Fiancée's Secret Child

On the day of our engagement, as we were driving to the banquet hall, a man holding a few-month-old baby stepped in front of our car.

My first thought was that it was some kind of scam. I was about to get out and deal with him when I saw the panic on his face.

"Cassidy," he said desperately, "our baby won't stop crying. Do you think something's wrong?"

The moment she heard that, my fiancée shoved me out of the car. She took off with them without a single glance back.

I just stood there in shock.

So this was the truth. She'd been hiding a child with her ex all along.

Alone, I went to the banquet hall to handle what remained of our celebration.

Later, she called.

"I feel terrible about this," she said. "I thought if I gave him the baby and gave you the marriage, it would balance things out. But when Stanley showed up today, I realized—he's the only one I want."

I was done with her games. If that's how she felt, I'd walk away.

So I made a simple phone call. "Grandma, I'm coming home. I'm ready to run the family business now."

"Grandma, the engagement party's been canceled. Starting today, our family will no longer be working with the Milton family. I'll take some time to clear my head, then come home and take over the company."

"Alright," my grandmother said, her voice a mixture of relief and concern. "I will follow your lead. But Nate, calling off the engagement so suddenly—did Cassidy do something again?"

I stood there in the now-empty banquet hall, the last traces of warmth and celebration gone. Bitterness seeped into every corner of my chest, slow and unrelenting.

"It's nothing, Grandma. I'll handle it myself. I'll come see you in a few days."

I hung up quickly, before she could hear what I was trying to hide in my voice.

Lowering my gaze, I stared at the flash drive in my hand—the one the emcee had just passed to me.

It didn't hold the engagement video of Cassidy and me. It was something else entirely. Something that cut like a knife.

Cassidy Milton never liked being photographed. She used to say cameras made her feel trapped, like her freedom was being stolen. She rarely let me hold her hand, either. Said physical closeness made her feel confined.

But the flash drive held thousands of photos of her with another man.

They were laughing, embracing, kissing. Each image glowed with joy and tenderness.

The timestamps on the photos spanned six full years. Six years—the same length of time I had been with Cassidy.

While I was pushing through endless business dinners for her…

While I was signing contract after contract, wearing myself out for our future…

While I was out in the heat, in the cold, running around believing we were building something together…

She was wrapped in warmth and intimacy with someone else.

And the worst part? While I was drowning in negotiations, flipping days and nights for the sake of the branch office, she gave birth to his child.

No wonder she always found excuses to stop me from returning to Caselott City. She was afraid I'd uncover everything.

I let out a bitter laugh and went home to start packing.

Endo, the housekeeper, looked at me in confusion. "Sir, aren't you and Miss Milton getting engaged today? Where are you headed?"

"Our engagement's off," I said quietly. "From now on, we're strangers."

She was still speechless when laughter and voices floated up from downstairs.

Cassidy had come back.

It was already chilly in October. She had a man's coat draped over her shoulders, a baby in her arms.

Beside her, a man carried shopping bags full of baby supplies.

The three of them looked like a small family. Blissful. Complete.

I had never seen Cassidy like this before—so gentle, so relaxed. Something in my chest gave a small, sharp twist.

I couldn't help but glance at the man standing beside her.

I knew who he was.

Stanley Brighton—Cassidy's first love. He was also her upperclassman.

He had left the country during the hardest time in her family's life, when her father's business was barely staying afloat. After everything, they'd found their way back to each other.

She saw me then. There was a flicker of surprise in her eyes. Then her brows slowly drew together.