me off from the world, yet the world's judgment still seeped in through every crack. I stared out the window, but the city

a lie. The heavy oak door swung open, and there he was, standing in the foyer as if waiting for a dutiful wife to return from an errand. Hi

voice soft, almost gentl

Every fiber of my being screamed for escape. I stopped by the grand window overloo

y in his tone. "But you have to understand. My career, our fut

t declared our future dead on live television, Andre. Y

ustration. "For the Senate! Don't you understand the stakes here? One scan

ls, hosted your fundraisers, smiled for every camera, and put my own dreams on hold for your ambition. I was y

ntually. We needed to get ahead of it. To spin it. To show strength and a new direction." He ran a

ing next to your mistress, parading her pregnancy, while your wife carries your child. Do you even hear yourself, Andre? What

face twisting. For a moment, a genuine flicker of pa

en boy of politics, knelt before me, his hands clasped. "Kyra, please. I love you

. Cold. Repulsive. The connection was severed. I p

l with a hint of his usual calculated charm. "It's auda

that always meant someone else got hur

have her baby. Then, once the election is over, once I'm firmly in the Senate, we announce that you've suffered a tragic miscarriage. And then, we '

to fake a miscarriage? And then pretend to adopt my own child?

. "Everyone agrees. My mother, my father, even... even your pa

en more interested in the Grimes name than in me. Now, for status, for pro

monstrous scheme?" I whispered, my voice thic

s is bigger than us, Kyra. Bigger than our personal feelings. This is about family leg

ure cracking. "Not a 'key player' in your sick, twisted game! This is about

te edge. "As the child of a United States Senator! A child of privilege!

ty, abort my motherhood, abort my dignity, all so your political narrative can

d, formal. "Don't be dramatic. This is a business decision.

but firm. "I don't underst

"A divorce? Kyra, don' t be foolish. That would be a disaster. For both of

ant anymore. I don't care about

you lose everything. Your name, your career, your reputation. You'll be a pariah. And that baby, your 'love child,' will have no father, no

ouse, trapped in this marriage, trapped in his web of deceit. My heart hammered against my ribs, a

hat shattered the tense silence. Andre' s grip loosened. H

And behind them, my adoptive parents, Harold and Susan Moore, looking pale and uneasy. And then I s

. Casey, dear, come in. This is your home now." She turned to me, her lips a thin, cruel line. "Kyra, dear,

ripped away. I was no longer a wife, a partner, a mother-to-be. I was an inco