Chapter Four
Diana's POV
That night, he kept me up until sunrise.
Once he finally passed out, I grabbed my clothes and slipped out in a panic.
And of all the times, that one time, I ended up pregnant.
When I found out, I actually let myself entertain some naive idea of going to his company to find him.
I was standing outside Weston's office, just about to knock, when the conversation inside froze me in place.
“Did you find her yet? The woman who drugged me at the masquerade and climbed into my bed?” Weston's voice was ice cold.
“Still working on it,” his assistant answered. “If we do find her... what do you want done?”
The office went quiet for a few seconds.
Then I heard Weston speak, each word clipped and deliberate, not a trace of warmth in his voice.
“Make her regret she was ever born.”
Right then, it felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over my head, cold straight down to my feet.
Of course. A man with that much pride, that night would’ve been nothing but humiliation to him, a debt that needed collecting.
I’d been foolish enough to think there was anything left to salvage between us, foolish enough to think he’d want to know.
My hand drifted to my stomach, still flat, still my secret alone to carry.
I knew better than to stick around. I turned and walked away.
This baby, I’ll carry it myself. I’ll raise it myself.
Three days later.
The Beaumont, top-floor ballroom.
Tonight is the industry appreciation dinner after the company’s new patent launch. As one of the core researchers on the project, there’s no getting out of it. I grit my teeth and show up.
The ballroom is full of perfume and evening gowns, glasses clinking everywhere, that low hum of forced laughter and hollow chatter filling every corner of the room.
I hold a glass of warm water and stick to a corner, trying to make myself as invisible as possible.
All I want is to get through the night without anyone noticing me, without anyone asking too many questions I can’t afford to answer.
But the universe has other plans.
“Diana, it really is you!”
An oily voice comes from behind me.
I frown and turn around to find a man standing there.
Vincent.
My former “father.”
He’s in a suit that fits a little too tight, holding a glass of wine, his face plastered with a fake, doting smile. Standing beside him is Delaney, dressed in a pink gown, done up like some porcelain doll.
“It’s been a while, Diana. I hear you’re the lead on your company’s new patent this time? Look at you, you’ve really made something of yourself.” Vincent steps closer, playing the loving father to the hilt. “I always said you were a smart one. I knew you’d amount to something.”
I look at him coldly, not even bothering to fake a smile. “Need something, Mr. Crane? If not, step aside. You’re hogging my air.”
Vincent’s face goes stiff for a second, but the shameless look returns almost instantly.
“Diana, is that any way to talk to your father? Back then, when Delaney came home, things got chaotic for a while, and you got shortchanged a little. That’s all it was. It’s been eight years. Why are you still holding a grudge?”
“Shortchanged?” I let out a cold laugh, like I’ve just heard the world’s biggest joke.
Back then, Delaney showed up with a paternity test in hand. Vincent didn’t just cut off my card and take my phone. On that stormy night, he wouldn’t even let me grab a coat before throwing me out of the house.
If it hadn’t been for Weston...
Thinking of Weston sends another sharp ache through my chest.
“Vincent, when I left, you made me sign papers cutting me out of the family trust for good. So what, the Crane medical device company can’t keep the lights on anymore, and now you want to piggyback on my company’s patent? Suddenly remembered you had a daughter?” I don’t hold back, tearing the mask right off him.
Vincent’s eyes go vicious, stung by the public humiliation.
“Diana, don’t push your luck!” Delaney can’t hold it in anymore, jabbing a finger at my face. “You ate our food, lived under our roof, stole eighteen years of my life! And now you can’t even do us one small favor? You’re an ungrateful piece of work!”
The guests nearby catch the commotion and start throwing curious looks our way.
I look at Delaney standing there so righteous about it, and all I feel is how ridiculous this is.
“Delaney, get your facts straight. The hospital switched us at birth. That’s on them, not on some infant who had zero say in it. And as for eating your food, living under your roof...”
I turn a cold stare on Vincent. “Vincent, want me to tell everyone here about the time you tried to marry me off to some sixty-year-old investor to bail your company out?”
The second the words leave my mouth, whispers break out all around us.
“You ungrateful brat! That’s a filthy lie and you know it!” Vincent’s face twists with rage, and he raises his hand, swinging it hard at my face.
