Chapter 1

Charlie stood in front of the cold marble vanity.

Her eyes were locked on the small plastic stick in her hand.

Two stark red lines.

Her breath hitched, trapping the air in her lungs. Her fingers trembled so violently that the pregnancy test slipped from her grasp.

It clattered against the edge of the porcelain sink.

She scrambled to catch it, the frantic movement causing a splash of cold water to soak the cuff of her silk pajama top.

She didn't care.

Charlie let out a shaky exhale. The rims of her eyes burned, but a smile broke through the tension on her face.

She pressed her free hand flat against her lower abdomen. It was still perfectly flat, but the warmth radiating from her palm felt like a lifeline.

A child. Kayson's child.

The heavy thud of the electronic lock disengaging echoed through the quiet penthouse.

Charlie's heart slammed against her ribs. He was home. After three months of being away on a business trip, Kayson was finally home. He had grown so distant, so suffocatingly cold over the past ninety days, barely answering her calls and treating their marriage like an expiring contract. But this changed everything. This tiny heartbeat was the miracle she needed. It would fix them. It had to.

Panic and joy collided in her chest. She shoved the pregnancy test into the hidden drawer beneath the sink, slamming it shut.

She turned and practically ran out of the bathroom, her bare feet silent against the hardwood floor of the hallway.

The living room was swallowed in shadows, the only light bleeding in from the Manhattan skyline beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Kayson Logan stood in the entryway.

He shrugged off his custom-tailored suit jacket, tossing it carelessly onto the back of the leather sofa.

Charlie stepped forward, forcing her racing heart to slow down. She painted a soft, welcoming smile on her lips.

"You're back," she breathed out.

She took another step, closing the distance between them.

Then, it hit her.

The scent wasn't his usual sharp cedar and bergamot. It was cloying. Sweet. Floral.

Chanel No. 5.

It clung to his crisp white shirt like a second skin. A scent that did not belong to her.

Charlie's smile froze. The muscles in her face went rigid, and the words she wanted to say dissolved into ash on her tongue.

Kayson turned to face her.

The dim light caught the sharp angles of his jaw. His dark eyes locked onto hers, but there was no warmth in them. Only a cold, restless aggression.

He didn't offer a greeting. He didn't ask how she had been.

He just closed the distance between them with long, predatory strides.

Charlie instinctively took a step back. Her spine collided with the freezing glass of the window.

Kayson's large hands clamped down on her waist. His grip was bruising. He lifted her slightly, crushing her body against his solid frame.

A gasp tore from Charlie's throat. She brought her hands up, pressing them flat against his hard chest, trying to push him away.

Her mind screamed a single thought: The baby.

Kayson's jaw tightened at her resistance. A flash of dark irritation crossed his features.

He dipped his head and crushed his mouth against hers.

It wasn't a kiss. It was a punishment.

His teeth scraped against her bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood. The metallic taste of copper flooded both their mouths, but he didn't stop.

Charlie squeezed her eyes shut, a sharp pain radiating through her skull. She whimpered, twisting her face away, but his hand moved to the back of her neck, holding her in place.

He gripped the collar of her silk pajama top and ripped it down the middle. The sound of tearing fabric was deafening in the quiet room.

He didn't carry her to the bedroom. He shoved her down onto the sofa.

Charlie bit down on the inside of her cheek until she tasted more blood. She gripped the edge of the leather cushion, her knuckles turning stark white.

She didn't fight back. She couldn't risk a violent struggle. She just lay there, absorbing the brutal, loveless impact, her mind detaching from her body to protect the tiny life growing inside her.

When the suffocating ordeal finally ended, Kayson pushed himself off her.

He didn't look back. He didn't offer a hand.

He walked straight toward the master bathroom. A minute later, the sound of running water echoed through the walls.

Charlie curled into a tight ball on the sofa. Her torn clothes hung off her shivering shoulders. Her muscles ached, and a hollow, sickening coldness spread from her chest to her fingertips.

Tears slid down her cheeks, soaking into the leather.

She forced herself to sit up, her limbs trembling. She needed her phone. She needed to know what time it was.

She reached out, her hand brushing against the suit jacket Kayson had thrown on the sofa earlier.

The movement dislodged something heavy from the inner pocket.

A thick stack of papers slid out, landing with a soft thud on the cashmere rug.

Charlie stared at it.

Her eyes focused on the bold, black letters printed across the top page.

Divorce Agreement.

The air vanished from the room. Her brain flatlined.

Her fingers, still shaking, reached out and picked up the document.

She flipped past the first page, her eyes scanning the dense legal jargon until they locked onto a specific clause regarding the financial settlement.

Compensation will be paid through the foundation under the name of Ms. Alyce Murray.

Alyce Murray.

The jagged pieces of reality slammed together. The three-month absence. The Chanel No. 5. The cold, punishing way he had just touched her.

Charlie closed her eyes. A violent shudder ripped through her spine.

She gripped the edges of the paper, her knuckles turning white, and crushed the document in her fists.