The Billionaire's Discarded Bride

Bella pov 

The ivory silk of my wedding dress whispered against the marble floor as I hurried through the empty corridors of the Black estate. My heart hammered against my ribs, not from nerves but from hope-a dangerous, fragile thing I'd been nursing for two weeks like a secret flame. I was pregnant.

The word still felt foreign in my mouth, terrifying and wonderful at the same time. I'd found out two weeks before the wedding, staring at those two pink lines in the bathroom, my hands shaking so badly I nearly dropped the test. 

I had planned to tell Caleb tonight, after the ceremony, when we were finally alone. Maybe it would change things between us. Maybe a baby would bridge the cold distance he'd kept since the day my father sold me to him like livestock.

Maybe he'd finally look at me and see someone worth loving.

"Mrs. Black?" I turned to find James, Caleb's assistant, hovering near the grand staircase. He looked uncomfortable in his formal suit, his eyes darting away from mine.

"Have you seen my husband?" The word still felt strange. As if saying it aloud would make it real, make this arrangement into something more than a business transaction.

James cleared his throat. "Mr. Black is in his private office, ma'am. But he asked not to be disturb."

I was already moving. "Thank you, James."

My heels clicked faster as I navigated the maze of hallways. The Black estate was obscenely large, all dark wood and crystal chandeliers, the kind of wealth that whispered instead of shouted. I'd been here for a few months and still got lost. Caleb had given me a wing of my own-as far from his bedroom as architecturally possible.

Tonight would be different. Tonight, I'd tell him about the baby, and maybe his eyes would warm just a fraction. Maybe he'd touch my face the way he had during our wedding photos, when he'd needed to pretend for the cameras.

I reached his office door and raised my hand to knock, but something made me stop. Voices filtered through the heavy oak, low and intimate.

"Caleb, please." That was Jade's voice. My sister's voice, breathy and desperate. "You know how I feel about you."

Cold slid down my spine as my hand dropped to my side.

"This is complicated," Caleb said, his deep voice muffled but unmistakable.

"It's only complicated because you married her." Jade's words dripped with venom. "She trapped you, baby. You know that. My father forced your hand, used his business problems to manipulate you into this sham marriage."

"Jade"

"I'm the one you want, I have always been the one."

I should've knocked. Should've walked away. Should've done anything except what I did next instead i pushed open the door.

The scene before me unfolded in excruciating slow motion, every detail burning itself into my memory with cruel intensity. Jade, her gold dress hiked up around her thighs, straddling Caleb's lap in his leather desk