23
When I came out, Nicolai was already dressed.
He took me to the hospital.
On the way, I kept replaying his confession. I had always thought Nicolai was in love with Chloe, and that I was just a convenient replacement who showed up after he’d been repeatedly rejected. That’s why I never talked about our feelings. And Nicolai, careful-
ly avoiding the topic, reinforced my belief. I thought we would just muddle through, and I was even prepared for us to split up when
Chloe came back.
Chapter 2
I avoided his gaze.
In the early morning, the air conditioning in the VIP room was frigid.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Payne. You’re pregnant.”
The nurse’s words hit both of us like a ton of bricks.
We had never planned on having a child.
2013
I remembered. The night Dillian tried to set me up. Nicolai had been like a madman. He hadn’t used protection, and I had forgotten
to take the pill afterward.
We stared at each other. The atmosphere was strangely silent.
The nurse laughed awkwardly. “For the first three months, be careful. No intercourse…”
She rattled off a list of instructions. I was still in a daze, but Nicolai was listening intently.
“Have the designers remodel two rooms into nurseries at home.”
Nicolai was already sending a voice message to his executive assistant. Then he looked up at me.
“Serena, do you think baby Payne will look like you or me? A boy or a girl? If it’s a boy, I’ll have to teach him about business from a young age, so he can avoid a lot of pitfalls when he grows up.”
The image of a miniature, stern–faced Nicolai signing documents in an office next to his father’s sent a shiver down my spine.
“A girl,” I interrupted.
Nicolai’s lips curved upwards slightly. “A little Serena would be adorable.”
My mind conjured up an image of a sweet little girl in a pink dress.
I glanced at Nicolai. This man was terrifyingly smart. In two sentences, he had pulled me into a fantasy about our child. Just mom- ents before, we were talking about divorce. Neither of us was ready to be a parent, yet in an instant, he had accepted his new role
and was guiding me to accept mine.
I lay in bed for a few minutes, thinking. Then I decided to have a serious talk with him.
“I will not tolerate cheating. That includes emotional cheating. If you fall for someone else during our marriage, our assets will be divided into three parts. The child stays with me. The child and I get two–thirds, you get one.”
Nicolai took a deep breath.
“Okay.”
I knew this didn’t mean much to him. He still had Payne Industries behind him. He could rebuild at any time.
