Chapter 1

For three years, I am the nameless assistant, hiding my real identity to help Leonard Shaw build his empire from the ground up.

The night we celebrate the company going public, I clutch the pregnancy test in my hand, ready to surprise him with the news. But as I approach the VIP lounge, the chat inside stops me cold.

His best friend chirps. "So, the Quinn family is serious about marrying their daughter off to you now that you're the rising star in town. What are you gonna do with your assistant?"

Leonard said, "Ava? Just a toy I'm bored with."

I hear him swirl his glass before continuing, "Perfect timing, actually. I'll gift her to Mr. Walters for the Southside parcel. He's been eyeing her."

The words tear through my heart.

The man I loved, the man I have given up everything for, sees me as nothing more than a disposable plaything to be traded for a piece of land.

But he never knows I am the Quinn heiress. I convinced my father to arrange this marriage proposal. I want to surprise him with the truth after all we have built together.

He knows even less that he is practically sterile. With my naturally blessed fertility, I still spend three years trying to conceive his children. I'm carrying his twins.

*****

I nearly crushed the thin slip of paper between my fingers.

The ultrasound image was still a blur, but the doctor's cheerful voice kept ringing in my ears. "Congratulations! It's twins. Eight weeks along."

A bright smile crept onto my lips before I could stop it.

After three long years, I was finally carrying Leonard Shaw's children.

I knew how desperately he wanted an heir, though he would never admit he was basically infertile.

But I, blessed with a body that was the opposite, had done the impossible. And somehow, miraculously, I was pregnant with twins.

Tonight was the victory party for ShawTech Solutions' IPO. Leonard was the king of the ballroom, standing center stage as camera flashes illuminated his chiseled profile. He answered the reporters' questions with an easy charm.

Those eyes, the same ones I used to get lost in, now glittered with a raw ambition.

For three years, I had lived as Ava Johnson, starting as a bottom-rung assistant, hiding my true identity. I had weathered countless all-nighters by his side to help him conquer one project after another.

To the world, I was just the devoted assistant, hopelessly in love with Leonard.

No one knew I was also Eva Quinn, the sole heiress to Quinn Group.

"Mr. Shaw, you're the most eligible bachelor in the city! Any good news on the romance front?" a bold reporter shouted.

Leonard let out a soft laugh, his gaze sweeping the room. For a split second, I could have sworn his eyes met mine.

"My company is the only mistress I need," he quipped smoothly, earning appreciative laughter.

My hand tightened on the pregnancy report in my clutch. I fought the overwhelming urge to run up there and share my surprise. But I force myself to wait.

I would tell him when the party was over, when it was just the two of us.

The VIP lounge was tucked away behind the main hall. I pushed the door open to find it empty.

Just as I was about to retreat, I heard voices from the adjoining private study.

"So, the Quinn family are dropping serious hints about marrying their golden girl off to you," a voice said.

It was Michael Aldridge, Leonard's best friend and partner.

"So, what's the deal with your assistant? She's been attached at your hip for what, three years?"

Then I heard a careless drawl laced with the smugness of too much champagne.

Leonard said, "Ava? Just a toy I'm bored with."

My blood ran cold.

"I'll just pawn her off to Mr. Walters for that prime piece of land in the Southside," he continued with a cold chuckle. "That creepy old bastard has had his eye on her for ages."

The room spun around me, and I barely managed to steady myself by clutching the doorframe.

The pregnancy test slipped from my trembling fingers and fell to the floor.

I was just a toy he had been bored with?

He wanted to pawn me off to John Walters for a piece of land?

Each word was a shard of ice driving straight into my heart.

In the past three years, I gave up everything as the Quinn heiress, enduring office gossip and whispers. I survived on bread with him, pulling all-nighters and charming his clients at boozy dinners.

I had nursed him when his stress-induced ulcers flared up and secretly used my family's connections to save him when his funding dried up.

After all my sacrifice and devotion, in his eyes, I was nothing more than a toy he had grown tired of.

He had no idea it was me, Eva Quinn, who had persuaded my father to make that crucial early investment in his company.

It was me who had discreetly removed the obstacles in his path to going public.

And it was me who had begged my father to propose this marriage alliance with him.

I wanted to surprise him to see the way his face would crack wide open with joy when he finally knew.

How poetic.

The door opened. Michael stepped out and froze when he saw me.

"Ava? When did you..."

Leonard emerged behind him, a slight frown creasing his brow. "What are you doing here?"

His tone held no guilt but the annoyance of being interrupted.

I bent down and retrieved the report from the floor, tucking it back into my purse. I swallowed the lump in my throat, my voice emerging surprisingly steady.

"Mr. Shaw, Mr. Walters is looking for you. He said he'd like to have a drink with me."

I looked him dead in the eye, searching for any flicker of shame. But there was nothing.

I only saw the same cold and calculating control I knew so well.

"Perfect," he said, striding toward me. He reached out to smooth the collar of my dress as intimately as usual. The familiar touch now made my stomach churn. "Go keep Mr. Walters company. I want that Southside land."

His fingers grazed my collarbone, but I nearly threw up.

"You know how to make him happy, don't you?" he whispered. His breath hit my ear, hissing like a snake. "Don't let me down, Ava."

In that instant, I knew we were over.

But a foolishly stubborn part of me still mourned those three years, so I wanted to give him one last chance.

"Leonard," I said, using his first name in private for the first time. "There's something I need to tell you. It's important."

He raised an eyebrow, surprised, but flicked a hand for Michael to give us space.

"What is it? I don't have much time."

I took a deep breath, pulled the report from my purse, and laid it on the table between us.

"I'm pregnant," I said flatly. "Eight weeks. With twins."

His face went rigid. His gaze darted from the paper to my face and back again. His face went rigid. A flicker of shock, then a shadow of doubt, and finally, something cold and unreadable settled deep in his gaze.

"Are you sure they're mine?" he finally asked coldly.

My heart finally shattered.

I bit out. "There's never been anyone else."

Sneering, he picked up the report, glanced at it, and deliberately tore it into pieces.

"Abort them," he demanded.

The two words were delivered so casually, yet they smashed the last fragile remnant of my hope.

"You know you're practically..." I began.

"So what?" he cut me off. "That's precisely why I can't take any chances. I need an heir with an impeccable bloodline. Only the Quinn heiress is fit to bear my children."

He reached out and caressed my cheek, but his eyes were merciless.

"You're just an assistant, Ava. Be a good girl and play nice with Mr. Walters, and I'll keep you around. Otherwise..."

His fingers tightened, his thumb digging into my jaw. "You know the consequences."

At that moment, I saw his true nature clearly.

He was a ruthless monster who would destroy anything for power. A complete bastard.

I nodded, forcing a smile. "Fine. Whatever you want."