James scoffed. “She was too drunk to even recognize me that night of her debut. Well, told her to drink before performing so that she won't have an anxiety attack. Besides, the disguise worked perfectly. The moment she told me she was pregnant, I knew I had to play along. If she found out the truth, she would’ve run. We know that. And for god's sake, I thought she didn't love me back then because she was chasing her dream to be a famous singer that's why I did it. At least, she couldn't run anymore if I impregnated her, right?"
I slapped a hand over my mouth, my body trembling. James. My fiancé. My supposed “protector.” He was my producer. The man who had raped me. Everything suddenly made sense—why he never questioned how I got pregnant, why he accepted it so easily. He had planned this from the start.
He once told me he wants to have a baby already but I couldn't risk my hard work in my music so I dosagreed.
My stomach twisted in disgust, but I forced myself to stay silent. With shaky hands, I pulled out my phone and took a few photos of them, needing proof of this conversation. But before I could do anything else, a familiar voice called out from behind me.
“Zoey?”
Kate. My body froze. I turned just in time to see the shock on her face. But it wasn’t just shock—it was disappointment. Her eyes darted to my phone, then back to me. And in that split second, I knew she had figured it out. I wasn’t blind.
“Zoey, what the hell are you doing?” she shouted, her voice loud enough to alert James and Andrew inside the office. Panic surged through me. Without thinking, I turned and ran.
“Get her!” I heard James’ furious voice behind me, followed by the sound of footsteps. I sprinted through the factory, weaving between workers and crates, my heart pounding. My legs burned as I pushed forward, but I didn’t stop—not until I reached the hill that overlooked the ocean. There was nowhere else to go.
I turned around, breathing heavily, as James, Kate, and Andrew caught up to me.
“You sick bastard,” I spat at James, my voice shaking. “You tricked me. You—”
“You were never supposed to find out,” he cut me off, his expression unreadable. “But now that you have… we’ll have to fix this.”