He Shielded His Pregnant Secretary at Our Wedding, So I Took Back My Billion-Dollar Dowry

On my wedding day, the officiant had just asked me whether I would take this man as my husband. Then my fiancé's secretary shoved her way onto the stage, heavily pregnant, sobbing that her baby couldn't grow up without a father. The whole audience was in an uproar. Adrian grasped both of her hands, turned to look at me, and kept his voice mild. "Vivian, she's stood by me for five years. That has to count for something." "The baby's already seven months along. I can't let him come into this world without a name." "You'll remain Mrs. Locke and we can treat her as part of our family. The three of us will build a harmonious life together." I looked at the big backdrop screen behind him, emblazoned with both our names side by side, and I started to laugh. "Adrian, did you forget?" "For this wedding, the hotel is mine and the guests are all those I invited." "Even that tux you're wearing was paid for with the card I gave you." I pulled off my wedding veil and dropped it onto the floor at his feet. "You want to give her a name? Fine." "First, cough up every last cent you owe me." Chapter 1 "Vivian, don't make a scene. She's carrying the first grandchild of the Locke family." Adrian planted himself in front of me, his crisp suit unwrinkled, the groom's boutonniere still pinned to his lapel. Behind him stood Chloe in a white dress, one hand braced under her swollen belly, tears falling right on cue. The officiant stood there holding the mic, frozen. The guests' whispering rose like a pot coming to a boil. I looked at Adrian. Three years ago, he'd stood in the rain outside my house all night, swearing he'd never marry anyone but me. Fast forward to today, our wedding day, and he'd brought his seven-months-pregnant secretary to stand in front of me at our wedding. And he dared to tell me not to make a scene. "Making a scene how?" I handed my bouquet to my maid of honor and asked him, smiling coldly. Adrian's frown deepened. "The attitude you're giving right now, it's a bad look." "Chloe isn't here to take your spot. She just wants the baby to have an identity." Chloe lowered her head at once. "Ms. Ross, please don't blame Adrian." "It's my fault. I never should have come here today." "But the doctor said I can't get too upset, and these past few days I keep dreaming that the moment my baby is born, everyone's calling him a bastard..." She clapped a hand over her mouth, sobbing. The flicker of impatience in Adrian's eyes melted, replaced entirely by tenderness. He turned and steadied her. "Don't cry. It's bad for the baby." I stood in the middle of the stage and watched the two lovebirds. Anyone who didn't know better would think I was the cruel homewrecker tearing them apart. Adrian's mother couldn't sit still either. She lifted her gown and marched up onto the stage, her face like a gathering storm. "Vivian, dear, with so many guests here, you really ought to conduct yourself with basic maturity." "Men are out there wining and dining clients all the time. A little mess here and there is only natural." "Adrian's chosen to marry you. The Lockes are willing to make you Mrs. Locke. That's already plenty of dignity for you." That made me laugh. "So you're saying I should thank him for it?" Mrs. Locke stiffened. "Is that any way to speak to your elders?" Then Adrian's father spoke up too. "Ms. Ross, the Lockes aren't some small-time family." "If you marry into our family, you must learn to overlook minor transgressions." "What Adrian did today wasn't right, granted. But the child is innocent." The moment he opened his mouth, it was to put me on trial. The guests chimed right in. "Exactly. The baby's so far along already—you can't just get rid of it." "The Rosses are ordinary business folk. Marrying into the Lockes is already a step up." "Men will be men. Which one of them doesn't slip up? Just turn a blind eye to it." I scanned every face in the crowd. Half the people here had taken contracts from the Rosses. Eating at my expense, and telling me to swallow the insult with a smile. How touching. Chloe took a step toward me, holding her belly. "Ms. Ross, I can go without a title." "All I beg is that you let me have the baby." "After that I'll live somewhere else with the child. I'll never bother you and Adrian again." She said she didn't want a title. But her hand had a death grip on Adrian's cuff. That diamond cufflink was the one I'd picked out for him personally last month. Adrian let her cling to him without the slightest attempt to pull away. "Vivian, Chloe's already compromised herself this much for your sake." "Do you want to drive her into her grave?!" I looked at him. "Adrian, she's seven months pregnant." "We got engaged eight months ago." The room went deadly quiet for a beat. Adrian's eyes flickered. "I'd had too much to drink that night." "It was an accident, her and me." "An accident you didn't clean up in seven months?" I stepped