Chapter 3
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The next day, the space beside me on the bed remained icy cold. I turned, touching my lower abdomen. The pain was gone. Then, my phone rang. Nancy Kaiser, Joshua’s mother.
“You’re done as PR Director. Come over now,” her voice was cold, domineering.
Fine. It was just a PR Director role anyway. I never really cared–this wasn’t even my main job to begin with.
I mumbled a reply. She hung up. Nancy’s disdain had been a constant since I married Joshua. I’d grown accustomed to it. The Farleys were, after all, the wealthiest of New York’s four prominent families. And despite my own family’s standing, I was an outcast, a pawn in a game far larger than myself.
Our marriage had been a deal, a transaction.
Five years ago, my mother, Alivia Garner, had killed my father in self–defense.
The Copelands sued, demanding the death penalty. The Garners, despite their own influence, abandoned Alivia. I fought for her, but both families turned on me. Desperate, my mentor suggested Joshua. The Garners and Copelands combined couldn’t touch the Farleys. And Joshua, a lawyer with an undefeated record, secured Alivia a five–year sentence. In exchange, our secret marriage.
According to Joshua, Kevin Farley’s birth parents had died in an accident. Kevin’s father had been a close friend, and Joshua had adopted him as an infant. Five years had passed. Alivia’s release was a month away.
Our marriage–a contract, devoid of emotion, dissolvable at will. We’d each received what we needed; no one had lost. Except me. I’d fallen for him.
Shaking off the melancholic reverie, I got up, heading for the bathroom. In the shower, the familiar discomfort returned to my lower abdomen. Panic tightened its grip. Joshua always used protection, except… that one night, a month ago, when he’d been drunk.
I’d taken the morning–after pill, but the lingering doubt gnawed at me. On my way to the Farley manor, I stopped at a pharmacy, a pregnancy test clutched tightly in my hand.
17:23
