Chapter 1The day of my prenatal checkup, my husband dragged me into the abortion clinic.
"I've been seeing this college girl. She's pregnant. Already put her through hell—can't let her kid grow up a bastard."
I froze on that ultrasound table, voice shaking bad.
"So you're divorcing me? Marrying her?"
He wiped the gel off my stomach, smiling like nothing.
"Divorce you? Nah, just need you to take Sienna's baby. Get rid of yours. So you treat my kid right."
"Plus, where you gonna go? Your parents are dead."
He slid a surgery form in front of me.
"Just sign it. I promise—you'll always be my Mrs. Donovan. That's never changing."
I just stared at him.
Then turned and stumbled toward the OR.
"No thanks."
"Hope you can live with this, Bryce."
What he didn't know?
His sperm don't work. Never did. Shooting blanks.
And I'm the only woman alive who could've given him a real kid.
So congrats, sweetheart.
Enjoy being somebody else's baby daddy.
---
Three days later, first thing I hear when I wake up was like:
"Mr. Donovan, that was nuts. You had us abort her at eight months AND take out her whole uterus? She almost died. We almost didn't get her back."
Then Bryce's voice, totally calm:
"Told Sienna this is gonna be my only kid. The one with her. So Harper can't have any more. Done."
Opened my eyes. He was right there.
Didn't look sorry at all. Just fixed the blanket, sounded pissed like I was being annoying.
"So you heard. Whatever. Sienna said we can't adopt unless you literally can't get pregnant anymore. You were already getting the abortion anyway, so I just had them do both. Why make you do two surgeries?"
I started crying. Couldn't help it.
He wiped my cheek, almost laughing:
"Didn't think ripping your uterus out while you were pregnant would make you bleed that much. Good thing Sienna's expensive-ass doctors were here. They saved you. So really, thank her."
My whole body started shaking. I lifted my hand up, tried to slap him.
"Bryce, you're a fucking monster."
But I was too weak. Barely touched his face. Didn't do shit.
Then this tiny girl came flying over and smacked the hell out of me.
I hit the bed. Oxygen thing came off. Couldn't breathe.
Looked up—she's bawling, standing right there in front of Bryce, screaming:
"Don't you dare touch him! He's been out there for THREE DAYS! I'm the one bringing him food or he would've passed out by now!"
"That's MY man and you think you can just hit him?!"
I saw how Bryce looked at her. That look. Used to be mine.
When I drank so much at his work thing I ended up in the ER and lost our baby.
When loan sharks were about to cut his hand off and I got down on my knees. Begged till my head was bleeding, gave away the last thing my mom left me just to get him out of it.
I'd done so much for him. And now none of it meant shit compared to her tears.
Felt like my chest was getting ripped apart.
I pushed myself up. Looked at them standing there like they're in some fucking romance movie, and just laughed.
"So I'm supposed to thank you? For killing my baby, ripping my uterus out, almost killing me—but you stayed, so that's nice?"
Sienna's crying harder now, tears everywhere. Staring at me, shaking:
"Fine! My fault! All my fault! I'll fix it!"
Then she grabbed the knife by my bed, held it to her stomach:
"Want me to cut this baby out? I'll do it! Take my uterus too!"
Bryce jumped over, grabbed her hand. Knife cut his palm, blood dripping.
He looked at me. Eyes like ice.
"Happy now, Harper?"
Then picked her up careful and left. Didn't look back.
"Been too nice to you. Made you think you could do anything. Not anymore."
I watched him go. Smiled even though I'm crying.
The guy who said he'd protect me forever, that I'd never hurt again? He's gone.
Chapter 2
His security guy yanked my arm, pulled me up, shoved me out.
"Anything Mr. Donovan bought you? We're taking it back. Want this room? You gotta pay."
I just smiled.
"Don't want it. Don't want him either."
They grabbed my phone, my wallet, everything. Because Bryce bought all of it.
So I'm standing out on the street with nothing, trying to wave down a cab.
Every time someone pulled over, his guy would walk up and go:
"You really wanna mess with the CEO of Vanguard Industries? Yeah? Okay, let her in then."
And they'd take off.
One of the guards looked over at me—I could barely stand up—and he's like:
"Mr. Donovan says if you say sorry to Miss Blake and agree to look after her till the baby's born, he'll let me take you home."
I didn't say anything. Just turned around and started walking.
Blood's running down my legs, dripping on the pavement. People kept staring at me.
Didn't give a shit.
I just walked until the sun went down. Finally got to the house.
My fingers were freezing but I managed to punch in the code.
Beep. Incorrect password.
Tried again.
Beep. Incorrect.
Again.
Beep.
Finally, the housekeeper came stomping over, yanked the door open, glaring at me:
"Mrs. Donovan, stop. You're not getting in here till you say sorry to Mr. Donovan."
"He bought this house. No apology, no coming inside."
She looked me up and down. Made this gross snorting sound:
"Just say you're sorry already. You know how many women out there want what you got? You don't have any family, you're not that hot, you're like thirty-something, and now you can't even have kids..."
"The man's got another girl pregnant and he's still married to you. You're lucky as hell. Why do you gotta make shit so difficult?"
I cut her off.
"I'm not coming in. Just need to grab something."
She looked confused:
"He paid for everything you have. What's even yours?"
