I Was Never the Choice

"On the day I was supposed to try on wedding dresses with Charles Jaspier, the mafia leader I had loved for seven years, I walked into the boutique carrying a pregnancy test report—my heart full of hope.Instead, I overheard a conversation that shattered everything."Registering the marriage with Ellis Olsen was a temporary measure," he said calmly to his closest confidant. "My brother died in a shootout. She's carrying the Jaspier family's only heir. Without a legal status, neither she nor the child would survive in this family.""Everyone would bully them."A cigar rested between his fingers. His voice was cold, edged with resignation."Zoey Qandor can't have a title—but I can give her everything else. My love. My money. This must never reach her ears."I clenched the pregnancy report, my heart turning to ash.With my best friend's help, I created a new identity—one that ensured Charles would never find me again—and disappeared from his world.If he could not give me and my child a complete family, then this love—built on responsibility and lies—was better cut cleanly, once and for all."