"But I Denovon Rowland need a wife.”

Emily’s heart skipped.

“I don’t want to go on another blind date,” he said, voice steady and sure. “So if you’re willing…”

He leaned in slightly, lowering his tone just enough to make her feel like the world had paused.

“Let’s get married.”

Emily gasped quietly, stunned.

“I promise you won’t be at a disadvantage,” he added, gently.

It hit her harder than any insult or betrayal she had faced. This… this wasn’t something she had expected. Not today. Not from him.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. She was frozen.

Denovon noticed.

He gave her a small smile..confident, calm, and sure.

“Sleep over it,” he said. “I’ll be waiting for your reply.”

And just like that, he turned

Betrayed by her family, by her fiancé, and left with nothing.Emily Carter had lost it all.

Until Denovon Rowland, the cold billionaire CEO, offered her a deal: his name for her silence.Now, as his wife, she’s not just surviving—she’s taking back everything they stole. And this time, she’s untouchable

Emily Pov

Beep... beep... beep...

Emily Carter’s eyes slowly opened to the sound of a steady beep. She looked up at the plain white ceiling. She was in a hospital.

Her hand moved to her stomach. It felt flat — no more baby bump.She remembered just giving birth. Her heart started beating faster. But there was a smile on her face.

" where is my baby?" She said softly

"Good that you’re awake,” A voice said sharply. Before she could respond, a check was throw on her.

“Now take this and never appear in front of me again” the voice added. Emily gasped and looked up, startled. There, standing by her bedside, was Charles Grey—her fiancé.

But the Charles she saw wasn’t the man she knew. His eyes burned with hate and annoyance, like she had done something unforgivable.

She’d never seen him look at her this way before.

" What are you saying, Charles?" she asked, her voice quivering with confusion as she tried to sit up, ignoring the dull ache that shot through her body.

"We just welcomed our baby." She pressed a hand to her stomach again, hollow and flat. The baby she carried for nine long months. The baby they’d talked about over late-night dinners, whose name they’d chosen together under a sky full of stars.

"I haven’t even seen my baby," she said, her voice breaking with rising panic. "And what do you mean that I shouldn’t appear in front of you again?" Her brows knit, eyes desperately searching his face for any trace of warmth.

"You’re my fiancé, Charles. We’re getting married in three weeks." He scoffed. A bitter, joyless sound.

"Were," he corrected coldly. "We were getting married."

Emily blinked, stunned. The room began to spin slightly, not from the medication, but from the shock. She pulled the blanket up around her as if it could shield her from his words.

"Charles… please, what’s going on?" she whispered. He tossed the check onto her lap. Her eyes fell to it. Ten thousand dollars. A disgusting price tag for a goodbye.

"That’s for your troubles," he said flatly. "Take it. Disappear. You and I? We’re done. You should be thankful I’m even being this generous."

Emily slowly got out of bed, her legs weak and shaking. Every part of her body hurt, but she forced herself to stand. She needed to know what was going on. She took a step toward Charles, her hand reaching out.

“Charles… please,” she whispered. “You can’t mean what you said. We just had our baby.” But before she could take another step, a sharp voice cut through the room.

“Don’t you dare touch my man.” Emily froze. She turned and saw Julie Ross standing at the door, dressed like she was ready for a party, her arms crossed and a nasty smirk on her face.

“Your… man?” Emily asked, confused. “Julie, what are you talking about?” Julie walked in confidently, heels clicking on the floor.

“Yes, Charles is mine,” she said with pride. “Did you really think someone like you could steal him from me?” Emily’s heart raced.

“But… aren’t you two cousins? On your mom’s side?”

Julie burst into laughter, then walked over to Charles and gently touched his face. He didn’t move away. Instead, he kissed her. Emily stared, her chest tightening.

“No… this can’t be real…”

Julie turned back to her. “You’re the only one who believed that cousin lie. Everyone else knows we’ve been together for years.” Emily’s hands shook.

“So… this was all fake?” Julie nodded slowly, enjoying every second. “Charles never loved you. He only came to you because of your mother’s inheritance. And now that you’ve handed it over to him, there’s no need to keep pretending.”

Emily looked at Charles, hoping for a sign that it wasn’t true. But his face was cold.

“It was never about love,” he said quietly. “It was just business.”

Emily dropped to her knees, tears falling freely. Her heart felt like it had shattered into pieces. She sat on the cold hospital floor, shaking. Her chest was tight, and she could barely breathe. Tears ran down her face, and her hands pulled at her hair. The pain in her heart was too much. It felt like the world had turned upside down.

“Why, Charles?” she cried out, looking up at him with broken eyes. “Why did you do this to me? Why did you get me pregnant if you never loved me?” Her voice cracked with pain.

“What’s going to happen to our baby? Where is my baby?” She was in denial. She wanted him to say it was all a mistake. That this wasn’t real. That everything would be okay. But before Charles could say a word, Julie stepped forward with a cruel laugh.

