Chapter 2

2.

Aiden wanted to drive me home in his Mercedes SUV.

But as soon as he opened the door, I saw it was filled with Claire’s things.

Thick maternity cushions were placed on the back of every seat. It was clear how much thought Aiden had put into it.

Claire walked past me and plopped herself into the passenger seat.

“Aiden spent a long time setting this all up. Just to make sure I was comfortable.” She lifted her chin at me. “There’s room in the back, if you want it.”

Aiden shot her a cold look. “Claire.”

But Claire wasn’t afraid of him. She whined, “Don’t use that tone with me. You’ll scare the baby.”

And Aiden actually fell for her pathetic act.

He nervously touched her stomach, his voice softening as he comforted her.

How could a three-month-old fetus be scared?

I watched their interaction in silence and quietly closed the car door.

In that moment, I suddenly didn’t want this baby anymore. This unwanted child.

Not long after I returned to our Beverly Hills mansion, Aiden rushed in, his brow furrowed.

“Look, you know Claire’s situation. Her family―you’ve seen what they’re like. I couldn’t just…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You can understand, right?”

That day, Claire had run to his Santa Monica office in tears.

She burst into his office, trembling, and threw herself into his arms.

Aiden carried her from the door to the sofa, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. I’m here.”

But before he could calm her down, Claire’s parents stormed in.

“Who is it? Tell us right now!”

Claire practically buried herself in his arms, too scared to move.

The Sullivans were a prominent family in Los Angeles’s conservative evangelical circle, her father a powerful pastor in Southern California. They were extremely strict with their only daughter, making her take a church purity pledge, homeschooling her until graduation, and even requiring a chaperone on dates.

Claire had never even had a serious boyfriend, and now she was pregnant.

Terrified, Claire blurted out that the child was his.

Aiden’s heart softened, and he actually agreed.

A look of pain crossed Aiden’s face as he tried to make me understand. “I panicked, okay? They were right there, she was terrified―”

I cut him off. “Why not just deal with it? The baby?”

Aiden couldn’t look at me, his voice faltering. “She wants to keep it. And if I have our baby first…” He paused. “She’s afraid her child will be called… you know.”

I laughed, tears streaming down my face.

I stared at him. “So my child can be the bastard?”

Aiden closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. But Claire begged me. I couldn’t just… I couldn’t leave her alone.”