forward. "An accident that got twelve prenatal checkups?" "An accident you bought a three-thousand-square-foot condo at Riverbend for?" Chloe's head snapped up. Adrian's face finally changed. "You had me investigated?" "So what if I did?" I fixed my eyes on him. "My fiancé uses my money to keep his mistress, and I'm not allowed to look at the bills?" Mrs. Locke shrilled at once. "Watch your mouth! Who are you calling a mistress!" "Chloe is carrying Locke blood. She is not an outsider!" "Then what does that make me?" I asked her. Mrs. Locke opened her mouth and nothing came out. Adrian's face went grim, and he grabbed my wrist. "Vivian. That's enough." "The wedding is happening today." "You don't have to accept Chloe. But you're getting married first." His grip was hard. Pain shot through my wrist. I looked down at it, then back up at him. "And if I won't?" Adrian leaned in and dropped his voice. "Vivian, don't forget, your father's company is still waiting on the Lockes' money." "Walk out today, and the Rosses will collapse by tomorrow." That was when I finally understood. This wasn't some spur-of-the-moment thing. He'd counted on me not daring to blow it up. Counted on the Rosses needing the Lockes, counted on me loving him, counted on me swallowing it all for the sake of one pathetic scrap of pride. I pulled my hand free and slapped him across the face. A clean, ringing crack. The whole banquet hall detonated. Adrian's head turned with it. His tongue pressed the inside of his cheek, and his eyes went cold all the way through. "Vivian, you're going to regret this." I slid the wedding ring off my finger and dropped it into the champagne tower. Glasses toppled in a cascade. "The one who's going to regret this isn't me." I turned toward the doors of the hall. "Attorney Reed, you can come in now." Chapter 2 The doors of the hall swung open from the outside. Attorney Reed came in wearing a black suit, four assistants behind him, each with a stack of files in their arms. Adrian saw him, and his face got even uglier. "Vivian, you actually called in a lawyer?" "Are you scared?" I took a tissue from my maid of honor and wiped the red marks his grip had left on my wrist. "Didn't you just say the wedding had to go on, Mr. Locke?" "I just brought someone in to settle the books first. Before we go any further, we sort out what you owe." Adrian's father frowned. "Ms. Ross, don't air the family's dirty laundry." "Everyone here today is somebody. You really have to take it this far?" I turned to him. "Sir, when your son and his mistress had me cornered on this stage a few minutes ago, funny how you didn't mention dirty laundry." That shut him up. Attorney Reed had reached the front of the stage. He gave me a nod. "Ms. Ross, the pre-marital money trail you asked us to compile has been fully verified." I lifted my chin. "Read it." Adrian snapped, "Who dares!" Attorney Reed didn't even lift an eyelid. "Over the eight months since the engagement, Mr. Adrian Locke paid a total of 2.4 million dollars with the supplementary card under Ms. Vivian Ross's account." "That includes the 1.2-million-dollar down payment on the Riverbend condo under Ms. Chloe Sutton's name." "190 thousand dollars in private-hospital prenatal and pregnancy care." "390 thousand dollars in jewelry." "Over 600 thousand dollars in overseas travel and luxury goods." A collective gasp went through the crowd. Chloe’s face went frighteningly pale. She clutched Adrian's sleeve and whispered, "Adrian, I didn't know it was Ms. Ross's money..." I almost laughed out loud. "You didn't know?" "Every time you swiped that card, the text alert came to my phone." "Ms. Sutton, did you think I couldn't read my own bank alerts?" Chloe's tears welled up again. "I really didn't know." "Adrian told me it was his card." "Ms. Ross, if you want to blame someone, blame me. Don't embarrass Adrian." Adrian ground his teeth. "I'll pay the money back." "Pay it back?" I looked at him. "With what?" "With the Lockes’ cash reserves, the ones that already ran dry?" Adrian's father's face changed completely. "What nonsense are you spouting!" I ignored him. Attorney Reed opened the second file. "Over the past six months, the Locke Group applied for bridge financing from three companies under the Rosses’ ownership, totaling 60 million dollars." "Among the collateral, two of the plants appear to have been pledged as collateral twice over." "As of nine o'clock this morning, Ms. Ross has formally pulled every one of those credit facilities." Mrs. Locke swayed on her feet. "Pulled them?" "On what grounds?" I looked at her, my tone so calm that I even felt cold myself. "On the grounds that the money is mine." Adrian stared me down. "You had this ready the whole time?" "You knew Chloe was going to show up?" I didn't answer. Three days ago, I'd gotten an anonymous email. Inside were Chloe's ultrasound reports, the property contract, and a photo of Adrian bent over kissing her belly. No signature from the sender. That