Chapter 1

The day I found out I was pregnant, the woman he could never forget came back.

I decided it was time to run.

When he found the pregnancy test I had intentionally left in the bathroom, I handed him a fake medical report I had prepared in advance.

"Don't get the wrong idea," I said, "I'm not pregnant. It's just HPV positive. You might want to get checked, too."

I was ready for him to end things right then and there.

But instead, he tore up the report I'd so carefully forged, his face darkening.

If you run, who else am I supposed to marry?

*****

I doubt anyone would believe me, but my father's kind of a legend.

He never married a day in his life, but somehow managed to collect six girlfriends like trophies and fathered enough children to start a football team, substitutes included.

I came seventh in the lineup, stuck right in the middle. I'm just another name in the list, too old to be doted on and too young to be taken seriously.

By all logic, I should've been invisible, just one of those kids no one notices, too average to stir up drama and too ordinary to spoil. But my face changed everything.

My mom was a low-tier celebrity back in the day, not exactly a household name, but no one could deny she was stunning.

As for me, I hit the genetic jackpot and got the best of both parents. I'm the kind of girl who can't walk through a mall without a talent scout chasing me down to ask if I've ever considered modeling.

Since elementary school, my desk's been buried under love notes and snacks. Word around campus was that if you lined up every guy who ever had a crush on me, they'd stretch hand-in-hand from downtown to the highway exit.

At one point, I actually wondered if there was a way to get them all to give up.

But before I could figure it out, life threw a curveball.

It wasn't some juicy scandal, not the kind you'd expect from someone with my face. Instead, my father's company crashed—a total financial meltdown.

To save his company, he came up with what he thought was a brilliant plan—have me date one of the most powerful men in the city, Zane Mercer.

The worst part? Zane actually liked what he saw.

One phone call from him, and a flood of funding poured in. Just like that, my father's company got a second chance at life.

My father was over the moon, and Zane seemed more than satisfied.

Me? I was the only one who couldn't find it in me to smile.

And now, something even worse than being handed off like a corporate bribe had happened.

I stared blankly at the pregnancy test, which showed two bold red lines. I dropped it into the trash as if it had burned my fingers and grabbed a handful of tissues, tossing them on top, as if covering it up could somehow make it disappear.

My heart thudded in my chest, loud and wild, like it was trying to claw its way up my throat.

This is bad. I'm pregnant.

What do I do? The four words looped endlessly in my mind, drowning out everything else.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the bathroom door.

Followed by a deep voice, smooth and annoyingly attractive, "Babe? Why'd you lock the door?"

It was Zane. His voice usually felt like music to my ears, but right now, it was the last thing I wanted to hear.

I cleared my throat and forced my voice to sound casual. "Oh, I'm just taking a shower."

After a beat, he added with that smooth, familiar drawl, "It's not like we haven't showered together before. Come on, let me in."

Committing to the act, I stripped, wrapped a towel around myself, took a steadying breath, and unlocked the door.

The second it opened, I barely caught a glimpse of his face before he pulled me straight into his arms.

He held me tightly, his chin resting lightly against the top of my head. That familiar mix of cologne and clean tobacco wrapped around me, warm and overwhelming.

Then he started babbling, as if he couldn't wait to get his explanation out. "Babe, that woman you saw outside the club? She was just an old classmate from middle school. She ran up calling my name, and I didn't recognize her at first, so I asked how she knew me. That's it. We never dated. Never even flirted."

He paused, then added more gently, like he was testing the waters. "I didn't say anything in the car because I wanted to see if you'd get jealous. Don't be mad, okay?"

I had no idea what he was going on about. My mind was in such a mess that I couldn't process anything.

"I'm not mad," I muttered, barely meaning it.

"You are," Zane said flatly. "You've been off since earlier."

Well, maybe that's because I found out I'm pregnant, and not because of some random woman you ran into outside a club.

Last month, for his birthday, he'd made a few… spirited requests. We barely stepped out of the bedroom for two days. And somewhere in the chaos, I completely forgot to take the morning-after pill.

A knot of panic twisted in my stomach, but I pushed it down and slid my arms around his neck, tilting my head up with a teasing smile. "Come on. You're totally overthinking this."

He looked down at me, eyes searching mine like he was trying to read between the lines.

I blinked up at him, putting on my most innocent-and-sweet face. "I swear, I'm fine."

But the frown between his brows didn't budge.

"You're not," Zane said again, stubborn as ever.

Since words weren't cutting it, I knew it was time to switch tactics.

I rose onto my toes, kissed him softly, and started unbuckling his belt with practiced ease, hoping to steer things away from the conversation he clearly wasn't ready to drop.

Just when I thought I'd successfully distracted him, Zane suddenly pulled away and even took a step back.

He looked at me, eyes shadowed with something I couldn't quite read, and asked quietly, "Chloe, why is it that every time you think I'm upset, or you're trying to dodge something, you always go straight to this?"

Then he turned and walked out, leaving me standing there wrapped in a towel, staring at the bathroom mirror like a fool.

I looked back at my reflection, quietly impressed by how flawless my skin looked without a trace of makeup. Even the towel seemed to know its job, accentuating all the right curves.

Honestly, I couldn't figure out what the problem was, or what on earth Zane's deal was today.