Chapter 15
The morning sun filtered in through the pale curtains of Jessica Cooper's bedroom, its golden glow falling across the bed where she lay, curled on her side, the warmth of the light doing little to soothe the chill racing through her body.
Her phone vibrated once on the nightstand.
Half-asleep, Jessica reached out lazily, still wrapped in the fog of sleep. Her fingers brushed the screen and brought it close to her face. The brightness stung her eyes, but it wasn't the screen light that sent her nerves into a spiral.
"I hope you can come clean with me today... because I'm also the father of that child."
— Spencer King
Her blood ran cold.
Her heart seized as though an invisible hand had reached into her chest and squeezed. She bolted upright in bed, her tea-brown eyes wide and wild.
He knows.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out. The phone trembled in her hand.
No. No—how? Her mind spun. She hadn't said a word. Not even to Cecilia. She hadn't even had time to process the news herself.
Shaking, she immediately dialed the hospital. Her thumb missed the number the first time. When she finally connected, her voice cracked, "Hello, this is Jessica Cooper. I—I did a pregnancy test at your hospital two days ago. Please connect me to the doctor who handled it."
After a moment of static, the calm voice of the attending physician came on.
"Yes, Miss Cooper?"
Jessica swallowed hard. "Doctor, has anyone... asked about my test results? Anyone from outside?"
There was a long pause, as if the doctor was weighing her words.
"I didn't want to release it. I told them it was confidential."
Jessica's breath caught.
"But the director insisted, Miss Cooper. The men came in black suits. They said they were from a highly influential firm. The director said... that the name they gave was associated with major stakeholders. I had no choice."
Jessica's hand slipped. The phone tumbled from her fingers and hit the wooden floor with a soft clatter.
She sat frozen, staring at the edge of the bed, as if the shadows themselves were pressing in on her. Her throat was tight. Her vision blurred. Her lips trembled uncontrollably.
So Spencer King had known all along.
He hadn't asked. He hadn't confronted. He had watched. Waited. Maybe even judged.
A bitter, quiet sob pressed against her throat, but she didn't let it out. Not yet. She pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle the surge of panic. Her other hand unconsciously pressed to her lower belly.
Her baby.
The one she'd been quietly terrified of, confused by, even resented in fleeting moments of weakness. And yet… she had begun to feel something real. Something binding.
Jessica stood and walked, almost ghost-like, to the bathroom. Her reflection stared back—her eyes swollen, face pale, lips pressed in a hard line. She looked nothing like the composed woman who had handed Spencer King a thank-you gift the night before.
How pathetic…
And yet, when her palm gently smoothed over the slight curve of her stomach, something shifted. Her heartbeat slowed. Her tears dried before they could fall.
In the distance, she heard Cecilia's laugh echo from the living room, mingled with a cartoon's cheerful soundtrack.
Jessica walked back into her room and sat on the bed again, this time slowly, carefully.
Cecilia hadn't gone to work yet. Probably giving herself a late start after yesterday's workload.
Jessica smiled faintly. A secret smile. Bitter. Soft. Wistful.
Her fingers curled protectively around her middle. She whispered, "You're mine."
Just three little words. But they rooted deep.
She remembered what the doctor had said. That her uterus tilted slightly. That if she terminated this pregnancy… there might never be another.
No child calling her Mommy.
No tiny arms around her neck. No soft giggles filling a quiet apartment. No bright eyes looking up at her with adoration.
Would such a life be whole?
Could she live with the knowledge that she had destroyed something so rare, so miraculous—only to spend the rest of her life wondering, regretting, grieving?
No.
She let out a shaky breath. One she didn't even know she'd been holding.
The uncertainty that had plagued her, the confusion and fear—it began to settle like dust after a storm. Her chest no longer felt like it was being squeezed from the inside. For the first time since the test results, her mind was… clear.
This child wasn't a mistake.
It was hers.
Not Spencer King's. Not her family's. Not society's.
Hers.
Even if he was powerful. Even if he found out everything. Even if he tried to use it against her—she would fight for this child.
She would protect this tiny, forming life with everything she had.
A small, rare smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She hadn't smiled like this in days. Maybe weeks.
She stood and walked toward the dresser, pulling out clothes and setting them down calmly. The chaos in her mind had dimmed, replaced with a strange, quiet strength.
She'd tell Cecilia soon. But not now. Not yet. She needed more time to figure things out. To prepare.
From the living room, Cecilia's voice called out, "Jess, I made pancakes! Want some?"
Jessica chuckled quietly, wiping the corner of her eyes with her sleeve. "Give me a minute," she called back.
Then she walked to the bathroom and turned on the water. The steam slowly began to fill the space, fogging up the mirror.
She peeled off her clothes, pausing only when she caught sight of herself in the mirror—her hand naturally cradling her lower belly again.
So small. So early. And yet already so powerful.
"I'll keep you," she said softly.
"I'll keep you."
At the same moment—
In a sleek corner office atop King Enterprises, Spencer King sat behind his desk, his gaze locked on the report lying open in front of him. The folder was unmarked, but the contents were anything but ordinary.
The lab results. The confirmation of pregnancy.
His jaw clenched.
He had confirmed everything. From the pharmacy staff to the nurse who handed her the pill. Jessica Cooper had definitely taken it.
So what went wrong?
Ineffective pills perhaps. The interference of tannins. Or maybe it was fate playing its cruel joke.
But something else gnawed at him deeper than science, deeper than logistics.
Why hadn't she told him?
Was she scared?
Was she trying to protect herself?
Or did she think... he wasn't worthy of knowing?
Spencer sat back, eyes narrowed at the ceiling. "She's not trying to trap me. She's trying to run from me."
His phone buzzed. He checked the screen. No response from Jessica.
He stared down at his hand for a long moment.
She would show up. Eventually. And when she did... he would get his answers.
Whether she wanted to give them or not.