night I sat in my study and read through every page. I didn't cry. I just changed the wedding program I'd booked from vows to a reckoning. Adrian suddenly smiled. There was something in that smile I'd never seen before, mean and cold. "Vivian, you think pulling your money back can scare the Lockes?" "That little company of your father's is nothing without Locke backing." "Back off now, and I can pretend what happened today never occurred." I raised my eyes. "There's one thing you still haven't figured out." "What?" I held out my hand to Attorney Reed. He passed me the last file. I opened it and held it up in front of Adrian. "The Rosses don't need the Lockes' money." "Because three months ago, the Rosses were acquired outright by Meridian Holdings." Adrian's pupils shrank. His father shot to his feet. "Meridian?" Someone in the crowd cried out. "The Meridian that just landed the Northgate Harbor project?" "Didn't they say the man behind Meridian never shows his face?" Mrs. Locke's lips trembled. "What does that have to do with you?" I smoothed out the crumpled front of my gown. "Not much." "I'm only Meridian's largest individual shareholder." Chapter 3 When those words landed, the hall went so quiet you could hear champagne dripping. Adrian looked at me like he was meeting me for the first time. "That's not possible." He shook his head. "Vivian, drop the act." "You think I don't know what your family's worth?" "Your dad runs a run-down equipment factory. Your mom used to work behind a department-store counter." I nodded. "That's right." "So you figured I ought to be clinging to you Lockes to get by." Mrs. Locke cut in sharply. "You're lying!" "There's no way Meridian is yours." "If you really had that kind of power, why would you marry Adrian at all?" Good question. I'd asked myself the same thing once. Why, knowing full well how arrogant Adrian was, knowing full well the Lockes treated marriage like a business deal, I'd stepped in anyway. Probably because I was so stupid. Stupid enough to mistake a little warmth from my teenage years for a whole life. Years ago, when I was kidnapped, Adrian supposedly took a knife for me. Later I learned he hadn't taken any knife. He was just the first to rush into the hospital room and claim someone else's deed as his own. But back then I believed him. Believed him for years. "Because I was blind." I looked at Mrs. Locke. "Does that answer satisfy you?" Someone in the crowd couldn't hold back a low laugh. Mrs. Locke's face cycled from red to pale. Chloe suddenly dropped to her knees, clutching her belly. "Ms. Ross, I'm begging you." "Don't pull the funding. The Lockes can't fall apart." "Adrian's stayed up so many nights for the company. He's worked so hard." She wept, every tear falling in its perfect place. "I can leave." "I'll take the baby far away." "Just don't ruin him." Adrian's expression went soft again. He reached down to help her up. "Chloe, get up." Chloe shook her head. "I won't." "If Ms. Ross doesn't agree, I'll stay on my knees." Adrian's head whipped toward me. "Vivian, you see that?" "Chloe's on her knees for you, pregnant." "What more do you want?" I looked at Chloe kneeling on the red carpet. She'd timed the drop well. Facing the guests, and facing the cameras. The whole wedding was being livestreamed. Originally the Lockes had hired financial media to show off the spectacle. Now it worked out nicely for her. I couldn't see the comment feed, but I didn't have to guess. Heiress bride forces pregnant mistress to her knees. What a headline. "Kneel if you want to kneel." I said. Chloe froze. Adrian raged, "Do you have any humanity left?" "I do." I bent down and picked up the mic from the stage. "Which is why I'll remind Ms. Sutton of something." "The baby in your belly is only seven months. If you kneel long enough and something actually happens to it, don't pin it on me." Chloe's shoulders shook. Mrs. Locke rushed over to lift her at once. "Get up! Don't hurt my grandson!" But Chloe bit down hard on her lip. "Mrs. Locke, I'm fine." "For Adrian, I can bear anything." Watching her act like it was all a matter of life and death, I suddenly asked her a question. "Chloe, are you sure this baby is Adrian's?" Her whole body locked up. Adrian's face turned thunderous. "Vivian, what are you implying?" "Exactly what it sounds like." Tears clung to Chloe's face, her voice quivering. "Ms. Ross, you can humiliate me, but you can't humiliate my child." "It's Adrian's flesh and blood." "I have the prenatal reports." "Do you have a paternity test?" I asked. Mrs. Locke jumped in. "The baby isn't even born. How would you run a paternity test?" Attorney Reed spoke up beside me. "A non-invasive prenatal paternity test can be conducted as early as six weeks into the pregnancy." Mrs. Locke's face soured, but she had no comeback. Chloe hugged her belly like it was her last shield. "I won't do it." "The baby's still small. I can't put him at any risk." I looked at her. "It's non-invasive. It