Audrey's POV.
The air conditioning in Roman's office was so cold it felt deliberate, like the room wasn't meant for comfort but for preservation.
I stood in front of his massive mahogany desk with my hands locked behind my back so he wouldn't see them trembling. My fingers were shaking badly enough that I had to press them together just to keep them still.
Roman didn't look up.
He continued signing the stack of documents in front of him, the slow scratch of his fountain pen the only sound filling the enormous office.
For a moment, I wondered if he had heard me come in at all.
My throat felt dry.
"I'm pregnant, Roman."
I had practiced those words all morning. In the mirror. In whispers. In the cab ride here.
But now, standing in front of him, they came out smaller than I intended.
Almost fragile.
The scratching sound stopped.
Roman didn't react immediately. He didn't freeze or jerk in surprise the way most people would.
Instead, he simply placed the pen down with careful precision before leaning back in his chair.
Only then did he look at me.
His dark eyes settled on me with the same detached focus he used when examining numbers on a balance sheet. Calculating. Waiting for the equation to make sense.
"Excuse me?" he said quietly.
There was no anger in his voice.
But the quietness was worse.
"I found out today," I said, forcing my voice not to shake. "It's yours. It happened… that night. I thought you should know."
Silence filled the room.
Roman studied me as if I were a puzzle that refused to fit into place.
"You vanish for two months, Audrey," he said slowly. "You signed the NDA. You accepted the payout I gave you. Enough money to change someone's life."
His gaze hardened.
"And now you return with this story?"
"I didn't disappear," I said quickly. "I went back to my life. I didn't know about the pregnancy until today."
"You expect me to believe this child is mine?"
He didn't raise his voice when he asked the question.
If anything, it dropped lower.
"It wasn't a mistake," I whispered, shame burning across my face. "I haven't been with anyone else. You were the first… the only one."
Roman didn't laugh.
He didn't mock me.
He simply stared at me with a look so cold and certain that my stomach twisted.
Liar.
He didn't say the word aloud, but it hung between us anyway.
Roman leaned further back in his chair, his expression unreadable.
"I don't make mistakes, Audrey," he said quietly. "And I certainly don't leave loose ends."
"I'm not a loose end!" My voice cracked despite my effort to stay calm. "I'm pregnant."
"Impossible."
The word landed like a slammed door.
Roman stood from his chair and walked around the desk. His tall frame seemed even more imposing when he stopped a few feet away from me.
"I know for a fact that it is impossible," he said.
The certainty in his voice left no room for argument.
He didn't explain what he meant.
He didn't offer any proof.
He simply said it as if his word alone rewrote reality.
"I'm telling you the truth," I said desperately. "I don't know how to do this alone. I don't have the resources for a child. You do."
Roman let out a short laugh.
It wasn't amused.
"This isn't about resources," he said. "This is about leverage."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's what this is, isn't it? A shakedown."
"No!" I said immediately.
"I am getting married in one week," he continued calmly, as if my denial meant nothing. "My family's legacy depends on that marriage. My company depends on it."
His gaze turned sharp.
"I will not allow a drunken lapse in judgment—one that I already paid to erase—to destroy the future of my empire."
"I didn't come here to stop your wedding," I said, tears finally stinging my eyes. "I came because it's a baby, Roman."
My voice softened.
"Your baby."
Roman stepped closer until only a small distance remained between us.
He smelled expensive. Clean. Untouchable.
"If you are pregnant," he said slowly, "then I suggest you go find the man responsible."
His expression turned cold.
"Because it certainly isn't me."
My breath caught painfully.
"There is no one else!" I insisted. "How can you say that?"
"There is always someone else," he said with clear disgust.
"You have the money I gave you. Use it to track down the real father."
His voice turned colder.
"Or use it to fix your mistake."
"But—"
"But do not try to pin another man's bastard on me."
My heart felt like it stopped.
"It's not a bastard!" I cried. "It's your heir!"
Roman's face hardened even further.
"I want you to stop lying to me."
His voice held absolute finality.
"My responsibility is to my fiancée and to my empire. I don't have time for con artists."
Before I could speak again, he turned and pressed a button on the intercom.
"Ms. Price," he said calmly. "Please show our guest out."
