Chapter One

Grace’s POV

Helena squeezed my hand while we waited for the procedure to begin. It was the least she could do, considering they were about to plant her eggs, fertilized with her husband’s seed, inside me.

I hated myself for not really wanting to be here. But I loved my sister, and this was what she needed. She’d never understand the weight of what I was sacrificing. Not in any real sense.

While the pain wasn’t physical, the ache in my chest was unbearable. It was a kind of pain that couldn’t be seen, which made it hard for anyone to understand the burden of carrying a baby that would never be mine.

The hardest part was the hollow, gnawing truth that lingered inside me, the realization that I desired Hunter’s baby, but not like this. Not under these circumstances.

That was the part I couldn’t even share with Helena. How could I tell my sister that I had always been in love with her husband? That every time I saw him, it chipped away at my heart.

I’ve loved Hunter ever since we first met, before he even knew Helena. But it was her he chose. They married quickly, swept up in the kind of whirlwind romance that only seems to exist in books and bad movies. Everything just… fell into place for them.

I once dreamed there could be something between Hunter and me, but he never saw me that way. The moment Helena entered the picture, it was game over. I didn’t stand a chance. Even before her arrival, my chances were slim. But after? I was invisible.

Now I was most likely carrying her baby. Hunter’s baby. My heart twisted painfully at the thought, and I hated how easy it had been for Helena and our mother, Margo, to manipulate me into this.

They wanted me to be the good sister. To be selfless. But it wasn’t so simple when I was in love with the father of the baby I could be carrying.

Hunter was my boss. I’d worked for him for four years. I was the reason he met Helena in the first place. I had watched it happen, pretending it didn’t crush me a little. I watched them grow closer, watched their love bloom, while I quietly stood by, always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

I never felt like I was enough. Not for him, not for anyone. Helena always had what I didn’t. She had the kind of beauty that pulled people in. She had Hunter. She had everything.

I remember the Christmas party where everything changed. I should have stayed home, but Helena had begged me to let her come.

“It’ll be fun!” she’d said.

But I watched it unfold, Hunter falling for her. It wasn’t even subtle. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. I should’ve left before it broke me. A new life away from them both would have been better than this.

But now here I was. Stuck. Most likely carrying their child. The baby they would raise. The family they would build. And I would always be on the outside.

Sometimes I wondered if they’d even see me at the end of it. Or if I’d become just a footnote in their story. A generous gesture they’d occasionally remember. The woman who gave them everything and walked away with nothing.

“We’re ready to do the implant now,” the doctor’s voice cut through my thoughts.

I nodded. It was all I could manage.

“I have a good feeling about this,” Helena said, her voice light and carefree. “With Hunter’s little swimmers in action, I’m sure it’s going to work.”

I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to hear her voice.

“Okay, you should rest here for about thirty minutes before getting up,” the doctor said a moment later.

I blinked open my eyes. She didn’t meet my gaze, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew. She would’ve found out I was a virgin during the procedure.

I’d spent years hiding my secrets—my virginity, my feelings for Hunter. But now I felt scraped raw from the inside out. Exposed.

I nodded at her, trying to hold back the sting of tears. “Okay,” I whispered.

Helena squeezed my hand again. “I’m so excited, Grace. This is going to be amazing,” she said, her voice brimming with hope.

I wanted to be happy for her. I really did. But all I could do was nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Let’s wait and see,” I said quietly. “Don’t get your hopes up too high.”

But Helena didn’t hear me. Or maybe she just didn’t care.

“It’s going to work,” she said again, as if she were manifesting it.

“Can I have a minute alone?” I asked.

“Grace—”

“Please, Helena. Just a moment.”

She hesitated, then got up. I could feel her standing at the door, watching me for a beat too long. Please go, I thought, not opening my eyes.

Once she was gone, I rolled onto my side and curled up into a tight ball. And I cried.

Thirty minutes later, I got dressed quickly, wiping my eyes and trying to look somewhat composed. As I reached for the door, I heard voices in the hallway.

“Grace doesn’t seem overjoyed about carrying my baby,” Helena said.

My mother’s voice followed. “She should be grateful, Helena. Hunter needs an heir. You need to give him one. We can’t afford to lose that hold on him.”

I froze.

That hold on him.

The words hit like a slap. My mother didn’t even try to hide it. This wasn’t about family or love. It was about power.

I stood behind that door, my hand on my stomach, the weight of what I might be carrying pressing down on me harder than ever.

This wasn’t just about giving them a baby. It was about keeping Hunter tied to Helena. And I was the one making it happen.

I thought I was being kind. I thought I was doing something selfless. But maybe I was just playing into their hands. A pawn in their game.

Maybe it would be over soon. Maybe the procedure wouldn’t work. Or maybe it would, and when it was done, I’d disappear. I’d carry their baby, hand it over, and walk away before I lost whatever pieces of myself I had left.

But I wasn’t sure if I’d survive that, either.

And for the first time, I realized I wasn’t just afraid of losing Hunter.

I was terrified of losing myself.