The memories wouldn’t stop. They just kept coming, one after another, like they were trying to drown me.
My mom almost died giving birth to me. That’s what they always said. Like I owed them something just for existing. She never looked at me without that quiet resentment in her eyes.
And my dad… he loved her so much that he ended up hating me too.
Then they adopted Elizabeth.
And suddenly, the house had a sun.
Everything revolved around her.
I remember her school party. My parents showed up early, dressed like they were attending some big Hollywood event, smiling, laughing, taking photos with her like she was the only child they had.
My own school event was that same week. I waited at the gate until it got dark.
They never came.
I told myself they were busy. I kept telling myself that over and over.
Another time, Elizabeth tripped and scraped her knee. Just a small cut, barely bleeding, but my parents panicked like it was something serious. They stayed with her all night, comforting her, calling doctors, hovering over her like she’d break.
That same week, the driver forgot to pick me up from school.
I waited at the gate until it got dark. Everyone left. The guards were closing up. I started walking, didn’t even know where I was going.
A man followed me.
I remember his footsteps behind me, slow, getting closer. I started running, crying, my chest hurting so bad I thought I’d collapse right there on the road.
My teacher found me. She saw me running, pulled over, and rushed me into her car. She drove me home herself.
When we got there, the house was bright. Laughter inside. They didn’t even know I was missing.
I should’ve understood back then. I should’ve known no one was coming to save me.
I thought that would be my whole life.
Then the Cunberland banquet.
I didn’t even want to go. I knew I didn’t belong in those rooms full of billionaires and perfect people.
Elizabeth made sure I remembered that. She smiled sweetly right before she pushed me into the pool.
The water was freezing. My dress clung to me, heavy and embarrassing. When I climbed out, people were already laughing.
“Look at you,” she said, her voice soft but cruel. “You really are pathetic. No one wants you. Not even your own parents.”
I just stood there. Wet. Shaking. While everyone's laughing at me. Then Joaquin walked in like everything else didn’t matter.
He didn’t even hesitate. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around me, his hands steady, his face cold.
Then he looked at everyone else.
“Anyone else want to laugh?” he said quietly. “Go ahead. Try it.”
No one did.
Not a single sound.
And just like that… I felt seen. That was the moment I fell for him. He pursued me like I mattered. Like I was worth something.
After we got married, he gave me everything. The houses, the attention, the way he stayed close like he couldn’t stand being away from me.
But at night, he was different.
Even when I cried, even when I begged him to slow down, to give me a second, he just held me tighter and kept going like none of it mattered.
I told myself, this is love too, right?
Isn’t it? I thought he was the only person who ever wanted me.
But it turns out… He wanted something from me.
Three years ago, Elizabeth suddenly became “sick.”
They said she had a rare condition, something about her blood, something about needing a perfect match for a stem cell transplant.
I didn’t understand it back then. I just remembered sitting in that hospital room while doctors talked over my head.
“There’s only one way now,” one of them said. “If Miss Laureen Covington has a child, there’s a chance the baby could be a perfect genetic match.”
I didn’t think much of it at the time.
But now…
Was that the moment everything started? Was that when he decided to come for me? So all of it… the way he looked at me, the way he touched me, the way he made sure I got pregnant…
None of it was real?
I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
I stumbled back, my head spinning, and that’s when I heard Elizabeth’s voice just outside my hospital room.
She was on the phone. Laughing.
“Relax, I’m fine,” she said, almost bored. “There’s nothing wrong with me. The whole thing about needing fetal stem cells? Fake. I just wanted to watch Laureen panic. It’s more fun that way.”
My chest tightened so hard it hurt.
She kept talking, her voice lighter, almost playful.
“And Joaquin… he’s still convinced I was the girl he fell for that night. That’s why he’s so obsessed with me. It’s actually kind of funny.” She laughed softly. “He has no idea the one playing piano in the garden that night was Laureen.”
My fingers went cold.
What…?
“I’m not letting her take him,” Elizabeth said, her tone dropping, something darker slipping through. “Not now. Not ever. He’s mine.”
The call ended.
And I just stood there.
He thought it was her but it was me. And because of that mistake, I became the one he used.
I don’t even remember lifting my hand, but when I looked down, my phone was still recording. Every word. Every laugh.
Proof.
I don’t know how I made it to the doctor’s office. My legs felt numb, like they didn’t belong to me anymore.
“I want an abortion,” I said. My voice sounded rough, like it wasn’t mine.
The doctor froze. “Mrs. Cunberland… you’re already eights months along. This isn’t a small decision. Are you absolutely sure? Maybe you should think about it again.”
“I’ve thought about it,” I said quietly. “More than enough.”
He hesitated, clearly uncomfortable.
“But Mr. Cunberland made it very clear this child is extremely important,” he added carefully. “We can’t proceed without his approval. If you insist, he needs to sign the consent form himself.”
Of course he did. It was never my choice, was it? I closed my eyes for a second, then reached for the paper.
“Give it to me.” My fingers trembled as I took the consent form.
Then I turned and walked out.
…
As soon as I opened the door, I ran straight into him.
Joaquin.
He must’ve rushed over. He was still in his suit, perfect like always, like nothing in his world ever fell apart. But his face, there was something else there. Tension. Worry.
For me?
The second he saw me, he let out a breath and pulled me into his arms like he’d been holding it in the whole time.
“Where did you go?” he murmured against my hair, his hand sliding to the back of my neck, warm and familiar. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? You just disappeared like that! What if something happened to you?”
His voice was soft and almost scared.
It used to make me feel safe but now? It just hurt.
I slowly looked up at him. “Are you really scared something might happen to me?”
He frowned, like the question didn’t make sense, and brushed my cheek gently with his fingers.
“Of course I am,” he said, quieter this time. “Everyone knows you’re everything to me. And you’re carrying my child, how could I not be worried?”
My child.
The words hit me so hard I almost lost my balance.
My fingers tightened around the paper in my hand. Don’t react. Don’t break here. Not in front of him.
I lowered my gaze and handed it over. “I need to go for a checkup. They asked for your signature.”
He took it casually at first, but then his eyes paused on the page.
“What kind of checkup is this?”
My heart jumped.
I moved my hand quickly, covering the lower part of the paper, “Just… routine. Late pregnancy screening. They said it’s standard.”
He didn’t look convinced. He was about to read more when his phone vibrated.
A message popped up.
Elizabeth.
[Joaquin, I'm dizzy…]
I watched his face change right in front of me and just like that. All the focus he had on me was gone.
He didn’t even hesitate. He signed the paper quickly and shoved it back into my hands.
