Chapter 7
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Grace stared at the red heart Talia had drawn on the calendar.
Her girl had been full of excitement, saying today they’d see Grandma and Daddy, carefully marking the day with a heart.
A servant arrived with news from Antonio.
“Sir says tonight’s dinner will be at Nocturne. He wants you to take Miss Talia and Kate there, he’ll meet you there.”
Grace nodded slightly, a faint hint of color returning to her pale face.
She ran her fingers over the half–finished drawing pressed to her chest, feeling a strange lightness as if she were on the brink of release.
The privacy at Nocturne was impeccable. Grace sat alone in the pre–arranged hall.
The distant sea view and the city lights intertwined, creating a breathtaking scene.
She waited for a long time, but Antonio still didn’t come.
With just ten minutes until midnight, Grace checked her phone–still nothing.
Until…
A trending headline caught her attention.
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“Mr. Kaufman’s New Love: Rising Artist Yesenia Is Pregnant.”
The word “pregnant” pierced Grace’s heart like a dagger.
She let out a bitter laugh and called Antonio.
His voice came through, slightly rushed.
“Grace, something urgent came up here. You, Grandma, and Talia go ahead with your dinner. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”
Grace’s voice was as thin as mist.
“But we’ve been waiting for this dinner for so, so long.”
Antonio’s voice, unusually, held a trace of guilt.
“Grace, we have plenty more family dinners ahead of us.”
“Tell Talia and Grandma to pick out whatever gifts they want. I’ll bring them tomorrow.”
Plenty more?
Grace looked at Talia and Grandma, then at the empty table before her, her strength to argue completely drained.
Her voice was so light it nearly vanished.
“Alright. You go ahead.”
Antonio was like sand slipping through her fingers. Whether she gripped tightly or let go, he was always going to slip
away.
But only today did Grace finally understand that.
Chapter 7
She pushed open the floor–to–ceiling windows. In the distance, the lighthouse began the New Year countdown.
The night wind tangled in Grace’s long hair as she slipped off her wedding ring.
“5…”
She heard Antonio’s wedding vow, “I will love you forever and always.”
“4…”
She saw her newborn daughter’s sweet smile and Grandma’s loving face.
“3…”
Antonio’s face began to twist in her mind–indifference, disdain–because his love now belonged to someone else.
“2…”
She heard her grandmother’s pained gasps and Talia’s desperate cries for help.
“1…”
Her grandmother and Talia were smiling, waving at her from a distance.
“Happy New Year.”
Grace clutched the drawing tightly, a bittersweet smile on her lips, and leaped.
At the hospital, Antonio felt a sudden, piercing pain in his
Chapter 7
chest.
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He dropped to his knees as if a gaping void had opened inside him.
“Antonio, what’s wrong?”
Yesenia clutched his sleeve, her delicate face streaked with
tears.
Antonio frowned, trying to shake off the growing unease.
“I’m fine. Get enough rest for the baby.”
“Grace is probably still waiting for me. I should go check on her.”
A flicker of panic crossed Yesenia’s eyes, but she quickly let large tears roll down her cheeks.
“Antonio, I understand. You have a family, a child.”
“I know my baby is a mistake. I won’t interfere with your life. I’ll raise him alone.”
“…”
Yesenia covered her face, sobbing, while Antonio’s expression softened with undeniable tenderness.
“Yesenia, this isn’t all your fault. I had too much to drink that night.”
He hesitated for a moment.
“Tonight, I’ll stay with you and the baby.”
Chapter 7
“But Mrs. Kaufman will always be Grace.”
Yesenia threw herself into his arms, tears glistening.
“Antonio, I truly love you. I don’t care about the title.”
But when Antonio wasn’t looking, with malice.
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Yesenia’s eyes darkened
If it weren’t for becoming the rightful Mrs. Kaufman, she would’ve never risked keeping this baby.
The next morning, Antonio’s eyes were heavy with exhaustion.
Last night, Yesenia had woken up repeatedly. Her eyes were filled with fear that he might abandon her.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
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