Chapter 1

The medical file slipped from my trembling fingers, scattering across Marcus's mahogany desk like fallen leaves.

"Vasectomy procedure completed successfully - March 15th, 2023."

My eight-month pregnant belly pressed against the edge of his desk as I stared at the damning words. The baby kicked hard, as if sensing my shock.

"Marcus had a vasectomy a year ago," I whispered to the empty office, my voice barely audible over the thundering of my heart.

But I was pregnant. Eight months pregnant with what I believed was his child.

The sound of approaching footsteps in the hallway made me frantically gather the papers. Marcus's voice drifted through the slightly open door, accompanied by his friend Ryan's familiar laugh.

"—the whole marriage was just perfect revenge for what she did to Sophie," Marcus was saying, his tone casual, almost amused.

I froze, my blood turning to ice.

"I still can't believe you actually married her just to get back at her for manipulating your sister," Ryan replied with a chuckle. "The look on her face when she realizes everything was fake will be priceless."

"She ruined Sophie's life by convincing her to go abroad," Marcus's voice grew colder. "Now it's time she paid the price."

My hand instinctively moved to my swollen belly. The baby inside me seemed to sense my distress, kicking violently against my ribs.

"So whose kid is it really?" Ryan asked with crude curiosity. "We've been taking bets, you know."

"Does it matter?" Marcus laughed, a sound that once made me feel loved but now felt like daggers. "The important thing is she believes it's mine. The devastation when she finds out the truth will be... exquisite."

The papers in my hand crumpled as my grip tightened. Every tender moment, every loving gesture, every promise of forever—all lies.

"When Sophie comes back next week, we'll finish this properly," Marcus continued. "Victoria will lose everything, just like Sophie did because of her."

I pressed my back against the wall, fighting waves of nausea that had nothing to do with pregnancy. The man I loved, the father I thought this baby had, had orchestrated my entire life as an elaborate game of revenge.

"The timing couldn't be more perfect," Ryan said. "Pregnant, vulnerable, completely dependent on you. She'll never see it coming."

Their voices grew fainter as they moved away, but their words echoed in my mind like a death sentence.

I looked down at my belly, at the life growing inside me that was now nothing but a pawn in Marcus's twisted game. The wedding ring on my finger suddenly felt like a shackle, heavy and suffocating.

"I'm so sorry, baby," I whispered to my unborn child, tears streaming down my face.

The sound of Marcus's voice grew fainter as he moved deeper into the building with his friends. But I couldn't bring myself to leave—not when there might be more to discover.

I pressed myself against the wall, my mind racing with a single, crystal-clear thought: if Marcus wanted to play games, I would show him what a real player looked like.

But first, I had to learn the rules of his game completely.

If this pregnancy was just another piece in his twisted scheme, then I needed to understand every move he planned to make.