Chapter 2

From inside the study came a woman's voice, soft and gentle. "Charles, Emily's seven months along now, less than three months to go.

"When the time comes, do you want her to deliver naturally or go with a C-section?"

I went rigid at the door. I knew that voice all too well.

It was Olivia Shaw, the fiancée of Charles' younger brother, Andrew Grant.

Two years ago, Andrew died in a car accident, and Charles brought Olivia back to the Grant family, insisting that she had nowhere else to go and that the Grants couldn't turn their backs on her.

I had felt nothing but pity for her. I fixed up her room myself and took her to therapy appointments.

Afraid that the sight of Andrew's belongings might bring back too much pain, I had carefully packed away every last item of his in Grant Manor with my own hands.

Never once did it cross my mind that she and Charles had children together and that those children were inside me.

The little girl in my womb suddenly grew animated. 'Mommy! That's Mommy's voice.'

Another one got just as excited. 'Mommy's here. She must want to feel us.'

'That woman's blocking her. So annoying.'

I pressed my hand against the wall and slowly sank down into a crouch.

Olivia's voice drifted out from inside the room. "I've done my research. Natural delivery with triplets carries way too many risks.

"But a C-section takes a toll on the body too, and Emily's never had much of a tolerance for pain. Don't you think she'll blame you for it?"

Charles replied, "She won't have a say."

One of the friends laughed and cut in. "What's wrong with natural delivery? I hear women are a lot more manageable after giving birth. One good round of pain and they learn to behave."

Another voice, even more vulgar, chimed in. "But let's be real. Emily's been used up by God knows how many men by now. Charles has got to find that disgusting."

A chair scraped back, and Charles' voice dropped, turning colder. "C-section. There is no way my children are coming out of her that way."

My teeth ground together so hard my jaw ached.

Five years ago, when Charles was taken by kidnappers, I walked into that den with the Grant family's ledgers and seal to trade for his release.

They held me for three days and three nights.

By the time I was rescued, there wasn't a single inch of my body that wasn't bruised or torn.

Everyone said I had been violated, and photographs spread across the city like wildfire.

I grabbed Charles by the sleeve and begged him to believe me that those men had never touched me that way.

He knelt by my hospital bed, held me in his arms, and said he believed me.

"Emily," he told me, "I will never betray you, not as long as I live."

What I never told him was that I had lost a baby during those three days.

That had been my first pregnancy, and he never knew.

I couldn't bring myself to tell him. I was too afraid of the guilt that would eat him alive, afraid of watching him fall apart because of me.

It turned out, though, that all these years, I was the only one who had been falling apart.

I steadied myself against the wall and was just about to turn and walk away when the study door swung open from inside.

Olivia stepped out with a glass of warm water in her hand. The smile on her face froze for the briefest moment the instant she caught sight of me.

Then, in that same gentle tone, she spoke. "Emily, how long have you been standing out here?"

Charles was seated behind the desk, and the way his eyes landed on me reminded me of how a person might look at a piece of clothing that had been stained. "What exactly did you hear?"

I met his gaze. "What did you want me to hear?"

The laughter in the room died on the spot.

One of the men rubbed his nose, while another picked up his wine glass and pretended to take a sip, avoiding eye contact.

Olivia walked over and reached for my arm. "Emily, you look awful. Are you having pain? Why don't you sit down?"

The instant her hand touched me, the little girl in my womb let out a delighted shriek. 'Mommy touched me!'

'Mommy smells so good, nothing like that woman, who reeks of medicine from head to toe.'

'Daddy, make Mommy touch us again!'

I yanked my arm away from Olivia with such force that the glass flew from her hand, hit the floor, and shattered, sending shards scattering across the tiles.

Olivia cried out in surprise. A thin gash had appeared across the back of her hand, welling up with blood.