The Price Of Their Cruel Deceit

he crashed back into my life. He found me pregnant, living

scanning the home with pure greed. They cornered me, their faces twist

uestions turned to violence. They slapped me, shoved shard

letto heel into my stomach. Then Ka

the tiny, fluttering life inside me

's sterile," Kaden sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "The car accident ten years ago made su

ed through the estate gates. It was Angus. And they were about to learn t

pte

Whit

home-crashed open with a force that

e lock, the soft thud of his briefcase on the mahogany table. This was a violati

efree man who had left me at the altar was gone, replaced by someone thinner, harder, with an edge of d

oover. Her cat-like eyes, once filled with feigned friendship, now

adn't heard in three years. It held none of th

e toward him. The sudden movement sent a jolt of panic throug

ng?" I gasped, tr

dumb with me," he snarled, his eyes dropping to wh

to a smug smile. "She's not going to tell you, Kaden. Look at her. Living in your brother' s

ising with a frantic edge. "Three years. I haven't touched you. Haven't even

nce of him. To abandon me in the most public, humiliating way possible, to disappear without a word

a bitter laugh bubbling in

said, my voice dangerously low. "You think you

ng. "You're not fit to be a father to

w. His face contorted, a mixture of shock and rage. Che

voice dripping with fake sympathy. "After every

I shot back, my eyes still locked on Kaden. "Jus

been through hell, living on scraps, while you've been here, living like a queen in the Manning m

sudden, sharp jerk. "Was it fair when you, my supposed best friend, were sleeping with my fiancé behind my back? Was it fair when you filled his head

tchy, ugly red. The memory of her pathetic, t

. "Kaden, darling, listen to her. She's twis

ened, his brief moment of shock replaced by pure, unadulterat

avernous hall. My head snapped to the side, my ear ringing. Stars expl

nding over me. "This is a Manning house. My house. And y

e was spreading through my chest. The same look was in his eyes. The same cruel dismissal he'd given me

e years ago, in the aftermath of that spectacular humiliation, another man had stepped

n" for his ruthless acumen and cold demeanor. He had quietly taken my hand, shielded me

had fought for through years of doctors and quiet heartbreak, was hi

at child, I had to

king slightly, holding up a hand. "Ju

t. You got pregnant to try and lock down your position, to ste

etto heel clicked ominously on the marble floor. She grabbed a f

us would fall for it? Everyone knows about his accident. Everyone knows he can't hav

e believed her. Of course he did. He was a f

aged to say through clenched teeth, the pain in my

"Dorris was just angry. A piece of paper means no

is chest with a pathetic imitation of his brother's authority. "Which

a Manning," I stated, my voice ringing with a c

ffect I'd hoped for. Kaden's

"Don't you dare say that name

it's time you learned a lesson, Kalea. A les

again. Not a slap this time, but a clo

ripped through my abdomen. It was a pain so absolute, so a

g into a tight ball, my arms wrapped pr

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