CHAPTER 1
PROLOGUE
"I don't… I'm not in love with you."
"You're carrying my baby."
"Jack, we can figure something out. But we can't be together. You're…"
"What? Not the man you pictured in your little romance fantasy?"
He was pushing it.
"Well, since you put it that way, yes. You're old enough to be my father… and this baby's grandfather."
Jackson exhaled and slowly removed his glasses. His expression shifted, no longer sharp, but wounded, defeated.
"That's not the reason, though," he said softly. "It's him, isn't it? You're in love with him."
"Jack…"
"No, talk to me, Gia. Remember how you screamed my name that night? How you begged me to f*ck you against the hotel window so the whole city could watch? God, I can't get that night out of my head. But it was so easy for you to disappear, and turn your back, even knowing you're carrying my child."
He stepped closer, voice lowering. "It's because your heart already belonged to someone else."
"I'm not trying to fight," I whispered. "I want peace for the baby."
"Ah, Gia," he said with a bittersweet smile. "You're the most wanting-est woman I've ever met."
I swallowed hard. "I'm going away… With Rio."
"No!" he snapped. "No. He doesn't get to raise my child."
His hand gripped my arm gently, pulling me close. "Why him, Gia? Why would you choose my son over me?"
His voice cracked, not with anger, but with despair.
"You're marrying my mother, Jack," I said. "And I'm pregnant with your baby."
"Pardon?"
The icy voice behind us froze me in place.
I didn't need to turn to know who it was.
Jack's grip tightened, but my knees were already giving out.
I turned slowly, and Celeste stood in the doorway, her face a porcelain mask of shock and fury.
"Mum…" I took a trembling step toward her, instinctively wrapping my arms around my stomach. "Please, I can explain…"
Crack.
Her palm collided with my face, sharp and unforgiving.
"I had no idea I raised a sl*t!"