His Cruel Game, Her Broken Heart

I was about to marry Holden Dalton, the heir to a real estate empire. For three years, the world watched our fairy-tale romance: the poor art student who won the heart of a prince.

But on the eve of our wedding, I discovered the truth. Our entire relationship was a lie-a cruel, three-year-long "social experiment" he orchestrated to humiliate me for the amusement of his childhood sweetheart, Estella.

The truth came out after a car accident revealed I was three months pregnant. Heartbroken, I walked into a clinic alone and left our baby behind on a cold operating table.

But my pain was just part of their entertainment. They staged a fake kidnapping, and Holden chose to "save" Estella without hesitation, leaving me to be pushed off a cliff onto an airbag as his friends laughed.

At a charity gala for an arts center I had poured my soul into, he publicly gave all the credit to Estella, branding me a fraud. The resulting scandal caused my mentor to die from a heart attack.

Then, they sent a "condolence" cake to his funeral. In cheerful icing, it read: "Sorry for your loss! Another victim of the prank!" It was signed by both of them.

That was when the last piece of my heart turned to stone. I walked away from the grave, pulled out my phone, and made a call.

"Gael," I choked out, "I lost the bet. I'm ready to leave."

Chapter 1

New York' s elite were buzzing. Holden Dalton, the heir to the Dalton real estate empire, was getting married.

The city' s high society should have been celebrating, but instead, they were in shock. His fiancée wasn' t a fellow socialite.

She was Kenia Hayes, a struggling art student from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood.

For three years, Holden had paraded his love for her. He flew across the world on a private jet just to comfort her when she was homesick. He bought her a multi-million dollar private island for her birthday. He even cut a billion-dollar deal because the other party' s son made a rude comment about Kenia' s background.

Everyone believed it was a modern-day fairy tale. The poor girl who won the heart of a prince.

They thought they were watching the perfect love story unfold.

But on the eve of the most anticipated wedding of the decade, Kenia Hayes prepared three gifts for her beloved fiancé.

Her first gift was the wedding dress. She had spent three years designing it, pouring every ounce of her love and talent into the silk and lace. She carefully packed it and sent it to Estella Duncan, Holden' s childhood sweetheart.

Her second gift was for his grandmother, the Dalton family matriarch, Annabella Blake. It was an agreement to terminate the engagement, which Kenia signed without hesitation.

Her third gift was the most personal. She walked into a private clinic, alone, and lay down on a cold table. An hour later, she walked out, leaving behind a three-month-old pregnancy. The pregnancy had just developed a heartbeat.

Her love story was a lie. Her life for the past three years was a lie.

It was all just a game. A cruel, long-running "social experiment" Holden had started to humiliate her for Estella' s amusement.

The anesthesia was wearing off, and the doctor' s voice was a distant buzz in her ears.

"The procedure was successful. You need to rest and take care of yourself. Avoid cold water and heavy lifting."

Kenia felt a dull ache in her lower abdomen, a hollow emptiness that had nothing to do with the surgery.

Her phone vibrated on the bedside table. It was a message from Holden.

"Baby, are you still mad? Estella just got back, and I have to spend some time with her. I'll be home in a couple of days. I love you."

A bitter smile touched Kenia's lips. He had no idea. He hadn' t been home in weeks. He had no idea she had seen him with Estella last night, kissing her in the garden of their penthouse. He had no idea she' d been so devastated that she' d walked right into the path of a taxi.

He had no idea that the accident had revealed she was pregnant.

And he had no idea she had just ended it.

She typed back a simple, cheerful reply.

"Okay. Don't worry about me. Have fun!"

She pressed send, the lie tasting like ash in her mouth. She felt a tear escape and trace a cold path down her cheek.

She quickly wiped it away. She wouldn't cry for him anymore. Not after what she' d overheard.

After the car accident, the doctor had told her she was pregnant. For a fleeting moment, she had felt a surge of hope. A baby. Maybe a baby would make Holden finally stand up to his family, to Estella. Maybe it would make their love real.

But then she returned to the penthouse, her body aching, her heart full of a fragile hope. And she heard them. Holden and Estella, laughing in the living room.

"Wasn't it hilarious? The look on her face when you chose me," Estella' s voice dripped with poison.

"Of course I'd choose you, Stella. It was just a prank. Number 98," Holden had replied, his voice the same one that whispered "I love you" to Kenia every night.

A fake kidnapping. That' s what it was. Another one of their twisted games.

The hope inside Kenia shattered into a million tiny pieces. She realized then that the only way to end the game was to leave the board entirely. The baby couldn't be born into this world of lies and cruelty. It deserved better. She deserved better.

So she made her appointments. The lawyer. The clinic.

Now, it was done.

She got dressed slowly, every movement a painful reminder of her loss. She walked out of the clinic and into the cold New York air, feeling strangely light.

When she arrived back at the lavish penthouse Holden called their home, a maid deliberately splashed a bucket of cold water on the floor in front of her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Miss Hayes. I didn't see you there." The maid' s apology was laced with mockery. The other staff snickered behind their hands.

Kenia didn't react. She just walked through the puddle, the icy water seeping into her shoes. She felt a sharp cramp in her stomach, but her face remained a mask of indifference.

She clutched her flat belly. A fresh wave of grief washed over her, but she pushed it down.

The head butler, Mr. Thompson, stepped forward with a fake smile. "Miss Hayes, you're back. Mr. Dalton has been so worried."

"Where is he?" Kenia asked, her voice flat.

Thompson chuckled. "Miss Hayes, you've been with Mr. Dalton for three years. Don't you know where he is? He' s with Miss Duncan, of course. She' s the real lady of this house."

The staff's whispers followed her as she walked towards her room. They were all betting on how long she'd cling on, now that the "real" fiancée was back.

They thought she was a gold-digger who would never leave.

They were wrong.

She was going to disappear from their lives forever.

She went to her room to pack her small suitcase. There wasn't much to take. Her life before Holden had been simple.

But when she opened her drawer, her passport and ID were gone.

She searched everywhere, her panic rising. She couldn't leave without them. She was trapped.

That night, a fever took hold of her. She tossed and turned in the massive bed, her body aching and her mind filled with nightmares.

Sometime after midnight, she was woken by voices outside her door. It was Holden and Estella.

"Holden, darling, are you sure we should do this? She just had that little accident," Estella said, her voice a syrupy sweet poison.

"It's the next prank, Stella. It's all set up. It' ll be the best one yet," Holden replied. His voice was low, intimate. "Don't worry. She' s tough."

Kenia' s blood ran cold. They were planning something else. Another humiliation.

She had to get out. Now.