My stomach dropped.
"And revoke her building clearance."
"Roman, please—"
"We're done here."
He had already turned away.
Roman walked back to his desk and sat down as if the conversation had already ended.
As if I had already disappeared.
The door opened a moment later.
His secretary stepped inside, her expression perfectly neutral as she gestured toward the hallway.
I looked at Roman one last time.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Just for a second.
Maybe he would look up again. Maybe he would hesitate.
Maybe he would show even the smallest hint of doubt.
But he didn't.
He simply picked up his pen and continued signing documents.
Like I had never been there at all.
*
The elevator ride down felt unreal.
I stared at my reflection in the mirrored walls.
My face looked pale.
My eyes looked frightened.
Small.
Powerless.
"Go find the real father."
Roman's words repeated in my head.
When the elevator doors opened, the noise of the city rushed in around me. Car horns. Voices. Traffic.
But it all sounded distant.
Like I was hearing it underwater.
My phone suddenly buzzed in my bag, making me jump.
I pulled it out, wiping the tears from my face.
The name on the screen made my stomach drop.
Trent.
My thumb hovered over the decline button.
Trent wasn't supposed to be back yet.
We had only been introduced to each other two days after that night with Roman. My uncle had arranged the meeting with suspicious urgency.
Two days later, Trent had flown overseas for business.
Before leaving, he had placed a diamond ring on my finger.
A contract disguised as an engagement.
This marriage wasn't about love.
It was my uncle's desperate attempt to merge our failing shipping company with Trent's family business.
I finally answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Audrey."
His voice was smooth.
Calm.
Dangerously calm.
"I'm back in the country," he said. "I thought I'd surprise everyone."
My stomach tightened.
"You're… back?"
"I'm at your uncle's house," he continued casually. "We're discussing the wedding date. Your uncle believes sooner is better."
My heart skipped.
"You're at the house right now?"
"Yes. Everyone is here."
A brief pause followed.
"Waiting for you."
Panic rushed through my chest.
"Is everything alright?" he asked. "You sound breathless."
"I'm fine," I lied quickly. "I'll be there soon."
The call ended.
The screen went dark.
Everyone is here.
My uncle.
My aunt.
Trent.
His entire family.
And Sasha.
Suddenly, a horrifying thought struck me.
In my rush to leave the house this morning, I had forgotten something.
The pregnancy test.
I had left it sitting on the bathroom sink.
I hadn't hidden it.
I hadn't wrapped it in tissue.
I had simply left it there.
And I shared that bathroom with Sasha.
My cousin.
The same cousin who had made it clear for years that she resented me living under her father's roof.
The same cousin who had wanted Trent for herself.
If she found that test…
I raised my hand desperately to flag a taxi.
The car pulled over.
"Highland Park," I said breathlessly as I climbed in. "Please drive fast."
The ride felt endless.
My heart pounded harder with every passing minute.
If my uncle discovered I was pregnant by another man, the engagement would collapse immediately.
The marriage agreement would fail.
And my uncle—who treated family members like pieces on a business board—would never forgive me for ruining his deal.
The taxi finally screeched to a stop outside the house.
I threw cash at the driver and ran toward the front door.
My hands shook as I fumbled with the keys.
When I burst inside, my chest was heaving.
The house was strangely quiet.
No voices.
No conversation.
Just silence.
I took a step forward.
And then I saw her.
Sasha stood in the middle of the sitting room like she had been waiting for this exact moment.
Between two perfectly manicured fingers, she held a small white plastic test strip.
My pregnancy test.
She lifted it slightly, like a judge presenting evidence.
Her lips curved into a slow smile.
But the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Audrey," she said sweetly.
"You're home."
Every person in the room turned to look at me.
My uncle.
My aunt.
Trent.
His entire family.
Sasha tilted her head and held the test higher so everyone could see it clearly.
Her voice carried easily through the silent room.
"It seems our dear cousin brought home a little secret."
She looked down at the test strip.
Then back at me.
"Two lines," she said softly.
Her smile widened.
"So tell us, Audrey."
Her eyes gleamed with pure satisfaction.
"Who is the father?"
The room fell completely silent.
And every single pair of eyes turned toward me.