I was supposed to surprise my boyfriend, Jayden, with the pregnancy test results today. Instead, a police officer called, saying I needed to bail him out. He’d been caught in a prostitution sting operation at a hotel.

Anger replaced my worry the moment I stepped into the police station. Jayden sat on a plastic bench, his shirt unbuttoned halfway down, revealing red marks on his chest.

His arm was wrapped tightly around Scarlet—the sister of his dead best friend. The sister he always claimed was "just family."

He hadn’t even told me he was with her.

"What took you so long to come?” Jayden’s voice cut through the room as he stood, jostling Scarlet, who clung to him like her life depended on it.

“Scarlet’s in pain,” he snapped, his gaze cutting into me.

My lips parted, the truth sitting heavy on the tip of my tongue. But I bit it back, forcing a calm I didn’t feel. “I was... doing something.”

Jayden scoffed, the sound cold and dismissive. “What something is that? More important than me and Scarlet?”

I stared at him, feeling the weight of his words settle over me like a lead blanket. There was no point in arguing, no need to ask for explanations. The evidence was staring me in the face. The red marks. The hotel sting. The too-close embrace.

I forced my feet to move, stepping toward the officer at the desk. “I’m here to post bail for Jayden Swift and Scarlet Carter,” I said quietly. My voice didn’t shake. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me falter.

Minutes later, they followed me outside, Jayden’s arm still protectively draped around Scarlet. She flinched when the cold air hit her, leaning further into him like a fragile bird.

The car was parked under a dim streetlight. I unlocked it and climbed into the driver’s seat, gripping the wheel tightly to stop my hands from trembling. Scarlet hesitated outside the car, biting her lip.

“I don’t want to sit in the back,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “It makes me... anxious without you.”

Jayden frowned, turning to me with a tone that brooked no argument. “Lilian, switch with her.”

“No,” I said, my voice firm. “This is my car. I’m your girlfriend. Isn’t it enough that I already bail you out, Jayden? Where is your money in the first place—”

“Lilian,” he cut me. “I don’t have time to argue. Can’t you see that Scarlet is not feeling well?”

Scarlet’s eyes immediately filled with fake tears. “I-I can’t sit in the back, Jayden,” she whimpered. “Please, I don’t want to be alone.”

“Lilian,” Jayden snapped, his frustration bubbling to the surface. “Be considerate for once. She’s still recovering—from her brother’s death, from this whole... mess at the hotel.”

My jaw tightened, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “Why were you even in a hotel with her, Jayden? What were you two doing?”

His face darkened, and for a moment, I thought he would answer me. But instead, he wrenched the door open and pulled me out of the driver’s seat with a grip that left no room for resistance.

“If you don’t want to move to the backseat,” he said, his voice ice-cold, “then just go take the bus.”

I stumbled backward, my breath catching as he guided Scarlet into the passenger seat. She slid in without a second glance at me, her tears already replaced with a faint, satisfied smile.

Jayden didn’t spare me a single look as he climbed into the driver’s seat. The door slammed shut, the sound echoing in the empty parking lot.

The car roared to life. I stood frozen as it pulled away, the tail lights disappearing into the distance.

And then I was alone.

“Are you absolutely sure about this, Lilian?” Professor Jones asked. His eyes met mine from across the cluttered desk, framed by stacks of research papers.

I nodded, trying to sound confident. “I’ve made up my mind.”

“This is a three-year commitment,” he reminded me, leaning back in his chair. “No contact with the outside world. No family. No friends. You’ll be completely isolated for the duration of the project. There’s no going back once you sign the agreement.”

“I know,” I said, keeping my tone firm.

“And another thing—” He hesitated, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “This is confidential research. The organization has strict policies. That includes... no pregnancies or children during the program. You’d have to terminate any pregnancy before joining.”

The words landed like a blow, but I refused to flinch. Instead, I gave a stiff nod. “Understood.”

Professor Jones studied me for a moment, then handed me the paperwork. “Think carefully before signing. This isn’t an easy path.”

As I left his office, the weight of his words settled over me. My chest tightened, but it wasn’t from his warnings. It was the realization that this project—this grueling, isolating project—felt like freedom.

Freedom from Jayden. Freedom from Scarlet.

At first, I had believed Jayden’s insistence that Scarlet was “like a sister” to him. After all, she was the sister of Scott, Jayden’s best friend who had died in a car accident. Jayden had been driving the night of the crash, and his guilt had tethered him to Scarlet ever since.

“She’s family,” he used to say. “She has no one else. It’s my responsibility.”

I had believed him. I had justified the time they spent together, the way he always prioritized her over me. But now, the memories of their closeness felt like shards of glass piercing through my chest.

The red marks on his body, the way they clung to each other at the police station, the lies he spun with such ease. It all added up to one truth—they had betrayed me.

By the time I reached my apartment, I had made my decision. I would join the research project. And I would no longer carry Jayden’s child.

