Chapter 19
Millicent’s POV
It was late. The lights were dim, casting long shadows across the room.
I sat on the cold living room floor, clutching a throw pillow, my face deathly pale, my forehead
slick with sweat.
I felt so sick it drained me completely, but no matter how much my body twisted and retched, nothing came out. I had taken my medicine. Drank the ginger tea. None of it helped.
The baby clawed at me from the inside like a little demon, sapping every ounce of strength I had
left.
I tried to push myself up using the edge of the couch, but my legs gave out. I slipped, slamming hard into the side of the coffee table.
The glass vase on top shattered, pieces flying everywhere–one jagged shard pierced the back of my hand. Blood ran down my wrist in slow, cruel drips.
“Goddamn it…” I hissed through clenched teeth.
My makeup was smeared, streaked with tears and sweat. I probably looked like a ghost crawling
out of hell.
Damn it. I hadn’t expected Slade to be so freaking heartless.
Being pregnant was already unbearable–nausea, insomnia, the emotional freefall–but this? The betrayal? It was like being kicked while I was already down. Like a stray left out in the cold.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I hurled a glass across the room. It exploded on the floor, water and shards flying in every direction, stinging my eyes.
“What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?!” I gasped, clutching my belly, my voice shaking. “I’m carrying his child, for god’s sake!”
I knew I should’ve never gone through with this pregnancy. ‘What the fuck was I thinking?!”
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
I thought maybe the maid was back. Or maybe Rowena came to give me another empty lecture in the name of “comfort.”
I wiped my face and pulled herself together.
When I opened the door, my breath caught.
It wasn’t who I expected. It was someone I thought I’d shaken off for good.
Shepherd Wyndham.
Blond, green–eyed, wearing his leather jacket–his smirk cold and sharp as a knife.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned like a viper. “Long time no see, sweetheart.”
I… I froze. I could feel cold sweat breaking out across my back.
“How–how did you find me?”
“You think crossing oceans, switching men, switching bellies was gonna keep me from you?”
Chapter 18
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8:04 pm DDDD
His voice curled into a laugh as he stepped right in. He sank into the couch and crossed one leg over the other. “I’ve been dreaming about that pretty little face for years.”
I tried to keep my composure. “You need to leave. This isn’t your place anymore.”
Shepherd scoffed. “You let me rot in jail, and then you escaped to play trophy wife to some billionaire? Now you want to act clean? Damn, Millicent. You’ve got guts.”
My voice trembled. “W–What do you want?”
His eyes darkened. “Simple. Five million dollars. Now. You give me the cash, I get lost. Otherwise, your precious Slade’s gonna hear everything–your little international rendezvous, every filthy secret.”
That made me feel like all the color drained my body.
“I… I don’t have that kind of money right now…” I backed away, my forehead drenched in colc sweat. “Don’t do anything stupid. The Slades won’t let anything happen to me-”
“You really believe they care about you?” he said, his head tilted. “Or is it just that thing you’re carrying?”
His eyes dropped to my belly. “What happens if that goes away? What are you left with?” “Don’t touch me!” I shouted in a panic, my arms shielding my belly.
Shepherd raised his hands like he was innocent. “Relax, baby. Just giving you a friendly reminde -karma’s real, and so is interest.”
I swallowed hard. “Give me some time. I’ll get the money. Just–promise you won’t hurt me. Or the baby.”
That son of a bitch grinned, clearly enjoying my desperation. “Deal!”
Then, he pulled out his phone and waved it at her. “But you’d better move fast. Otherwise, a certain someone might get to hear these little love notes I saved. You think your fiancé still wants a scandal–splattered heiress?”
As soon as the door shut behind me, I collapsed to the floor.
My hands instinctively wrapped around my belly… My lips were bloodless.
‘This baby–it’s my last chance! God… Oh, god, I can’t afford to lose!‘
Chapter 19
