Chapter 97

"I just want the truth. Please, just tell me..." Her voice was barely more than a whisper, all the fight drained from her. Tears rolled down her cheeks and splattered onto his arm, one after another.

Steven's heart clenched. He hated seeing her like this. "The truth is... you're overthinking it. Cody is our son. You're his mother. Please, Lucie, don't do this to yourself."

That only made the ache in her chest worse. "You're still lying to me? Even now? Shannon's Cody's real mother, isn't she?"

Steven's eyebrows drew together in frustration. "No. I've told you a thousand times, I see Shannon as a sister. There's no way I would ever have a child with her."

"Then it must be someone else, right?" Lucie's eyes were red and wild as she stared him down, her whole body shaking with anger. She'd heard all the stories. Men with money always had secrets. Even broke guys couldn't resist fooling around if the chance came up, so with Steven's wealth, what was stopping him from having girls everywhere?

"Is that it? Is there someone else?"

Steven went silent, his jaw tight. His gaze darted away, and she could practically see him scrambling for another excuse.

That look said everything. Something inside Lucie froze. Her voice cracked as she choked out, "Steven, if you didn't want a child, I never would've forced you. If you hated me, I wouldn't have begged you to let me have your baby. But I can't accept this. I can't stand the thought that you used my body to give birth to your child with another woman. Why would you do that to me? Why?"

She lunged at him, fists twisting in his shirt, desperate and broken. Before they'd gotten married, her biggest fear had been that he'd still be tangled up with someone from his past, or that another woman would always be lurking in the background. She'd asked him over and over if there was anyone else, and every time he'd said no, he was too busy with work, too focused to have time for love.

Now she realized maybe that was true. A man like Steven didn't need romance or commitment. If he wanted a girl, he just had to look her way and she'd come running.

Steven's face was a mess of guilt and frustration. He grabbed her wrists gently, trying to ease her back onto the bed. "Lucie, you're upset. Please. Just calm down."

She clung to his shirt, refusing to let go. "Don't walk away. Tell me the truth. Tell me!"

He stood, clearly desperate to get

out of the room. As he tried to leave,

Lucie's grip and his movement dragged her off the bed. She hit the floor hard, her forehead slamming: against the wood. A dark bruise immediately started to swell.

She cried out, dizzy and dazed, unable to move.

Steven dropped to his knees, panic all over his face as he lifted her up. "Lucie, please, don't do this to yourself. Cody is our son. No one would ever dare question that."

He laid her back on the bed, not sure how to comfort her, his mind racing for anything to say. He'd already

for anywith a handful of lies-if

come up

she ever found out, he'd tell her his Sperm wasn't viable, or that her eggs had problems, and they'd had no choice but to use a donor.