Chapter 9
Nancy clutched her stomach, panicking, but the silicone bump had already slid down to her waist.
She snapped, grabbed a candleholder from the entryway, and launched it at Simon. “This is your fault! You made me fake the
pregnancy! Now it’s all ruined!”
Simon wasn’t quick enough–blood streamed from a cut on his forehead.
“Are you insane?!”
He wiped the blood off and lunged, hands tightening around her throat. “If you hadn’t pushed the fake baby idea, none of this
would’ve blown up!”
“Ghkk… let go…” Nancy scratched at his face, drawing blood. “You said… Heidi couldn’t have kids… told me to fake it… frame
her…”
A cold shiver hit me.
Three years–they’d been plotting this for three freaking years.
“Brilliant.”
Clark’s voice cut through the air. He leaned in the doorway, flipping a recorder like it was no big deal.
“This confession’s way clearer than any footage.”
He crossed the room, wrapped me in his arms. His eyes locked on Simon, icy and lethal.
Simon flinched like he got zapped. Nancy dropped to her knees, hacking up a storm.
“Mr. Johnston, it’s not what it looks like-‘
Simon spun to run. Two bodyguards slammed him down, face–first into the blood on the floor.
“A misunderstanding?” Clark’s voice was pure venom. “You broke into my apartment while I was gone. You really think a few
fake scars and a sob story would make me forget what you did to Heidi?”
Simon froze. His jaw twitched. Then his face twisted into something ugly.
“Heh. Drop the act, Clark. Heidi’s infertility’s real. You’re CEO–how long before you toss her too? Just like I did.”
Clark let out a sharp laugh, then kicked Simon hard. “Just ‘cause you’re a dog doesn’t mean the rest of us bark. You’re disgusting.
He shot the guards a look. They dragged Simon out, Nancy tossed right after him.
Once their whining disappeared, I glanced up. “Clark… what Simon said-”
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Chapter 9
+25 Bonus
He shook his head, eyes soft. “Don’t. I love you. Science is wild now. If we can’t have kids, we’ll adopt. I just want you safe.”
I crumpled into his chest, tears pouring. That lost sense of safety? It finally came back.
Clark moved me into his private villa.
Cleared his calendar. Changed my bandages himself. Fed me. Barely let me walk.
I pushed back once. He held my chin, kissed my forehead, and whispered,
“Heidi, I can’t stop thinking about how I didn’t come sooner… in our last life.”
That fear in his eyes? Shut me right up.
The doctor said it’d take at least a month for the whip marks to fade.
Clark had everything–paperwork, meetings–sent to the villa. He never left.
Some nights, I’d wake up to find him watching me, fingers tracing my face like he was scared I’d vanish.
“Clark…” I whispered.
He leaned down fast, hand warm on my cheek. “You hurting?”
I shook my head, grabbed his collar, and pulled him close.
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