Chapter 1The night before our wedding, I found out my warlord fiancé knocked up some other woman.
He was flipping through invitations like it was nothing. Then he dropped the bomb:
"Made a mistake when I was younger. Kid exists, so I gotta handle it. She had nowhere else to go—so yeah, she's at the estate. Her and the kid."
I froze.
When I finally spoke, my voice cracked. "What about us? So what the hell have we been doing for three years?"
"I fucked it up."
He lit a cigarette, his voice ice-cold. "Wedding's tomorrow. Your call."
My hand moved to my stomach.
I was pregnant. I'd planned to tell him tonight.
The truth slammed into me so hard I couldn't breathe. My chest felt like it was being crushed.
"Some girl I hooked up with before you. Down at the border." His voice was completely flat. "She's clueless. Got nowhere to go. So yeah, she's staying at the estate with the kid. Makes life easier."
I turned around slowly.
He stood there under the lights, sharp black suit fitting him like a weapon.
Same man I'd been crazy about for three years.
But his face? Stone cold. Made my blood run ice.
"So all those times you said you had 'business to handle'..."
"Went to see them." Zero hesitation. "Blackwood blood doesn't get left in the dirt. She's decent with the kid. Kid doesn't cause trouble."
Decent. Doesn't cause trouble.
Each word was a knife twisting deeper.
Three years.
So many nights.
He could've cut them loose anytime. Could've cut me loose.
But no—he chose door number three. Kept us both dangling like puppets on strings.
A sharp cramp hit low in my belly.
I pressed my hand there without thinking.
His eyes locked onto my hand. Frowned.
"You look like shit." He moved toward me, reaching for my face.
I jerked back hard—my back smacked into the cold marble.
"Don't you dare touch me."
His hand froze mid-air.
Then his encrypted phone started buzzing.
He glanced at it. Swiped to decline.
Buzzed again. Declined again.
Third time, he let out an annoyed breath and picked up.
A woman's voice spilled through—crying, heavy accent:
"Grayson... the baby's burning up... he keeps screaming for you... please just come..."
He pressed his fingers to his temples. "I'll get the doctor over there."
Hung up.
Looked at me. Softened his voice—barely.
"She panics over every little thing. Kid's fragile. Always some drama."
I didn't say anything. Just stared.
Three years of this exact scene.
His phone going off at all hours.
Me always being the cool girlfriend: "Go ahead, babe. Do your thing."
Turns out some of those late nights, those missed birthdays, those blown-off holidays—
He was playing daddy somewhere else.
A laugh ripped out of me. Tears poured down my face.
"Take me to meet them."
He went completely still.
Long, heavy silence.
Then my phone lit up. On speaker—blasting through the dead-quiet room:
【Mia honey! Your dad already sent out all the invitations! Everyone's saying Grayson Blackwood is THE catch—girl, you hit the jackpot!】
Chapter 2
That cheerful voice sliced right through me.
I swallowed the tears. 【Dad, I gotta go. Talk later!】
Hung up.
His cold voice cut through the silence.
"Invitations are out. Venue's locked in. Wedding photos are done." He paused. "I gave you the whole damn fairy tale."
I stared up at him. "So what—you think I should just smile and nod? Walk down the aisle like I don't know there's three people in this marriage?"
"I'm not forcing anything." He walked to the window, wouldn't even look at me. "I told you. Your choice."
"Just think it through first. Three years together. The life we planned. Your dad waiting to see you married. All your friends expecting the big day." His voice was so calm it made me sick. "You really wanna burn it all down... because of them?"
Because of them.
I wanted to scream. Wanted to laugh. Couldn't do either.
"They're not some problem you can manage, Grayson. That's your son. That's his mother. Real people with real lives."
He turned around. His face was a blank wall.
Like I was being dramatic over nothing.
"So what do you want from me?" His tone was flat. "Want me to pack them up tonight? Ship them somewhere you'll never have to think about them?"
My throat closed up.
My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
He made it sound like he was being reasonable.
"You're the only woman I want. I'll give you everything I've got."
Everything he's got.
Except the truth. Except a future that didn't have another woman and another kid lurking in the shadows.
I laughed—sharp and bitter.
"Get the hell out."
He froze. "Mia—"
"I SAID GET OUT!"
I grabbed the first thing I could reach—some heavy crystal vase—and launched it at his head.
