Chapter 3Kneeling for a Child He Already Had

I did not wait for the driver. As soon as my wounds were bandaged, I caught an overnight flight home.

At 2:00 am, I dragged my luggage back to the home Gideon and I had shared since our wedding.

The fingerprint lock would not accept my print. Gideon had deleted it.

I had bought this house before we were married, and I had paid for the renovations too. Now, I could not even get into my own home.

It was not until building management let me in that I saw the living room piled high with baby supplies.

My study had been turned into a nursery. On the pale blue wall hung three letters, G, A, and B, for Gideon, Amanda, and Baby. It looked like the room of a happy little family of three.

My books, my trophies, and the photo album my grandmother had left me had all been stuffed into cardboard boxes and tossed into the storage room.

I opened the album.

When I was 16, Amanda hugged me and said, "Hazel, we're going to be sisters for life."

Her parents divorced that year, and she had nowhere to go. I was the one who brought her home and gave her half of my room. Later, when she could not afford college, my family paid for it.

Now, she had taken my husband, my home, and even my parents.

Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door. I hid in the storage room.

Mom and Jordan walked in. Mom was carrying a bag of baby clothes.

"Mandy says the baby's jaundice levels are high, and she can't stop crying over it. She just gave birth. All that stress isn't good for her."

Jordan tossed his keys onto the table. "Gideon says once Hazel's back, he's sending her overseas for IVF. We drag it out for a year or so, and once the baby's a little older, we get her to sign the divorce papers."

Mom sighed. "She's still our daughter. When the time comes, let's give her a little extra money."

They had already planned out the rest of my life. Once Amanda was settled in as Mrs. Tarrant, they would throw me out like trash.

My phone suddenly vibrated. Mom heard it and started toward the storage room.

Just as her hand closed around the doorknob, Jordan's phone rang.

"What? The baby has to be moved to the NICU?"

The color drained from both their faces, and they hurried out. Only after the door closed did I realize I had been holding my breath the whole time.

Half an hour later, I had packed up three cardboard boxes. After ten years of love, this was all that was mine in the end.

Just before dawn, Gideon sent a message: [There's a blizzard at the bottom of the mountain, and the driver can't get up there. Focus on your fast. I'll come get you in three days.]

I replied: [Okay. I'll be waiting.]

That morning, Joanna rushed over with the paperwork.

It was not until I was signing that I learned my great-aunt had left me more than an old family house. She had also left me a controlling stake in Skyhaven Hotel Group.

Once I had signed, Joanna handed me an event approval form.

"There's a baby welcome party at Skyhaven tonight. The deposit came from your personal account from before your marriage. The manager sent this over to confirm."

The form listed Oscar Tarrant as the guest of honor, with Gideon Tarrant as the father and Amanda Crowley as the mother.

They were using my money to throw a party for his illegitimate son at my own hotel.

That afternoon, the manager called. "Ms. Dunbar, Mr. Tarrant has asked us to change the digital screen to read 'Welcome Party for Oscar Tarrant, Beloved Son of Gideon Tarrant and Amanda Crowley.' Should I approve it?"

"Approve it."

"They've also prepared a video about their love story."

"Play that too."

I looked over the evidence I had put together and added quietly, "Save the biggest screen for me."