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Chapter 3
Jessie couldn’t listen anymore. She shut off her phone, her hands trembling, the silence around her
filled only by the quiet fall of tears.
So she had never brought Nelson peace. Not once.
She wiped at her face slowly, methodically–trying to collect herself.
She didn’t know who had sent that recording. And right now, she didn’t care.
Her hand moved to her abdomen, fingertips brushing lightly over her stomach.
Right.
She couldn’t give birth to his child.
She couldn’t let this child be born at all.
Her breath caught. Then she picked up her phone and made a call.
“Jessie? Is that you?” came a familiar voice.
“Eliot, is there any chance your hospital can add one more operation tomorrow morning?”
“What kind of operation? I’ll talk to the head of the department.”
“Induced abortion.”
Last night, after Nelson had left, he’d sent her only one message:
[Jessie, I’m not coming home tonight–had too much to drink. I’ll head straight to the office in the morning. See you tomorrow night.]
And yet this morning, the man who claimed to be at work… was here. At the hospital.
Jessie saw him from a distance–his arm protectively wrapped around Lila as they walked through the obstetrics wing.
The waiting area was crowded with pregnant women, but even through the cluster of patients and nurses, Jessie saw clearly:
Nelson was shielding Lila in a quiet corner, holding her close with the same fierce protectiveness he once reserved for Jessie.
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Lila looked up at him with a soft smile.
“Nelson, I’m fine. It’s just a check–up. Everyone here’s pregnant–you don’t have to panic.”
His voice was low, but strained with restraint.
“I told you to go to a private hospital. You insisted on coming here. There’s nothing good about this
place.”
Lila’s eyes dimmed, her smile fading.
“Nelson… I’m just the daughter of a housekeeper. I was never meant for a life like yours–or hers. Public hospitals are more affordable. I don’t want to waste your money.”
Nelson’s expression softened, pain flickering across his sharp features.
The way he looked at her… was full of tenderness.
“Jessie always demanded the most expensive, the rarest things money could buy,” Nelson said. “One of her handbags could pay your salary for ten years. She was never as thoughtful as you,” he added, his voice low as he held Lila close and pressed a kiss to her hair.
Just a few feet away, Jessie stood with her back to them her body rigid under a long coat, hat pulled low, face hidden behind a mask.
Considerate? The word cut like glass.
She remembered the night before their wedding, when Nelson transferred all of his holdings in the Voss Group into her name.
He’d looked at her and said with that charming smile:
“Jessie, I only buy you the most expensive, the newest. My princess deserves to be spoiled- nothing less.”
Now she stood here, in disguise, hearing him say the very same things to someone else.
She blinked back tears as his next words drifted across the hallway:
“The Rosemont estate was my parents‘–you’ll stay there for the final months. And that green diamond I won at the Montclair auction? I’ve had it set into a ring. Consider it your wedding band.”
Jessie’s long lashes fluttered, and suddenly her vision blurred.
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The green diamond from the Montclair auction.
She had once told Nelson the story of that exact gem–how green diamonds symbolized
uniqueness, how rare and precious they were. She’d begged him for one, years ago, swearing it
meant forever.
And now… he was giving it to someone else.
“Do you think Ms. Hale will like the bag I picked out for her?” Lila asked gently.
“Of course she will,” Nelson replied. “You spent three hours choosing it. I appreciate you going through the trouble.”
Lila rested her hand on her belly, her voice soft, her expression carefully mournful.
“Jessie is, after all, going to raise my child. She’s the baby’s legal mother. I want her to like me for the baby’s sake.”
Nelson’s eyes clouded, voice thick with emotion.
“Thank you, Lila. Thank you for being willing to give the baby to Jessie. With her as the official guardian, the child can rightfully inherit the Voss legacy. Everything I own will belong to the baby.”
Jessie stood frozen, barely able to breathe.
So that was it.
He had let Lila carry his child–not just out of lust, but because she, Jessie, had wanted a child so badly… he had given her one in the most twisted, heartbreaking way imaginable.
Step by step, Jessie walked down the long corridor toward the operating room.
She was halfway through changing into a surgical gown when her phone buzzed on the bench
beside her.
Nelson.
She hesitated, then picked up the call.
“Jessie, you’re awake? Still mad at me?”
“I’ve got ninety–nine roses on their way to the house–should be there any minute. And I ordered
breakfast from Walker’s, your favorite.”
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“Look, I know you want a baby so badly. I’ve already asked someone to reach out to a few adoption
agencies. If we find the right one, we’ll bring the baby home within the year. I’ll make you a mom, okay?”
Jessie’s voice was calm. Too calm.
“Sure. But I don’t want a child.”
She no longer wanted her child… let alone raise the one he had made with someone else.
On the other end of the line, Nelson’s voice finally softened.
“Come on, Jessie… be good. You’re my everything. Our seven–year anniversary is in three days. I’ve planned a surprise for you.”
Jessie hung up without replying.
She had a surprise for him, too.
Then she lay back on the cold, steel surface of the operating table.
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