Aida POV:
The words felt like physical blows. Each one landed hard. My mind reeled. He was threatening my mother. He would use her life. The realization hit me. It was a cold, hard fact.
A mirthless laugh tore from my throat. Tears streamed down my face. They were hot, bitter.
"I don' t want your money. I don' t want your arrangements. My mother' s treatment, every single cent, I earned it. I paid for it. Not you."
I looked at him. My voice was raw.
"I am not pregnant. I never was. I would never use a child to tie down a man who doesn' t love me. I have more self-respect than that. You are not that important to me."
His face twisted in anger. He stepped closer. His eyes were cold.
"You' re still lying. Still fighting. You think your empty words matter?"
He sneered.
"Remember three years ago? You were desperate. You were nothing. You think you' ve changed? You' re still the same calculating opportunist, trying to claw your way up."
Caroline put a hand on his arm. Her voice was a purr.
"Drake, dear, she' s just upset. She' s grasping at straws. We should just let her go. She' ll come to her senses eventually."
Drake looked at me. His eyes were full of disgust.
"Look at Caroline. She' s kind. She' s compassionate. You are a vile, manipulative woman. You are not fit to stand in her shadow."
His voice dripped with venom.
"You are despicable. Aida. Utterly despicable."
The crowd muttered. Their judgment was a heavy weight. Their words cut me.
"Shameless gold-digger."
"Pretending to be pregnant? How low can she go?"
"Poor Mr. McDonald, what he has to put up with."
I felt stripped bare. Exposed. Every word was a lash. My heart screamed. My lungs ached. I could not breathe. My vision blurred. I was choking on my own despair.
He just made a call, I realized, my blood turning to ice. One call to the doctor—and my mother's life is in his hands.
