Chapter 3

At the mention of my daughter,every defensive wall I had went up.

"Chloe is Julian's daughter and mine,"I spat.

"She has absolutely nothing to do with you.Stop flattering yourself."

Carter frowned,clearly not buying a single word.He took a step closer,his gaze locked on my face."Chloe is six years old,Elara!

She was already born when you married Julian five years ago.

We hadn't even officially broken up back then.You were pregnant with my baby!"

"Is admitting you had my child really that humiliating for you?"

The more confident he sounded,the more absurd it was.

The man who had thrown me away for some cheap actress now wanted to claim another man's treasured daughter.He didn't get to have it both ways.

I didn't bother arguing.My Uber was already idling at the curb.

I brushed past him,pulled open the car door,and gave him one last,freezing look.

"Believe whatever you want.I have nothing to say to you."

The car pulled away.In the rearview mirror,Carter's figure shrank into New York's concrete jungle,until the rushing traffic swallowed him whole.

I let out a long,shaky breath.

Chloe is actually only five years old.

Five years ago,Julian pulled some highly illegal strings to protect me and secure our marriage.

He used his wealth to alter her birth certificate,making her a year older on paper.

It was a risky move,but Julian did it to protect us.

My daughter shares not a single drop of blood with Carter Reed.My hand drifted unconsciously to my stomach,my fingertips trembling slightly.

There had been a time when I carried his child in here.

But his brutal betrayal ruined everything.

I lost the baby,and he broke me.