Chapter 4

Maybe it was my imagination, but the tension between the two brothers felt off.

Especially when Tristan said the word "wife." A dark flash crossed Julian's face, disappearing so quickly I almost missed it.

I quickly brushed it off. What man wouldn't feel a sting of bitterness when his younger brother married the woman he had left at the altar?

The air between them grew thicker and more hostile by the second. I stood there with a blank face, keeping quiet. Honestly, I would have loved to see them beat the hell out of each other.

But a single sentence from Vivienne shattered the tension in an instant.

"Since everyone's here, let's eat. Mom and Dad are waiting."

Julian smiled and nodded, walking into the dining room without a second glance at me. Tristan followed close behind. He didn't say a word, leaving me standing alone in the entryway.

Even though I knew the truth and fully expected this, it still stung. In front of Vivienne, he couldn't even be bothered to keep up the act. A bitter taste filled my mouth. Forcing a smile, I followed them into the dining room.

Vivienne fell into step beside me. Her cold eyes fixed on my rounded stomach as she let out a low, venomous hiss near my ear.

"Seven months, right? I'm so jealous. You get to be a mom. But don't worry—I'll be a mom soon enough."

I spun around to face her, but she just smiled sweetly and walked ahead into the dining room.

She probably thought I couldn't read between the lines. Too bad for her, all their cards were on the table now, and I was the one holding the deck.

She wanted to steal my baby? Fine. Let her try. We would see who came out on top.

I was still lost in thought when Julian's voice pulled me back. It sounded exactly as it had two years prior, right before the wedding, when he first brought me to the estate to meet his parents.

"What are you thinking about, so lost in your own head?"

His voice was soft, almost tender, and his eyes were unreadable in the warm light of the chandelier.

"Rose, two years have passed, and you haven't changed a bit."

"It's a shame some people have changed beyond recognition," I replied.

His face drained of all color, going as white as a sheet.

Tristan walked back into the room carrying a plate of food. He immediately stepped between Julian and me, his jaw tight.

"Big brother, if you've got time to hit on my wife, you've got time to go help Mom in the kitchen."

I'll admit, that family dinner was one of the most surreal meals of my life. For a fleeting second, anyone would have thought both brothers were madly in love with me. Every time I took a second bite of a dish, my plate was piled high with more food from both of them. I barely had to lift a finger the entire meal.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the bitter, venomous glare Vivienne shot me the whole time.

After dinner, I excused myself to get some air and went out to the front of the estate to feed the koi in the fountain. It wasn't long before Vivienne found me. Her voice was sharp and bitter the second she opened her mouth.

"Don't get cocky, Rose. You're only useful to them right now. Once you're not, neither Julian nor Tristan will want anything to do with you."

I had fully expected her to come find me. She had been a spoiled rich girl her entire life, and she couldn't stand anyone challenging her. I turned to her with a cold, mocking smile.

"You can't even carry a child. What right do you have to tell me not to get cocky?"

That single sentence sent her over the edge. Her face twisted with rage, and she shoved me hard, trying to push me into the fountain.

But she didn't expect what happened next.

I grabbed her wrist and threw myself backward into the water, yanking her in with me. Vivienne could swim, but I locked my arm around her neck, holding her under the water as she thrashed helplessly.

She had come at me with the intent to harm. I was just returning the favor.

By the time the staff pulled us out, Vivienne was unconscious. Julian and Tristan came rushing out of the house. Both of them scrambled to grab Vivienne, rushing her to the hospital.

Neither of them even glanced at me.

I remained eerily calm. Once everyone was gone, I called a taxi and went straight to the hospital. I found the doctor who had been talking to Tristan and looked him dead in the eye.

"I know everything you and Tristan have planned. You're going to induce labor early, hand my baby over to Vivienne, and tell me it was stillborn."

I stepped closer. "Either you help me fake this termination right now, or I ruin this hospital's reputation for good."

As I lay on the cold exam table, my phone buzzed. Tristan was finally calling me.

"Rose, I'm so sorry. I had to bring Vivienne in—she's unconscious, and it's life or death. Are you still at the estate? I'll come get you right now."

A cold, bitter smile pulled at my lips. I took a photo of the falsified stillbirth report I had just forced the doctor to print, and sent it to him.

[Tristan, why don't you come get your baby instead?]

[Poor thing. It's in pieces on the floor.]