Chapter 3

I didn't go back to my parents' house.

The last time I called off the engagement, five years ago, they had worried themselves sick over me.

After that, when Falcon became such a devoted husband, my parents couldn't stop telling everyone what a wonderful man I had married.

Telling them the truth now , I genuinely worried it would be too much for them to bear.

I checked into a hotel.

I had just finished showering when Falcon's mother, Bonnie, called.

When the call connected, she didn't greet me with her usual warmth. She got straight to the point.

"Lewis, Falcon told me everything. Where are you right now? We need to meet."

Half an hour later, I met Falcon's mother at the coffee shop in the hotel lobby.

She was dressed in a well-tailored blazer, her face flawlessly maintained, carrying the faint air of someone looking down from a height.

"Lewis, this is Falcon's fault. I'm apologizing on his behalf."

She slid a bank card across the table toward me.

"There's two hundred thousand dollars in there. Consider it compensation."

I looked at the card and felt a strange urge to laugh.

"And what exactly does this mean? You're paying me to keep quiet?"

Bonnie lifted her coffee and took a calm sip.

"You're a smart girl. Falcon is the only son in the Patterson family , he can't be without an heir."

"You and Falcon have been married five years, and you haven't been able to get pregnant. That worries me too, honestly."

"Anna is the Patterson heir. I can't allow her to grow up without a family."

My fingers clenched involuntarily, nails pressing hard into my palm.

So five years of not conceiving had become their justification , their righteous excuse , to welcome an illegitimate child into the fold.

What they didn't know was that the reason I hadn't gotten pregnant was because Falcon said he wanted more time for just the two of us.

"So what you're saying is , you want me to accept that child and stay married to Falcon?"

Bonnie exhaled softly.

"Falcon does love you. He promised me , if you're willing to accept Anna, he will never have any contact with Katherine again. You'd still be Falcon's wife. Anna would call you Mom. What's so bad about that?"

I looked at this woman , the woman I had called Mom for five years , and felt a chill settle over my entire body.

In their eyes, I was nothing more than a piece on their board, to be moved however they liked.

"I won't play mother to Falcon's illegitimate child. Please tell Falcon , Monday morning, nine o'clock, City Hall."

I turned and left.

As I reached the door, Bonnie called out from behind me, her voice cool: "Lewis, don't be so stubborn. After a divorce, who's going to want you? You're not getting any younger."

I ignored her and walked out into the night.

---

The next day, I went to work as usual.

The moment I got to my desk, my stomach lurched and I gagged a few times.

My coworker Prince handed me a cup of warm water with a concerned look.

"Lewis, you look terrible. Did you eat something bad?"

I shook my head, but a quiet unease was already taking root inside me.

During my lunch break, I slipped away to the hospital.

The moment I got my test results, my whole body went rigid.

Six weeks pregnant. Of all the times , I was carrying Falcon's child.

Looking at the tiny gestational sac on the ultrasound image, my tears fell without warning.

This baby had come at the worst possible time.

My phone rang. Falcon.

I declined the call and blocked his number.