For a long while, I just sat there. The silence pressed in, thick and heavy, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioner and my own heartbeat.
My leg still ached from the fracture, and the bruise on my cheek burned where his hand had struck me earlier. Thankfully, my baby is still alive. Though, I don’t know how long I should keep the baby. Should I?
My mind drifted—back to where it all started.
I met Nathan because of our families. He was handsome, composed, the perfect image of a man any father would want for his daughter. I fell for him first, even when something in me felt he was too guarded, too unreadable. He wasn’t cruel then—just distant. But when he smiled, he could make the whole world fade. Eventually, he fell too—or so I thought.
Now, sitting here with the taste of betrayal still bitter on my tongue, I knew better. The man I loved never existed. The one he truly loved was Amber. My stepsister. The woman my father adored as if she were his own blood.
Maybe I should have listened to Reid. He warned me before the wedding. He said Nathan only married me to please our families. I didn’t want to believe him. I told myself he was just being protective.