The Engagement
I told myseld I didn't need him. Plenty of women raised children alone.
Strong women.
Independent women.
But the probem wasn't just the baby.
It was him.
Adrian wasn't just rich.
He was powerful.
Men like him didn't lose control.
And if he ever found...
A knock on my apartment door nearly made me jump out of my skin.
Nobody ever visited.
No one...not a single soul knows I exist.
My heart pounded as I walked toward it.
Another knock.
Slower.
Controlled.
I opened the door. And everything inside me stopped.
Before I could fully open my door, a strong mixture of perfumes hit me, making my morning sickness even worse.
He stood there in a charcoal suit, looking exactly the same as he had three months ago.
Sharp.
Untouchable.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
Behind him stood a woman in a designer dress - elegant and beautiful.
The very same woman I had seen on my TV screen a few minutes ago.
His fiancée.
Victoria Sinclair.
Her eyes swept over me like I was something stuck to the bottom of her designer heel - Louboutins, to be exact.
"Miss Isabella," he said calmly.
My name sounded different in his mouth.
Possessive.
"How do you know where I live?" I demanded.
"I make it my business to know....things." Of course he did. He stepped inside without waiting for permission.The air shifted instantly.
My tiny apartment felt even smaller with him in it.
"We need to talk," he said. My throat felt dry.
"There's nothing to talk about." His eyes dropped briefly to my stomach. And for a split second, something flickered there. It seemed he had emotions after all.
Calculation.
"You're pregnant." It wasn't a question. I felt Victoria soften behind him.
"You've been investigated thoroughly," he continued.
"You made a doctor's appointment at Vallé Manhattan Hospital. It's scheduled for tomorrow morning."
My stomach twisted, as he said those words.
"You have me investigated?"
"I protect my interests."
Interest.
That's what he called it.
"It's my baby," I said, forcing strenght into my voice.
Silence.
Then he stepped closer.
Too close.
"If it is mine," he said quietly, "then that child carries my name. My blood. My legacy."
Victoria finally spoke.
"This is ridiculous," she snapped. "She's obviously lying for money."
I felt something inside me harden.
"I don't want his money," I said. "I didn't even know who he was."
That made him pause.
For the first time, he truly looked at me.
Not as a liability.
As a woman.
"You should've told me," he said.
Yeah, right. Guess I should've dialed the number I never got!
"I didn't know how to."
Another silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous silence.
Then he said the words that made my world tilt.
"I want full custody." The room spun.
"You can't be serious."
"I am very serious."
"It's my body. My child."
"It's my heir." The way he said heir made it clear.
This wasn't about love.
This wasn't about responsibility.
This was about control.
And power.
And legacy.
"You will not take my baby," I whispered.
He leaned down slightly, his voice calm but lethal.
"Try to stop me."
And for the first time since that night, I realized something terrifying.
I hadn't made a mistake three months ago.
I had started a war.