He didn't move.
It clipped his temple. Blood welled up instantly.
"You're not thinking straight. Whatever you say right now, whatever you decide—you're gonna regret it."
"I'll come back later."
The door closed softly behind him.
I slid down the wall, legs giving out.
The hollow ache in my chest felt like it was being ripped wider with every breath.
Three years. Everything I believed in. Everything I thought we were building together—
All of it was a lie.
My phone buzzed. Uncle Roger from back home.
I took a shaky breath and picked up. "Uncle Roger?"
His voice was heavy. "Sweetheart, I know I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but I can't stand watching your dad pretend anymore. Mia... he's dying."
The world tilted.
"What... what are you talking about?"
"Stage four. Nothing the doctors can do. He didn't want you to know—didn't want you stressed with the baby coming. He's been holding on just to see you get married."
The phone slipped from my hand.
I crumbled.
Cried until my body had nothing left.
When I finally stopped shaking, I picked up my phone with numb fingers. Pressed Grayson's number.
It rang twice.
"Mia?"
I forced the words out, voice raw and hollow:
"The wedding's still on."
Chapter 3
When I saw Dad, I didn't tell him anything.
Just sat there like always. Listened to him go on about lucky wedding day rituals, what foods to eat after delivery, how to rest during recovery...
His voice had that warm, nagging tone. But underneath? It felt like he was saying goodbye.
I nodded along. Said "okay" and "I will."
Rubbed his shoulders. Helped sort through the dowry he'd been saving up for years.
Sunlight poured through the old living room windows. Just like any other afternoon.
But when I got up for water, I caught myself in the mirror—
Two days. Just two days. And I looked like I'd aged ten years.
Before the wedding, I told Grayson I wanted to meet them.
He said okay.
We drove out to some estate on the edge of town. Heavy security everywhere.
My stomach dropped.
This wasn't some "temporary arrangement." This was real.
At the gates, armed guards saluted. "Sir."
Inside, everything was sleek and expensive. Modern furniture. Designer everything.
This wasn't temporary. This was home.
Then I saw her.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs—young, pretty in an exotic way. But she looked terrified.
"Grayson..." Her voice was soft. Breathy. Thick accent.
He grunted.
Then his tone shifted. Annoyed. "Why are you barefoot again? I told you the floors are cold."
"I heard the car..." She bit her lip. Twisted her shirt. "I got worried..."
"This is Mia." He didn't explain who I was. Didn't introduce her either.
She glanced up. Gave me this timid little look. "Miss Mia... I'm Ayina."
Behind her, a teenage boy stood in the shadows. Thirteen or fourteen. Had Grayson's eyes. His jaw.
He stared at me. Cold as ice.
Grayson waved him over. "Eli, come here."
The kid walked over slowly. No expression. "Father."
Grayson turned to the housekeeper. "Mrs. Carter, get her slippers."
Ayina's eyes went wide. But she stayed frozen.
The housekeeper brought slippers. Grayson gestured for her to put them on.
I just stood there.
He'd took care of her. Like she lived here. Like this was her house.
It hit me like ice water.
Three years. All that warmth I'd built up? Gone.
His tone with her was irritated—like she was some burden. But the way he took care of her? Pure habit. Years of it.
The answer was obvious the second I walked in.
If I married him, I'd just be another fool in his game.
I sat for maybe three minutes. Then stood up. "I'm leaving."
He stood too. "I'll walk you out."
We passed through the hall. The estate manager stopped him about security.
Left me alone with her and the kid.
Maybe she didn't know. Maybe Grayson kept her in the dark too.
No point making it worse.
I turned to go.
But she stepped in front of me. Voice still soft—but with venom underneath.
"I heard your dad's been sending wedding invitations all over town..."
She let out this delicate little laugh.
"How embarrassing. Imagine being that clueless..." Her eyes went wide, fake-innocent. "Oh! You probably didn't know either, right? That you're just... well..."
She trailed off. Smiled sweetly.
"That you're the mistress?"
SLAP.
I didn't hold back.
Her head snapped to the side. Red handprint bloomed instantly. Tears welled up.
"You... you hit me?!"
I stepped closer. Looked her dead in the eye.
"Say one more word about my father—"
I leaned in.
"—and I'll make sure you regret it."
Footsteps behind me.
Grayson came running.
