"You’re my wife now," he murmured. "Start acting like it."

I let him kiss me.

And for the first time, I kissed him back.

The next morning, my body ached in ways I never thought possible.

But something else had changed.

The nausea came first.

Then the dizziness.

At first, I thought it was just stress.

But when the symptoms didn’t go away, I knew.

I drove myself to the doctor, sitting in a cold, sterile room as they ran the tests.

And when the doctor finally spoke, my world crumbled.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Trayson. You’re pregnant."

I stared at her, my mind blank.

Pregnant.

With Duke’s child.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

I stumbled out of the clinic, my breath coming in short gasps. My hands trembled as I grabbed my phone and called my father.

"I need an abortion," I whispered the second he picked up.

Silence. Then, his cold voice.

"That’s not an option, Mia."

Tears burned in my eyes. "Dad, I can’t—"

"You have to. Britney still has amnesia. The marriage needs to hold. And this child will make it stronger."

The line went dead.

I stood there, the weight of my fate crushing me.

I had lied my way into this marriage.

Now, I was trapped by it.

The weight of the doctor’s words clung to me like a suffocating fog.

Pregnant.

With Duke Trayson’s child.

My stomach twisted violently as I stumbled out of the clinic, my legs unsteady beneath me. The cold evening air did little to cool the heat rising in my chest, my fingers trembling as I reached for my phone. The moment my father answered, my voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.

"I need an abortion."

Silence.

A long, suffocating silence that made my throat tighten.

Then, my father spoke, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

"That’s not an option, Mia."

I gripped the phone tighter. "Dad, I can’t—"

"You will," he interrupted, his tone final. "Britney still has amnesia. The marriage needs to hold. And this child will make it stronger."

The line went dead.

I stood there, my entire body numb.

There was no way out.

For weeks, I buried the truth deep inside me, forcing myself to continue the charade. Every morning, I smiled at Duke over breakfast, ignoring the way his eyes studied me a little too closely. Every night, I tucked Lukas into bed, pretending I was his mother, pretending that my own life hadn’t spiraled into something unrecognizable.

But in the silence of my room, when the world was still and I was left alone with my thoughts, the panic crept in.