool me. Eve, I am giving you one last chance. Drop this pathetic charade, admit you were wrong, and come home with me right now. Otherwise, I will tear this certificate to pieces and divorce you immediately!"

"Don't forget, you were the one who begged on your hands and knees to marry me!"

That marriage certificate used to be my most prized possession.

Once, when the Hale family estate caught fire, I risked burning alive just to run back inside and save it.

Riiip.

He tore it in half.

Right in front of my eyes, Clayton shredded it into pieces.

But I didn't spare the falling confetti a single glance. I just lowered my head, whispered an apology to Fulton, and gently kissed his freezing forehead.

Denied the reaction he craved, Clayton's eyes turned bloodshot.

"Eve, you swore you only loved me! I forbid you from kissing him!"

He grabbed me by the hair, roughly wiped my lips with his thumb, and forced his mouth onto mine.

A wave of intense nausea surged from my chest. I violently pushed him away and gagged, dry heaving onto the floor.

Seeing me clutch my stomach, Clayton froze. A look of wild ecstasy erupted on his face.

"You're pregnant?!"

He immediately summoned an ER doctor from his private hospital. When the doctor confirmed I was roughly three months along, Clayton pulled me into a fierce embrace.

"Eve, it's my fault. I didn't know you were pregnant. Be a good girl, stop acting crazy now. I apologize, okay? Let's go home right now."

Karina went rigid. She quickly squeezed her way to the front, pretending to wipe away tears of joy.

"Eve, you're carrying a baby now, you really shouldn't be so willful. As long as you promise to go back with Clayton, I'll do whatever you want!"

To prove her point, she dramatically slapped herself across the cheek a few times.

But this time, Clayton didn't even look at her. His eyes were glued to my stomach.

Karina stood frozen, glaring at me with a hatred so intense she looked ready to grind her teeth to dust.

And then, under everyone's watchful eyes, I suddenly shoved Clayton away.

I picked up Fulton's freezing, stiff hand and pressed it gently against my lower belly.

"Be good, baby. Let Daddy feel you. Stop giving Mommy such a hard time, okay?"