“Do you seriously think Charles would touch you?” she said, rolling her eyes. “He would never sleep with a dirty girl like you.”

Emily’s mouth fell open. Her hands shook as she clutched her chest. “Then… how did I get pregnant?” she asked in a broken voice.

Julie smiled like a snake. “It was all planned, sweetheart.”

Emily blinked, confused. Julie kept talking, her tone cold and full of hate.

“I don't want to have children because it will change my body So we needed someone else. You were the perfect target — stupid, trusting, and easy to control.” She stepped closer, her voice low and sharp. “We drugged you, Emily. Then they put my egg and Charles’s sperm inside you. You were just a womb to carry my baby.” Emily’s whole body froze.

“No…” she whispered, shaking her head.

“No, that’s not true. You’re lying…”

Julie smirked. “You gave birth to my child. That baby isn’t yours, Emily. And now that your job is done, I’m taking my baby back.”

Something snapped inside Emily. With a scream full of rage and pain, she launched at Julie. Her hands reached out, ready to tear her apart.

But before she could touch her, Charles stepped in and shoved Emily hard. She flew backward, hit the floor, and everything went dark.

The last thing she heard before blacking out was Julie’s laughter echoing in the room.

The room was quiet when Emily slowly opened her eyes again. Her head throbbed. Her body ached.

The bright light above her made her squint. For a moment, she didn’t remember where she was — until everything came flooding back. Charles. Julie. The lies. The baby.

Everyone else knows except her which means that Even her own family know.

She sat up slowly, pain shooting through her back, but she didn’t cry this time. Her eyes were dry. Her heart felt cold.

They betrayed her

They used her.

They drugged her.

They took her body,

her trust, and now... her child.

A baby she carried for nine months. A baby she sang to in the dark. A baby she dreamed of holding. And now they were saying that baby wasn’t hers?

Emily stayed in the hospital for hours, lying in that cold, quiet room. She stared at the wall. She tried to cry, but no tears came. Her chest felt tight, her throat dry, but nothing came out. Her heart was cold now. Too much pain, too much betrayal — it had numbed her.

Everyone had lied to her. Charles. Julie. Even her own family.

Julie’s words kept echoing in her mind: “Everyone knows. You’re the only one who didn’t.”

That hurt the most. Her stepmother. Her stepsister. Maybe even her father… Did they all know? She didn’t want to believe her dad knew. He had always been kind. But doubt had already started to creep in, and it hurt more than anything else.

Finally, without saying a word to anyone, she got dressed, walked out of the hospital, and got into a cab. The ride home was silent. She looked out the window, watching people walking on the street — laughing, talking, living normal lives. She felt like a ghost sitting there.

When the cab stopped in front of her house — the house she thought was her safe place — her heart sank. It didn’t feel like home anymore. From inside the house, she heard music. Laughter. The sound of clinking glasses. Celebration. Her stepsister’s voice was loud, full of joy.

Then came her stepmother’s voice, talking excitedly.

Emily stood outside, holding her bag tight. Her eyes stared at the front door as the sounds of happiness filled her ears. They were celebrating.

Maybe her pain was their victory.

As the laughter continued inside the house, the front door slowly opened.

Emily stood there, silent. Her eyes were calm, but her heart was breaking inside.

The room went quiet when they noticed her. She stepped forward slightly and asked in a soft but cold voice,

“What’s the celebration for?”

Everyone turned to look at her. Evelyn, her stepsister, stood up quickly and took a step toward her.

“Sis…” she said with a fake smile.

But Emily raised her hand, stopping her. She walked inside slowly, quietly — like a storm waiting to explode. Her eyes scanned the faces in the room. The same people she had loved, helped, and trusted for years.

“Do you all know?” Emily asked, her voice calm, too calm. They looked confused, or pretended to.

“Do you all know?” she asked again, a little louder this time.

“Know what, sweetie?” her stepmother, Mrs. Carter, asked.

“What are you saying, sis?” Evelyn added, her voice pretending to sound sweet. Emily’s eyes burned with hurt. She took a deep breath, then spoke clearly, her voice no longer soft.

“I won’t repeat myself again. Do you all know that Julie and Charles are lovers — and that the child I gave birth to isn’t even mine?”

The room went dead silent. Nobody spoke. No one denied it. That silence told her everything she needed to know.

Then her father finally said, “Calm down, Emily,” his voice flat, without any care. Emily stared at him.

“So you all knew…” she whispered, the pain cracking her voice.

Suddenly, she screamed, “YOU ALL KNEW!” She grabbed the flower vase next to her and threw it hard on the floor — it shattered into pieces. Everyone flinched.

Emily started throwing things — a lamp, a glass, anything she could grab — while shouting:

“You all betrayed me!”

“Why?!”

“I thought you were my family!”

“What did I ever do to deserve this?”

“I worked myself to the bone for all of you!”

“I gave you everything! I obeyed every word!”

“And this is what I get?” She turned to her father, breathing heavily, her eyes red and wide.

