Chapter 1

• EVE’S POV
• If someone had told me a year ago that my entire world would unravel at once, I would’ve laughed in their face.
• But now, I was living proof that the truth could shatter you harder than any lie.
• First, I found out that the people I’d called Mom and Dad my whole life were not my biological parents.
• Then, I was taken “home” to a family I’d never met—a cold mansion filled with marble floors, velvet walls, and a sister who greeted me with a smile that never reached her eyes.
• And just when I thought I could adapt—start fresh, rebuild something real—I made the worst mistake of my life.
• All it took was one night. One drink. One party. One blurred line.
• And now I was carrying a child whose father I couldn’t even remember clearly.
• The night it all happened was the night of Natasha’s 18th birthday—a grand celebration planned to perfection, hosted in an elite rooftop lounge that overlooked the city skyline.
• I didn’t want to go.
• In fact, I’d tried every possible excuse to stay in.
• “I’ve got a migraine,”
• “I have work tomorrow,”
• “I don’t fit in at those kinds of parties.”
• But Natasha just laughed and said.
• “Come on, sis! You’re part of the Edward family now. You have to start acting like it.”
• And Joel… Joel looked at me like I was an embarrassment. Like being seen with me was a chore.
• “Don’t make this difficult,” he’d muttered when I hesitated at the doorway.
• “It’s just one night.”
• Just one night.
• I wish I’d never stepped into that limousine.
• The party was overwhelming. Loud music, stronger drinks, strangers in shimmering clothes slurring sweet nothings and bitter gossip into each other’s ears.
• I stayed close to the corner, nursing a single glass of sparkling wine. Natasha was the center of attention, laughing with that high-pitched shriek I had come to despise.
• And Joel?
• Joel was nowhere to be found.
• Just then, Natasha handed me another drink.
• “Special mix. Just for the Edward sisters,” the server said with a wink.
• I hesitated, but Natasha was suddenly at my side.
• “Don’t be boring, Eve. Just sip it. You look like a statue.”
• I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I drank.
• And drank.
• And that’s when the world started to melt.
• The next thing I remembered clearly was stumbling through a hotel corridor. My shoes had disappeared, and my clutch was missing. The hallway spun around me like a carousel.
• Someone opened a door.
• Strong hands caught me as I tipped forward. A voice—low and unfamiliar—spoke to me, but the words tangled and twisted in my ears.
• I was led inside.
• I wanted to ask where Joel was. I wanted to leave. But my mouth felt heavy, like cotton.
• And then—darkness.
• When I woke the next morning, my body ached in ways that made my stomach turn. My head pounded with a blinding hangover. I sat up slowly, realizing I was naked beneath the sheets.
• There was no one beside me.
• Just the faint scent of cologne I didn’t recognize.
• I forced myself to gather my things and leave, still unable to recall what happened the night before. I told myself it was Joel. It had to be Joel.
• Who else could it have been?
• He’d seen me at the party. Maybe we slipped away together. Maybe the alcohol had blurred the lines, but he had taken responsibility.
• He had to.
• -----------
• Weeks passed.
• I avoided Joel, avoided Natasha, avoided mirrors. But something felt off in my body. I chalked it up to stress until I missed my period. Then a second.
• The test was positive.
• I stared at the result in disbelief.
• My hands trembled as I held the plastic stick in the bathroom of the Edward estate. My reflection in the mirror looked like a stranger.
• Pregnant.
• Seven weeks.
• Due in early spring.
• That night, I called Joel.
• I waited in silence after I told him. His voice was flat. No excitement. No comfort.
• “Are you sure it’s mine?”
• Those five words gutted me.
• He didn’t ask if I was okay. He didn’t offer to come over. All he said was that.
• I hung up.
• And for days after, I said nothing to anyone. I stayed locked in my room, hugging my pillow, crying until my eyes swelled shut.
• The Edward family was built on status and reputation. When they found out, they demanded a wedding—quick, clean, and discreet.
• But Joel… he never proposed.
• Never looked me in the eye.
• And Natasha watched everything with her arms folded and a smirk on her face, like a puppet master watching her show.