Chapter 1

Ethan was finally mine, my husband.

The wedding night, it wasn't like our courtship, which had felt a little distant sometimes.

No, last night was passionate, almost fierce.

I touched my lips, still a little swollen. A small smile played on them.

He must really love me, I thought.

He wanted me.

Maybe he was just shy before, or busy with his hedge fund.

But last night, he showed me.

I lay in our huge bed in the penthouse, sunlight streaming in. Ethan was already gone, off to some early meeting.

A note on his pillow: "Morning, wife. See you tonight. E."

Simple, but it made my heart flutter.

I stretched, feeling a new kind of contentment. Our future felt bright.

I wanted a family, soon. I hoped he did too.

Weeks later, a persistent nausea had me reaching for a pregnancy test.

Two pink lines.

Not just one, but two tests confirmed it.

Twins. The doctor said so yesterday, a secret joy I hugged to myself.

I was ecstatic, my hand instinctively going to my flat stomach.

Our family was starting, faster than I'd dreamed.

I had to tell Ethan in person, see his face.

His secretary said he was at a private club, a "boys' thing" with his friends.

The "Wolf Pack," he called them. I didn't like them much, they always seemed so... predatory.

But today, nothing could dim my happiness.

I found the club, a sleek, exclusive place. The hostess looked surprised to see me but let me through when I said I was Mrs. Archer.

I heard their voices before I saw them, loud, boisterous, from a private room.

Ethan's laugh, then Tiffany's, his assistant. Her laugh was like tinkling glass, sharp and a little too bright.

I paused outside the slightly ajar door, wanting to surprise him.

Then I heard Tiffany's voice, clear and cutting.

"So, the bet stands? One hundred K from Ethan for each of you if she got knocked up on the wedding night?"

My blood ran cold. Bet?

One of the friends, I think it was Mark, slurred, "Best hundred grand I ever earned. She was out cold, didn't even stir."

Another, Jake, chuckled. "Yeah, like a doll. Ethan, you sure know how to pick 'em pliable."

My breath hitched. Out cold?

Ethan's voice, cool and amused. "Five guys serviced her. If she didn't get pregnant, it would be a waste of the bet. And my money."

My hand flew to my mouth, a silent scream trapped in my throat.

The room swam. Five guys?

Tiffany giggled. "Well, she's probably glowing, thinking it was all your amazing 'passion,' Ethan."

Then, her voice changed, silky, dangerous. She must have seen me.

"Oh, Sarah, darling. Come in. We were just talking about you."

She pushed the door open wider, her eyes gleaming with triumph.

Ethan looked up, his handsome face unreadable for a second, then morphing into a practiced smile.

The Wolf Pack grinned, their eyes like wolves indeed, sizing me up.

My joy, my precious secret, turned to ash in my mouth.

Twins. Conceived in... this.