“Answer me!”

He finally spoke, not with guilt, but with bitterness. “Blame your dead mother,” he said coldly.

“She left all the company shares in your name. I was her husband, but she ignored me — gave everything to you.”

Emily froze. Tears filled her eyes.

“And that’s a good reason to destroy your own daughter?” she asked, her voice shaking.

Her father stepped closer, eyes hard. “You’re just like her. Stubborn. You refused to hand over the shares to me. So yes, we needed Charles to get close to you.”

Emily stared at them — her stepmother looking away, Evelyn with her fake face, and her father, full of hate. None of them denied it. None of them cared. She laughed. A cold, bitter laugh that didn’t sound like her at all.

“Alright,” she said, wiping her tears away. “Now that you’ve taken everything from me… I have nothing left.” She looked each of them in the eye.

“From today, we’re no longer family.” “I have nothing to do with any of you again.”

With that, she turned and walked up the stairs.Her legs felt heavy, but her heart was set.She went into her room — the same room she had cried in, dreamed in, worked hard in.

Without wasting time, she grabbed a bag and began packing. Just the clothes she needed, her documents, and what little money she had left.Not much… but enough to get away.

She looked around the room one last time.“I’d rather sleep on the street with beggars than stay under this roof,” she whispered.Then she walked back downstairs with her bag in hand.

Her father stood at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed.“If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back,” he said without emotion.

Emily didn’t even look at him.

Emily walked for a while with her bag in hand, her mind spinning. She didn’t know where she was going, but she couldn’t stay on the street all night. Her hands were cold, and her feet ached, but her pride wouldn’t let her turn back. She took out her phone and hesitated. Then she dialed the one person she trusted — Valentina.

“Val…” her voice cracked as soon as she heard her friend’s voice.

“Emily? Where are you? What happened?”

“I… I just need a place to stay. Please.” Valentina didn’t even think twice.

“Send me your location. I’m coming to get you right now.”

Fifteen minutes later, Valentina’s car pulled up beside her.

As soon as Emily opened the door and got in, she saw her friend’s worried eyes — and that’s when she finally broke. She burst into tears, shaking and sobbing like a child.

Valentina didn’t say anything at first. She just pulled her into a hug and held her as she cried.

“I’ve lost everything, Val,” Emily whispered through the tears. “Everything.”

At Valentina’s apartment, wrapped in a warm blanket and with a hot drink in her hand, Emily told her everything. The betrayal. The lies. Charles. Julie. Her so-called family. The fake pregnancy. The stolen child. Every word burned her throat, but she said it anyway.

“I loved him, Val… I was ready to marry him. I thought we were building a life together. And all this time… he was just using me. They all were.”

Valentina’s face turned red with anger. “Those monsters. I swear, if I see them—” Emily shook her head.

“I just need to move on,” she said quietly. “Start fresh. I can’t go back to the company… not after everything. I’ll have to find a job. Anything.”

Valentina reached for her hand. “You’re not alone, okay? We’ll figure this out together.”

Emily nodded, though her heart still ached. She stared out the window at the night sky. She had no money. No job. No home. And no child in her arms. But she had one thing left. Herself.

“I’ll start from zero,” she said softly.

-----

It had been three months since Emily’s world fell apart — since the betrayal, the lies, and the heartbreak.

It had also been two months since she started working at Rowland Corporation as a manager.

And now, it had been two weeks since she moved out of Valentina’s apartment and into a small place of her own. It wasn’t fancy, but it was hers — her own space, her own peace.

Yet tonight, she stood in front of a fancy restaurant, staring at the glass doors with a mix of nerves and disbelief.

A blind date. Her best friend, Valentina, had pushed her into it.

Emily remembered their conversation clearly. They had been sitting on Valentina’s couch just a few nights ago.

“Stop dwelling in the past,” Val had said. “You can’t keep your life on pause because of what they did. They’ve moved on. You have to, too.” Emily had rolled her eyes.

“I’m not ready for dating, Val. Come on.” Val wasn’t having it.

“And don’t you know the best way to beat them at their own game? Get married. Be happier than they are.” Emily had laughed at that, actually laughed — something she hadn’t done much in the past months.

“You’re silly, Val.”

Valentina had crossed her arms, eyes full of determination.

“I’m not silly, I’m serious. Look at it — it’s been months, and Charles and Julie still aren’t married. Do you know what that means? They’re not stable. They’re not sure. You can still win.”

Emily hadn’t taken it seriously then. But Val had been persistent, sending her messages, picking out outfits, and even setting up the blind date herself.

And now… here she was. In front of a high-end restaurant, dressed in a soft beige dress, hair curled gently, makeup light but pretty. She let out a slow breath.

“It’s just dinner,” she told herself. “Nothing more.” Still, her fingers trembled slightly as she reached for the door. She didn’t know what to expect — a polite conversation, an awkward silence, maybe even a quiet escape halfway through.

But she still went in .