I stared right at her.
"My medical papers."
She rolled her eyes, went upstairs. Came back down and chucked an envelope at me.
I bent down and picked it up. Pulled the paper out.
Bryce Donovan—Azoospermia. Sterile.
From ten years back. The tests we did before we got married.
When I saw those results back then, I didn't know what the hell to tell him.
He was so full of himself, how was I supposed to say he couldn't have kids? That people would use it against him?
But the doctor told me something else that day.
My body was different. I could actually get his dead sperm to work somehow. Make it so I could get pregnant.
"Miss Carter, Mr. Donovan's lucky as hell to have you. I've only seen maybe one other person like this my entire career..."
I figured I'd just never tell him. Keep it to myself forever.
Guess I was wrong.
I grabbed whatever money I had left and got a ton of copies made.
Brought them to this courier place. Put a different name on each one—all his biggest competitors, their private info, everything.
Then looked at the delivery guy:
"Get these out fast. Tell them it's from Mrs. Donovan. They'll pay you good, trust me."
I smiled.
Bryce, consider this my goodbye present.
Hope you love it.
Chapter 3
I went to this tiny-ass studio in Brooklyn. The place we lived when we were just starting out.
Back then we had nothing. Lived in the worst part of town. Tiny. Moldy. Cockroaches everywhere.
But we were happy.
We were so poor all we could afford was instant ramen. Bryce would lie to my face, tell me he already stuffed himself at some work thing, then dump his whole bowl into mine.
Then I'd wake up in the middle of the night and see him standing at the sink, downing glass after glass of tap water just to feel less hungry.
We even got married in that apartment.
No wedding, no guests, nothing. Just some plain silver band he bought at a pawn shop for like eighty bucks.
That place meant everything to me.
Even after we moved to that Tribeca penthouse, I secretly bought the old studio, kept it, thought maybe one day when we were old we'd move back, start over.
Never thought I'd actually end up back there because everything fell apart.
I opened the door and froze.
Him and her on the couch. All over each other.
Wearing the matching pajamas I'd saved in the closet—the ones Bryce and I used to wear.
I couldn't think. Just stood there and the words came out:
"Bryce—what the hell? Why would you bring her HERE? You know what this place—"
Sienna didn't even let me finish. She hit herself in the face. Her cheek turned bright red.
Then threw herself in front of him, crying:
"Mrs. Donovan, I'm so sorry. I just wanted to see where he came from. I made him bring me here. If you're pissed, I'll get down on my knees right now, I'll say I'm sorry, just please stop hurting him."
Bryce looked at her like someone just stabbed her. Grabbed her face, kissed the spot she hit, then looked over at me and did this little head thing at his security guy.
The guy yanked my arm back and hit me. Again. And again.
My ears were ringing. Everything got blurry.
When they finally stopped I just fell.
Bryce just standing there looking down at me:
"Why do you keep pulling this shit, Harper? You just had major surgery. You should go home. What are you doing here starting drama?"
I could barely see his face. Blood and tears all mixed up:
"What home? You think I still have a home?"
"Why here, Bryce..."
"You could've fucked her anywhere. Why'd it have to be here?"
"You're thirty now, you're a piece of shit, fine, I don't care anymore. But this place? This was from before. Why'd you have to wreck that too?"
His face kind of twitched. Then he just looked pissed.
"I'M a piece of shit?! Harper, you'd still be living in some dump like this if it wasn't for me!"
"And guess what—I own this place. I bought it. So I can do whatever I want with it."
He started laughing, but it wasn't funny:
"Think I wreck it? Fine."
He snapped his fingers and his guys went around sticking explosives on the walls.
I'm just frozen there. My mouth barely worked:
"Bryce don't—"
He hit the button.
Whole building exploded. Fire shooting up everywhere.
Everything from before, all of it, the beginning of us—all gone.
I'm standing there crying, ash falling all around me.
Bryce looked over at me like he's bored:
"Harper. Seriously, how many times?"
"I gave you my last name, the penthouse, everything. You're carrying around purses that cost more than most people make in a year. What do you want?"
"You're thirty. That's not young. You think I'm gonna feel the same way about you I did ten years ago?"
"I'm keeping you around, I'm treating you right. Just ignore Sienna and the baby. That's literally all you have to do. How is that impossible?"
I looked right at him.
"Yeah. It is."
"Bryce, I want a divorce."
His whole face changed. He walked closer.
"Not happening."
"Even if I don't love you anymore, you're still the most important person to me. I'm not divorcing you."
"Harper, I never fucked you over. You know who got fucked? Sienna. Couldn't even put my name on her. She's been hiding in the shadows her whole life because of you."
"I was gonna let this go. But you keep pushing."
He spun around. Got down on one knee right there in front of Sienna. Pulled out a ring the size of my fist:
"Sienna. Wish I'd met you first."
"Can't marry you. Not legally. But I'm giving you the biggest wedding this city's ever seen. Everyone's gonna know you're mine."
She covered her mouth. Tears coming. But shook her head:
"I can't... I love you but I'm not gonna be called your side piece."
Then she looked dead at me:
"Unless Mrs. Donovan gets up at that wedding and tells everyone SHE'S the one who doesn't belong. That SHE'S the homewrecker."
