The Shadow Wife's Secret Billionaire Baby

atmosphere in the penthouse. Serena Vance stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at the city that never slept. Manhattan was alive, a sprawling gri

levision in the living room was on, the volume low, casting a flickering blue light across the minimalist furniture that J

Ten. Nine. Eight. The crowd was screaming, their mouths open in joy, their br

he fee

y lit ballroom uptown. Serena recognized the chandeliers immediately. It was the Metropolitan Charity Gala. She had organized the initial guest list for that event three weeks ago

e was. Juli

giving the speech she had written

m that made her vision blur. The camera zoomed in. Julian was holding a black velvet box. Inside

scar-worthy. She was wearing the silver dress Serena had picked up from the stylist yesterday morn

umping into the island. The champa

ay he moved in the boardroom, the same way he moved in their bed. He pulled Victoria into his arms, and she buried her

it Serena so hard

ction of reality. Her stomach contracted viole

Her body heaved, expelling nothing but bitter acid and water. She retched until her throat burned and tears leaked from t

ng on the heated tile floor. The silence

lock beeped once, a cheerful, high-pit

hardwood floor of the ha

. She grabbed a towel and scrubbed her skin, trying to erase the redness, the evidence of her

om door pu

und his collar. His tuxedo jacket was draped over one arm. He looked imp

He didn't look apolog

ked. His voice was de

p her hands from shaking. She didn't turn

eded medicine. He walked past the bathroom door toward

he said. "C

her throat. He had just proposed to another woman in front of the entire world, and n

was this woman? The shadows under her eyes were dark b

away the feeling of dirt that seemed to coat her insides. She brush

sitting up in bed, his laptop open on his knees. The blue light illuminated t

on the edge of the mattress.

d. He reached out and grabbed her wrist. His fingers

uscles locked up, a ref

t her then, really looked

he said. His voice dropped an oct

or five years ago to pay for her mother's legal defense. She was the sha

nt. Tonight, he had put

he energy to fight him. Not yet. She let

demanding, and utterly devoid of intimacy. He kissed her as if trying to scrub the night's public pe

rf

shirt, but Serena smelled it. It was floral

side of her cheek to k

at the ceiling, counting the recessed lights. One. Two. Three. She focused

l efficiency that confirmed her worst fear: she wasn't a lover to him, nor a wife. She

hold her. He didn't say goodnight. Within minutes, his br

domen cramped again, a low, dull ache that felt

ed, her bare feet silent on the carpet. She grabbed her purse from

ould open it. It was a pregnancy test she had bought three days ago. S

he toilet and waited. Three mi

ed up th

ink l

but they were t

ounter. The screen lit up

ment of the Century.

ine. Then she looked at th

r throat, sounding more

d it at the bottom of the trash can. She washed her hand

was a liability. And the thing growi