doesn't hurt the baby." "What are you afraid of?" She didn't answer. The mood in the room finally shifted. "There's really something wrong here, isn't there?" "Wasn't she just crying for a title? Then take the test and be done with it." "This is one hell of a scandal." Adrian's face had gone very dark. He seized Chloe's shoulders. "Chloe. Do it." Chloe looked up, her eyes brimming with hurt. "Adrian, even you don't believe me?" Adrian went silent. Suddenly it all felt so tiresome to me. He was always like this. The second a woman cried, he thought the whole world should step aside. But in the next breath, a side door of the hall slammed open. A man in a food-delivery uniform charged in. He had a phone clenched in his hand, his eyes bloodshot. "Chloe!" "You use my son to marry into money, and how long do you expect me to keep my mouth shut?" Chapter 4 Chloe screamed. That one wasn't an act. Her whole body shrank behind Adrian, the color draining clean out of her face. Security stopped the delivery man at the edge of the red carpet. He fought them with everything he had. "Let go of me!" "Chloe, get out here and explain yourself!" "You told me Adrian was a rich idiot, that once the baby was born we could carve off a piece of the Lockes’ fortune." "And now you don't recognize me?" The whole place erupted. Adrian turned to look at Chloe, and his eyes iced over inch by inch. "Is what he's saying true?" Chloe shook her head hard. "It's not true." "Adrian, he's a lunatic." "He pursued me, I said no, and he's been harassing me ever since." The delivery man laughed in fury. "I stalked you?" "Chloe, forget who paid for that apartment you rented?" "The day of your checkup, who went to the hospital with you?" "You said the baby would carry the Lockes' name and the money would be ours to spend. Did you say that or not?" Adrian's hand fell away from her. Chloe lunged and grabbed at him. "Adrian, don't believe him." "He just wants to destroy me." The delivery man wrenched his phone up high. "I've got a recording!" "And the messages you sent me!" Security looked to Adrian's father, unsure whether to hold him back. Mr. Locke's face had gone black as thunder. I gave Attorney Reed a nod. He stepped down off the stage, took the phone, and hooked it up to the hall's big screen. The next second, Chloe's voice came through the speakers. Sweet and coaxing. And perfectly clear. "Adrian's just an idiot." "I say the baby kicked me and he'll drop a whole contract to fuss over me." "Once I've married into the Locke family, you can quit delivering food." "His mother lives and dies for grandsons. As long as my belly does its job, who's Vivian Ross?" On the big screen, the message logs scrolled by, one after another. Selfies Chloe had sent. Transfers Chloe had received. Chloe calling Adrian useless, but easy to fool. And a photo. Her leaning against the delivery man, belly already showing. Mrs. Locke clutched her chest and nearly went down. "God help us..." Adrian stood rooted in place, his face ghastly pale. Chloe still tried to lunge for him. "Adrian, let me explain." Adrian's palm cracked across her face. "You bitch." The blow knocked Chloe to the floor. She held her cheek, and the tears finally stopped. That perpetually pitiful face split open at the seam. "You're hitting me?" "Adrian, what gives you the right to hit me?" "If you hadn't gone chasing something new, would I ever have gotten the chance?" "You strung Vivian along for her money while telling me how boring she was." "Now that it's all blown up, it's all my fault?" Adrian's chest heaved. "Shut up!" Chloe laughed, shaking. "I will not." "Didn't you say Vivian was easy to handle?" "Didn't you say once you got hold of the Rosses' money after the wedding, you'd cut her out?" "Adrian, how much cleaner are you than me?" The last shred of Locke dignity, she tore to pieces. The reporters below snapped away like mad. Flashbulbs went off without a break. Mr. Locke finally lost it and roared at security, "Get all of them out of here!" I raised a hand. "Who dares?" The hotel manager stepped up to the door with a team behind him. He looked to me and spoke respectfully. "Ms. Ross." Mr. Locke went blank. "Ms. Ross?" I looked at him. "Forgot to mention." "This hotel is Meridian's too." Mr. Locke's mouth twitched. Adrian stared at me, his expression twisted almost beyond recognition. "So from beginning to end, you've just been watching me make a fool of myself?" "No." I put the mic back down. "I actually gave you a way out." "If Chloe hadn't shown up today, if you'd been willing to come clean yourself, I'd have let you leave with your dignity." Adrian's voice went hoarse. "That email. You arranged it?" "I'm not that idle." I looked toward Chloe. Her face suddenly changed. I followed her line of sight to a woman seated in the very back row of the hall. Black dress, short hair, half a glass of red wine in her hand. She raised the glass to me. Adrian saw her too. His composure snapped in an instant. "Mara?"