Chapter 1 She Had Mistaken Fantasy For Reality

In the exclusive VIP suite at Charm Club in Fladena, five remarkably attractive men occupied a secluded lounge. At the center sat a man whose looks easily outshone the rest. His head was tilted forward, his brows drawn tight, his expression heavy. He appeared thoroughly intoxicated.

"What's going on with Shawn? Why did he drink this much?" Erick George asked from the far-left end of the sofa. Of the five, he was the most simple-minded, and now he seemed oblivious to the tension in the air.

"Corrine's flight lands in Fladena tomorrow," Theo Adams replied. His face was gentle, almost delicate.

Erick let out a scoff. "She actually has the audacity to come back? Don't tell me Shawn still hasn't let her go and plans to start things up again. And what about his wife, Leyla?"

When Erick asked this question, no one answered. A sudden, heavy silence settled over the room.

After a long silence, Theo spoke again. "The truth is, Shawn hasn't moved on from Corrine in the last two years. If he had, he wouldn't have kept his marriage hidden from the public. And there's another thing."

He paused briefly before continuing, "His wife hasn't conceived in two years because he doesn't want her to give birth to the Cooper family's heir."

He had barely finished when a sharp crash sounded outside the door, followed by the frantic voice of a server. "I'm so sorry, ma'am! Are you hurt? Would you like to step into the restroom to change? Your clothes are completely wet. Ma'am? Ma'am!" The commotion gradually died down.

Erick exhaled slowly and shook his head. "Leyla is genuinely a good person. Why can't he just let Corrine go?"

"We should stay out of it, as this is his mess to sort out. I've got a business trip tomorrow; I have to leave now," Braeden Green said as he rose to his feet.

"We're leaving too. Erick, keep an eye on him," Theo said and then left with Gavin Edwards.

Within moments, the others had left. Only Erick remained, staring blankly at Shawn Cooper, who was slumped deep in a drunken haze.

...

Leyla Carter stumbled out of Charm Club in a hurry, nearly tripping more than once.

After putting some distance between herself and the club, she sank down against a set of stone steps along the roadside. Without caring that her dress was still damp from spilled wine, she leaned forward and vomited.

She retched for several minutes before the violent churning in her stomach began to ease.

She was pregnant; she had seen the test results that very morning.

Filled with excitement, she had come intending to tell Shawn the life-changing news. Instead, she had accidentally overheard every word of their conversation.

When the nausea subsided, she remained seated on the cold steps. Slowly, she placed both hands over her abdomen. It felt surreal to think that a tiny life had already taken root inside her.

Recently, she had barely been able to eat, feeling nauseous throughout the day. Assuming it was nothing more than a minor digestive problem, she scheduled a hospital appointment for reassurance. That was when she found out she was pregnant.

The test report was still tucked inside her purse, but how could she tell Shawn after realizing that he had never wanted her to conceive?

Two years earlier, she had arrived in Fladena with her grandfather, seeking medical care for him. During that time, they encountered Garrett Cooper, Shawn's grandfather.

The two men immediately recognized each other. They had once fought side by side in a war. At that time, Leyla's grandfather had saved Garrett's life. Overcome with emotion at the reunion, Garrett had broken down in tears.

By then, Leyla's grandfather's condition had deteriorated significantly, so he entrusted Leyla to Garrett and asked him to watch over her.

Bound by shared history and deep gratitude toward the comrade who had once saved his life, Garrett asked Leyla if she would be willing to marry Shawn.

Leyla recalled that Shawn was the boy she had secretly admired when they were both children. Without hesitation, she said yes.

Only afterward did she discover a painful truth: while she had long wished to marry him, Shawn had never wanted the same.

On the night of their wedding, he presented her with a prenuptial agreement. "Grandfather threatened to take his own life if I refused to marry you. I couldn't hurt him like that, so I can allow you to be my wife. But don't expect anything beyond that. In two years, we'll divorce."

The contract was explicit. Their marriage would last exactly two years. They were not to have children. When the divorce was finalized, the mansion they moved into after the wedding would legally become hers, along with an additional fifty million dollars.

It was in that moment that Leyla understood she had mistaken fantasy for reality.

After their wedding, they relocated to the estate Garrett had gifted them. Shawn valued his privacy and disliked interruptions, so Leyla took on every household responsibility herself without a servant's help.

She remained unemployed, spending most of her days alone in the mansion, waiting for him to return home. They had sex like any married couple, but it lacked warmth. Each time they were intimate, Shawn insisted she take emergency contraception afterward.

She had convinced herself that this pregnancy might change everything.

But standing outside the VIP suite and overhearing that conversation, she finally understood how naive she had been.

Her thoughts kept circling back to Corrine Evans, the woman they had mentioned, the one who had once been Shawn's love, the one who was returning to Fladena. And the two-year agreement that defined her marriage was nearing its end.

It dawned on her that, in the end, this child would only have her to rely on.

Leyla's phone suddenly beeped as her thoughts drifted aimlessly.

She glanced down at the screen only to see a message from Erick.

"Shawn is wasted. Come get him."