CHAPTER 1

🍒 CHERRY “Your sister is pregnant.” For a moment, I simply stared at Roman, my sister’s husband, trying to process what he just said, and when I did, my lips stretched into a huge smile. “Congratulations!” I could barely contain my excitement, and it took everything in me not to squeal like a teenager. God, I have always wanted a child of my own too. Ever since I married Adam, Roman’s brother, I have dreamed about the day we would finally have a baby. Unfortunately, life has not been that kind to us. So hearing that my sister was pregnant filled me with genuine happiness, even if a tiny part of me couldn’t help wishing the news belonged to me too. “Don’t be too excited,” he said dryly, his expression remaining stoic. “The baby isn’t mine.” My smile slowly disappeared. "What?” “The baby isn’t mine.” I know Sarai wasn’t exactly thrilled about being married to Roman, because Roman is an illegitimate Whitmore. He refused to take his father’s surname, choosing instead to keep his mother’s Italian family name. Ferraro. Roman Ferraro. I had hoped she would eventually get over it, especially after marrying him, but apparently, I had been too optimistic. “How are you so sure the baby isn’t yours?” “Because I had a vasectomy when I was twenty-five.” My jaw dropped. “You had a what?” “A vasectomy.” “At twenty-five?” “Yes.” He said it with such little emotion that I almost wondered if he understood how shocking that revelation was. I blinked several times, trying to wrap my head around it. “Roman, you’re serious?” “Completely.” Well, that certainly explained his confidence. I hesitated before asking the question I already knew the answer to. “And I’m guessing Sarai doesn’t know about the vasectomy?” Roman gave me a slow nod. “She doesn’t.” “Oh, my God.” I covered my mouth. Roman leaned back, his face unreadable. “She’ll be back from her supposed work trip soon, and I’m certain she’ll walk through that door with a smile on her face, tell me she’s pregnant, and expect me to believe the baby is mine.” Sarai messed up…no, she f****d up. Big time. Yes, I knew Sarai loved money. I also knew things hadn’t exactly been going well for her and her extravagant lifestyle since Papa died and our family company went bankrupt, leaving the bank to swoop in and take whatever little was left. But she wasn’t suffering. Roman might not be the legitimate son or heir of the Whitmores, although I honestly didn’t think that made much of a difference. He was still working in the family company, earning more than enough to provide for Sarai and give her the comfortable life she had always wanted. So why? Why open her legs for another man when she already had everything she needed at home? I cleared my throat and took a sip of my drink, trying to ease the sudden dryness in my throat. “Why are you telling me this?” He should be having this conversation with Sarai, not me. Whatever had happened between them was their business, and I had no desire to be dragged into the middle of it. Roman blinked slowly, his expression remaining exactly the same as it had been since he walked into my living room. “I’m telling you this because the baby is your husband’s.” I froze. My fingers tightened around the glass in my hand as I stared at him, certain I had misunderstood what he had just said. “What did you say?” “Sarai is carrying Adam’s baby.” My heart slammed against my ribs. Roman’s eyes dropped briefly to my stomach before returning to my face. “I heard you two have been trying for a chi_” “Don’t.” I pushed myself to my feet so quickly that the movement made my head spin. “Don’t you dare insult my husband or my marriage.” There were some things I could tolerate, some accusations I could ignore, but this wasn’t one of them. Adam is my husband. He is the man I loved, the man I trusted with every part of myself, and the man I spent years hoping to have a child with. Roman can’t just walk into my home, drop a bomb like this in my lap, and expect me to sit there quietly. “If I were looking to insult Adam,” Roman said calmly, “this wouldn’t be one of the ways I’d do it.” Adam would never cheat on me. Never. My fingers trembled as I reached up and wrapped them around my neck, suddenly feeling as though the room had become too small for me to breathe in. “I don’t know what this is all about,” I said, forcing the words out despite the tightness in my throat. “But Adam would never betray me like that. He would never cheat on me with another woman, much less my own sister.” Roman’s head tilted slightly to the side as he studied me. “Do you believe that?” “Yes.” There wasn’t even a second of hesitation in my answer. Of course I believed it. I knew my husband. I knew the man I had married, and I knew the love we shared. Our marriage might have been arranged by our parents when we were still children, but we genuinely fell in love. Adam is my best friend, my safe place, the person I ran to when everything around me felt like it was falling apart. We had built our entire lives around each other. I couldn’t breathe without him, couldn’t imagine waking up one morning and finding out he no longer loved me. So, no, there was no way Adam had cheated on me. No freaking way. “I do not take you to be a stupid woman.”Roman’s raspy voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I frowned at him. “I beg your pardon?” He pointed toward the sofa behind me. “Sit down.” I stared at his hand before looking back at him. “Why? So you can continue insulting my husband and throwing more ridiculous allegations at him?” “Sit. Down. Cherry.” He repeated, his jaw clenching hard at the command. There was something about the way he was looking at me that made my stomach twist, but I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me in my own home. I folded my arms across my chest and jutted my hips out, glaring at him. “I want you out of my house this minute.” Roman scoffed as he pushed himself to his feet. “A year and a half.” I frowned, completely confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “A year and a half, Cherry.” He slipped his hands into his pockets “That’s how long my brother has been sleeping with your sister, and you didn’t suspect him even once?” Suspect him? Why would I suspect Adam when he hasn’t chan… I blinked rapidly, suddenly remembering all the little changes I had noticed but never questioned. I quickly looked away. Roman’s eyes narrowed. “I see there were signs.” I wouldn’t necessarily call them signs. Adam have always had a high s*x drive. During the first year of our marriage, it had been almost impossible to keep up with him. He was affectionate, passionate, and constantly finding excuses to pull me into his arms. Then, about a year and a half into our marriage, things changed. Not completely. We still had s*x, and Adam still showed me affection, but it wasn’t as frequent as it used to be. I never questioned it. Why would I? His workload had increased tremendously at the office because his father was preparing him to take over as CEO of Whitmore Enterprise, and Adam was constantly buried in meetings, business trips, and endless responsibilities. I simply assumed he was stressed. I never imagined there could be another woman. “There were no signs,” I hissed, turning my attention back to Roman. “And if you don’t leave this house right now, there will be signs on your face from physical abuse.” Roman stared at me unblinkingly for a while, his jaw clenching and unclenching for a while before he reached into his jacket and retrieved a ticket. “These are flight tickets to Seattle.” I stared at the ticket but made no attempt to take it. “What am I supposed to do with a flight ticket to Seattle?” “Sarai is already in Seattle.” My stomach tightened. “And knowing my brother, Adam is going to meet her there once she tells him about the pregnancy. They’ll probably discuss what they’re going to do next, including whether they’re keeping the baby or not.” What if he’s telling the truth? I hated that question. “Joke’s on you, Roman,” I said, forcing a bitter smile as I looked up at him. “My husband never mentioned traveling.” Roman dropped the ticket on the table and picked up his car keys. “He will when he gets home tonight, or he’s planning to leave without telling you.” My heart dropped. Roman pointed toward the ticket still lying on the table. “I need you on that flight, Cherry.” I stared at him. “Why?” “Because if I’m wrong, you’ll have nothing to lose.” He paused, his expression hardening. “But if I’m right, you need to see the truth for yourself.” He turned toward the door, then stopped with his hand on the handle. “Be on that flight.” Then he walked out, taking my peace with him.