Chapter 1
After the SATs, the school belle dropped my prenatal test report into the class group chat. [Figures. The poor girl really is shameless. Just barely legal and already selling herself. Do you even remember who the baby's father is? Or was it some disgusting old man?]
The mockery snowballed. Someone even posted a photo of me bent over in a field, one hand bracing my aching waist as I dug up sweet potatoes.
Just then, the aloof, untouchable heir finally texted: [I'm the father. Got a problem with that?]
*****
I was out in the field, spreading manure on the sweet potatoes, when I suddenly gagged.
The smell was so strong. I thought it was just the stink making me sick.
But then, at lunch, when I was helping my grandma eat, I felt that wave of nausea hit me again.
My grandma gave me a look. "Sweetheart, you're not pregnant, are you?"
Her eyes might've looked tired, but her gaze was sharp enough to see right through me, like a blade cutting into my secrets. She said, "Sweetheart, you really went off the rails, huh?"
I felt a shiver run through me and swallowed hard. "Yeah, I did."
A few months ago, my grandma had a sudden heart failure, and I just couldn't scrape together enough money. So, I started working the night shift at a nightclub.
That was where I ran into Jacob Thomas, my classmate, who'd been drugged.
His usually cool, handsome face was flushed, and he was totally out of it. He grabbed my hand and pulled it inside his shirt.
When I saw the untouchable golden boy like this, all desperate and needy, my heart was pounding. I hesitated for just a second, then took him back to the changing room.
With all the other staff out on the floor, we spent a wild, heated night together in the back room.
When I left, I left him a note. I figured, even if it was just hush money, he'd at least give me hundreds of thousands.
But the next day, Jacob acted as if nothing had happened. I couldn't let it go, so I went to him myself and asked for the money.
All I remember was how icy Jacob's eyes were, cold enough to chill me straight to the bone.
He just said, "Here's 150 thousand. Don't make a scene," then tossed me aside like I was nothing and never looked back.
I took the money and rushed to the hospital to pay the bill. But taking the morning-after pill just slipped my mind.
By the time I remembered, my period was already late. I bought a pregnancy test, and when I saw those two lines, my feelings were all over the place.
On one hand, the Thomas family was way out of my league; the chances of me ever getting in were slim to none.
But on the other hand, this was my one shot to flip my whole life around. No way was I letting it go that easily.
I kept stalling, and my belly just kept getting bigger. I tied a strip of cloth tight around my stomach just to make it through the SATs, but I was so wiped out that I landed in the hospital.
And Mia Miller, the queen bee, snapped a pic and blasted it in the group chat, roasting me for everyone to see.
Jacob showed up at my door the next day.
He brought his grandmother, Harper Thomas, with him.
Jacob's face was expressionless as his eyes flicked over my belly, then he looked away.
I couldn't figure out what he meant by that.
Harper was surprisingly kind. She held my hand and asked how old I was, where my parents were, and if I had any other family.
When I told her honestly that my parents had passed away and I only had my grandma, her eyes welled up with tears. "Poor girl," she murmured.
She offered to take me in, but I couldn't bear to leave my paralyzed grandma behind. Then she suggested sending her to a nursing home run by the Thomas Group.
"To be honest, we don't usually take in outsiders, especially those without means," Harper said. "But you're carrying the Thomas family's first child, and you're the first woman Jacob's ever been with.
"It just doesn't feel right to leave you stranded out here."
On the way back, Jacob kept his eyes closed and didn't say a word.
I couldn't tell if he liked me or hated me.
But I didn't have to wait long to find out.
He tossed my clothes onto the couch, making it clear that was where I'd be sleeping from now on.
I knew that he really hated me.
The Thomas residence was enormous. There were three rooms in his bedroom just for sleeping. Jacob stuck me in the tiniest one, and the first thing I saw when I looked up was a striking photo of a ballerina on the wall.
Jacob walked in with his hands in his pockets. "She's beautiful, isn't she? I've liked her for a long time."
He said it while glancing at me, clear dislike showing in his eyes.
I lowered my head, but couldn't help sneaking a peek.
She was so classy and gorgeous. Even her fingers were long and slender, like something out of a dream.
No wonder he didn't think I was good enough.