Chapter 1

The moment the pregnancy test revealed two lines, Charles Rivers pushed open the door.

He was dressed in a perfectly pressed suit, and on his cuff was a family crest I had never seen before.

A woman stood just behind him, draped in a white couture gown with an emerald bracelet gleaming at her wrist, her smile as polished and composed as any magazine cover.

Charles set a set of keys on the dining table.

"Sophia," he said, "I'm heading back to take over the Rivers Group. And next Wednesday, I'll be getting engaged to Ms. Wynn."

The pregnancy test slipped out of my hand and clattered onto the floor.

The woman looked down at it, and her smile only grew wider. "So Ms. Rhine is expecting."

A flicker of something crossed Charles' face before he quickly stepped in front of her. "Vivian, I'll take care of this."

Then he turned to me, and when he spoke again, his voice had gone soft. "Sophia, I've bought you a beachfront villa. You can stay there and have the baby in peace, and once the child is born, I'll make sure you both want for nothing.

"I can give you everything except being my wife."

I looked him straight in the eye. "And what if I could give you a title too?"

For a moment, Charles went still.

Then he let out a quiet sigh. "Don't be difficult. You're just a girl I happened to meet in a small town."

But he had forgotten something.

Three years ago, the heir to the House of Rhine had disappeared, and the global media had turned the world upside down looking for her.

And I was that very princess they had spent three years hunting for, Sophia Rhine.

*****

Vivian Wynn sat on my old sofa as if she were settling into a dusty storage room.

Her gaze drifted around the room before stopping on the framed photograph hanging on the wall.

In the picture, Charles and I stood outside a small seaside diner, both wearing plain T-shirts.

That day, he had brought the wrong dish to a customer and got an absolute earful from the boss.

So I secretly slipped him a piece of candy.

And that night, he pressed me against the rocks by the shore and kissed me, his eyes burning so bright.

"Sophia," he said, "the first real money I ever make, I'm going to buy you the biggest house in the world."

And now he's made that money. But even though the house is meant for me, he's planning to marry another woman.

Vivian picked up the photograph and ran her fingertip over Charles' face. "Charles really had a hard time back then, didn't he?"

I reached over and took the picture back from her. "You're not welcome here."

She smiled slightly. "Ms. Rhine, I think you've misunderstood. I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here to make you an offer."

Charles frowned. "Vivian, go wait in the car."

But she didn't move.

"Mr. Edward Rivers has already agreed," she said. "After the engagement party next week, my family will be putting money into Rivers Group's Vellora division. Which means Charles can't afford any kind of scandal."

Her gaze drifted down to my stomach. "Least of all, some child of unknown origin with no claim to anything."

I picked up the bowl of soup from the table and threw it at her.

Vivian screamed as the hot liquid soaked the front of her dress.

Charles grabbed my wrist. "Sophia!"

His grip was tight enough to grind the bones in my wrist together.

I looked him straight in the eye. "She just insulted your own child, and you're yelling at me?"

For a moment, panic flickered across his face, and he let go immediately. "That's not what I meant."

Vivian stood up, her eyes red. "Charles, it's fine. I don't care about the dress. But what if someone from the board saw this? What would happen to Rivers Group then?"

Charles said nothing. And that silence was clearer than any answer he could have given me.

He picked up the car keys. "Sophia, pack your things tonight. I'll have someone take you to the villa in the morning."

I laughed. "Let me get this straight. You're going to hide me away?"

"It's quiet out there," he said. "Good for the baby."

"That's a pretty way to put it." I bent down, picked up the pregnancy test from the floor, and tucked it into the pocket of his suit jacket.

"Charles, on the day you get engaged, I'm going to give you a hell of a wedding present."

His face went dark. "Don't make me put someone on you."

I walked to the front door and pulled it open. "Get out."

Vivian paused at the threshold and looked back. "

"Ms. Rhine," she said, "on the day of the engagement party, Charles will be wearing the tie pin I gave him."

Her smile was soft, almost sweet. "That old tie you sewed for him? Do yourself a favor and don't embarrass yourself by pulling it out again."

Once the door closed behind them, I ran into the bedroom and opened the secret compartment in my nightstand.

The sapphire ring was still there. It was the heirloom that marked the heir to the House of Rhine.

I had just started to dial the emergency number when a pair of headlights flared outside the window.

Charles was standing downstairs, looking up at my window.

The phone signal cut out. A single line of text appeared on the screen: No Service.

*****

The next morning, four bodyguards in black knocked on my door.

The leader lowered his voice. "Ms. Rhine, Mr. Rivers would like you to move out."

My fingers tightened around the ring.

Downstairs, the demolition truck was already waiting at the entrance to the courtyard.