Chapter 20
Lea’s heart dropped. Panic crashed over her in an instant.
She clutched her belly, holding it like a lifeline.
The Peffer family wasn’t what it used to be. They were barely clinging to what little they had left one step away from total ruin. If she lost this baby, there’d be nothing left–no way she could keep her place as Mrs. Raines. Worse, she might even end up being handed over to that disgusting old pervert, left to be toyed with by someone who made her skin crawl.
Her face went deathly pale. In a blind rush, she grabbed her phone, fingers trembling as she tried to call Yvonne.
Yvonne cared about kids more than anything. If she knew Lea was pregnant, she’d do whatever it took to help her keep this child.
But before Lea could dial, the phone was kicked right out of her hand. He stood up, cold and furious, and used the tip of his shoe to lift her chin, forcing her to meet his icy gaze.
“Be smart and get rid of the baby. The divorce is done. Whether you agree or not doesn’t matter And don’t even think about trying anything funny.”
“When I find Emily, you’d better apologize and mean it. If she forgives you, maybe I’ll let you walk away from this. Maybe.”
He didn’t give her a chance to argue, not so much as a second to plead.
With him, she was always scrambling for scraps, always the one left begging.
Lea collapsed onto the floor, tears streaking down her cheeks, but she never let go of her belly.
If she could just keep this baby, maybe her world wouldn’t fall apart completely.
But Damon wasn’t going to let that happen.
He’d already done enough to hurt Emily. If this baby survived, there’d never be a chance for him and Emily again.
With a hard, cold look, Damon told the bodyguards to take Lea to the hospital.
She fought, she screamed, she begged them to stop, but the guards were too strong. They pinned her down on the cold operating table.
She felt the anesthesia flood her veins, her body going heavy and numb, eyelids fluttering shut no matter how hard she tried to stay awake.
When Lea finally woke up, her belly felt hollow. Empty. The only hope she’d had was gone.
As the drugs wore off, pain crashed through her, sharp and raw, making it impossible to even shift on the bed.
Tears spilled over, hot and endless.
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Chapter 20
The baby was gone. So was her future.
Damon, meanwhile, was back at the club he always ran to when he couldn’t deal with reality. He sat alone in a private booth, pouring glass after glass, chasing away the guilt that never really
left.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept through the night.
Emily’s presence in their home was fading, day by day. It was like she’d never even been there.
He couldn’t go back to that empty house. All he could do was run–run here, to his old habits, drowning himself in liquor.
“I’m sorry, Emily… Didn’t you always hate it when I drank? Why don’t you come out and stop me… Emily…”
A knock at the door cut through his drunken thoughts.
He ignored it. No one but a handful of friends even knew about this booth, and he hadn’t called any of them tonight. Whoever it was, they had the wrong room.
But the knocking kept going, relentless, until suddenly the door swung open.
“Get out-” he started, but the words died in his throat.
He stared, stunned, at the girl in the doorway, pushing in a cart loaded with drinks and snacks.
“Hi, did someone here order these?” she asked, her voice painfully familiar.
That voice hit him like a lightning bolt. His eyes burned.
“Em–Emily?”