The clinic was cold and sterile, the fluorescent lights making the walls seem even more impersonal. I sat on the examination table, clutching the edges as I waited for the doctor.

It wasn’t an easy choice, but it was the only one that made sense. Jayden didn’t deserve to be a father. Our child didn’t deserve to be tied to someone who had so blatantly disrespected their mother.

“Are you sure about this?” the doctor asked.

“Yes,” I said firmly, even as a lump formed in my throat.

The procedure was quick, but the aftermath lingered. Two days later, I was still resting in bed, my body aching and my heart hollow. I had told no one, not even Jayden.

The pregnancy test I had once clung to so tightly was now buried deep in the trash.

The shrill ring of my phone jolted me from my thoughts. I groaned, reaching for it on the nightstand. Jayden’s name flashed on the screen.

For a brief moment, hope flickered in my chest. Maybe he had noticed my absence. Maybe he was finally calling to check on me.

“Hello?” I answered, my voice still weak.

“Where are you?” Jayden’s tone was sharp, impatient.

“I’m at the lab,” I lied.

“Good. I need you to get groceries and come home right now,” he ordered. “Scarlet’s here, and she’s hungry. You need to cook dinner.”

I blinked, my chest tightening as his words sank in.

“And don’t take too long,” he added. “We’re starving.”

The line went dead.

The house was dark when I walked in. Jayden’s voice cut through the silence like a blade.

“Where’s the food? Scarlet’s starving.”

For the first time, I didn’t answer. I slipped off my shoes and headed toward the living room.

“Lilian!” His voice followed me, louder this time. “I’m talking to you. Where’s the food? What took you so long?”

I turned to face him, my chest tightening. “You won’t even ask where I’ve been for the last two days?”

Jayden blinked, confused. “Why would I? You’re an adult. I figured you were at the lab, working on one of your research projects. Why?”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “You really have no idea, do you?”

He frowned, his confusion giving way to irritation. “What are you saying?”

I shook my head, ignoring him as I turned toward the stairs.

“Don’t you walk away from me!” He stormed after me, grabbing my wrist. “How dare you turn your back on me? Where’s the food, Lilian? Cook something for Scarlet!”

I yanked my arm free. “Why would I? Isn’t she your sister? Your dearest? You cook for her.”

Before Jayden could respond, Scarlet appeared in the doorway, her face pale and her voice trembling. “It’s okay if Lilian thinks I’m a bother. I’ll just go back to my house and stay there.”

“No, you won’t,” Jayden said quickly, his tone softening as he turned to her. “You’re staying here, Scarlet. Don’t mind Lilian. She’s just being... grumpy.”

I bit back the wave of anger rising in my chest. “Do whatever you want,” I said flatly, turning and heading up the stairs.

Once in the bedroom, I pulled out my suitcase and began packing my things.

Jayden barged in moments later, his face a mix of confusion and frustration. “What are you doing?”

“Decluttering,” I said without looking at him. “I’m packing up things to donate. The house feels too small for three people now.”

Jayden’s frown deepened. “Then we should get a bigger house. That way Scarlet can fit in, too, once we get married.”

I froze, my hands gripping the edge of the suitcase. Slowly, I turned to face him. “Scarlet is going to live with us when we get married?”

“Of course,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I promised her brother I’d take care of her. This is her home now.”

I could only scoff, swallowing the surge of fury threatening to consume me. I forced a tight-lipped smile and nodded.

“Of course.”

After all, there wasn’t going to be a marriage.

Jayden walked over to the dresser, picking up one of my research journals. “By the way, do you have any money I could borrow for the company? Just a little to get us through this month since I bought something for Scarlet and so I’d been short..”

The audacity of his words left me speechless.

“You bought her what?” The disbelief in my voice.

“Just some gold and diamond for her birthday, but I’ll pay you. Come on, you have a lot. Can you just share?”

I scoffed. For Jayden, everything had always been about him. He assumed I had money because I was a medical researcher, good at my field. He thought his startup’s investors were drawn in by his charm and hard work.

He had no idea.

He didn’t know that the investors had been my doing. That my family’s name and quiet influence had kept his dream afloat. He didn’t know that I came from a wealthy family, one I had distanced myself from to live a normal life.

When I met Jayden, I thought I’d found a man with ambition, someone I could support without relying on my family’s wealth. I thought he loved me for who I was, not what I could offer him.

But now, I saw the truth. He had used me, just like he was using Scarlet’s tragedy to justify his betrayal.

I nodded absently, watching as he left the room, muttering something about calling a meeting.

The moment he was gone, I reached for my phone. My fingers trembled as I dialed a number I hadn’t called in months.

“Miss Lilian,” a familiar voice answered on the other end.

“It’s time,” I said, my voice cold and steady. “Start pulling the investors. Slowly, but surely. Make sure they withdraw their money from Jayden’s company.”

“Understood,” the staff member replied.