Chapter 1
The night before I was going to tell my crush how I felt, I got kidnapped and vanished without a trace.
My family totally freaked out searching for me. After I'd been missing for over three days, they even offered a 60-grand reward to find me.
In the pitch-black basement, I sobbed and pleaded, "I know breaking up with you was my fault, but we're just not meant to be. Please, let me go."
Jerome Carter's face was cold and focused as he went through my phone, deleting every contact one by one. His voice was chilling.
He said, "Not meant to be? Why didn't you say that before we started dating?
"Since you've agreed to be with me, you're mine for life."
I was shaking with fear when suddenly, a barrage of comments started popping up in front of me.
[Wow, this is my favorite forced love trope!]
[The male lead is so freaking hot. Seriously, I have no idea why the heroine is even complaining.]
Honestly, I thought these people were nuts, so I quickly averted my eyes and started looking for a way out.
After failing to escape over and over, I hit rock bottom and tried to end it all. Then a fire broke out, and suddenly my story was all anyone could talk about.
When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed. My mom clung to me, sobbing so hard that she nearly fainted.
Outside the room, someone was shouting that I was a whore. The doctor tried to calm that person down, but the next second, the door burst open.
An elegant lady stormed in, her eyes rimmed with red as she fixed her gaze on my still-flat belly.
She said, "This is the only child my son has left in this world. Doctor, you must make sure this baby comes into the world safe and sound."
*****
Wait, the child?
My eyes drifted down to my belly, and I clenched my fists hard.
Why was this baby still alive? It should've been gone!
As if to answer my questions, a few more comments suddenly popped up in front of me.
[Damn! How did my favorite forced love romance turn into this mess?]
[It's all on Nicole. She kept trying to end herself, and after finding out she was pregnant with Jerome's kid, she should've just learned to deal with it.
[But nope, she even tried to take the baby with her, which made Jerome go full dark mode.]
[Well, Jerome was head over heels for her. He couldn't let her go, and when he saw her with another guy, he totally lost it and set everything on fire, wanting to die together with her and the baby.]
[Now Jerome's dead, but Nicole and the baby made it out alive. The story's totally off the rails now.]
[Jerome never even liked kids. The whole reason this baby exists is just so Nicole would slowly fall for him and end up totally unable to leave him.]
[Honestly, with things this messed up, how is the plot supposed to move forward now?]
Blocking out the comments I didn't care about, when I learned Jerome was dead, my breath caught, and then I started gulping in air. Relief washed over me like never before.
With a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, I turned to my mom, who looked furious, standing by my bed. My voice was hoarse as I said, "Mom, get me a doctor. I want to end this pregnancy."
Even though my throat was raw from the smoke, I still said it, my eyes cold and full of disgust.
I never loved Jerome, and just thinking about the baby growing inside me made my skin crawl.
There was no way I'd let this baby stay.
Mom finally tore her gaze away from Megan and looked at me, her eyes full of pain and worry.
She said, "Nicole, the doctor says you're still really weak. You need to rest and recover for a while first.
"I promise, as soon as you're stronger, I'll find a doctor to do the procedure for you right away."
She held my hand, her voice soft and gentle.
I could see the pain and heartbreak in her eyes, and it felt like a giant hand was squeezing my heart, heavy and suffocating.
I just nodded.
Megan said, "Nicole, how could you even think about aborting the baby? How could you be so heartless? This is the only child Jerome has left in this world!"
Megan glared at me, her eyes red and blazing with hatred.
She strode over in her high heels, reaching out to grab me.
She said, "If you hadn't seduced my son and then tossed him aside, he wouldn't have been so messed up and out of it day after day, and he never would've ended up on this path of no return!
"Listen up, you're having this baby, or the Carter family will never let you off the hook!"
Mom had always hated what Jerome did, but she'd kept quiet for my sake, not wanting to set me off. She never thought Megan could be this brazen.
She didn't hesitate. She marched right up and slapped Megan across the face, shouting for everyone to hear. "What gives you the right to demand my daughter give birth to the child of a criminal?"
After days of searching for me and coming up empty, Mom had been stressed out to the breaking point. Megan's words finally made her snap, letting all her anger and hatred pour out.
Unable to hold back anymore, she grabbed Megan by the hair. As Megan shrieked, Mom snapped harshly, "You said my daughter seduced your son? Maybe you should look at your own son and ask yourself the real reason.
"He was always flying off the handle and hitting people, thinking he could get away with it just because he's good-looking.
"He kept begging my daughter for forgiveness over and over, and when she finally broke free, he just kept haunting her and ruining her life.
"Your son is a total lunatic, a sick freak! And that kid of his? Bound to be trouble, too.
"No matter what you do, there's no way I'm letting my daughter give birth to that monster!"