Chapter 31
Jenna
"Jenna? Jenna."
The sound of my name jolts me out of my thoughts. I blink at Ashley, who's sitting across from me with a wry look on her face.
I sigh. "Did it again, didn't I?"
She nods. "Yup. You've been seriously blanking out on me. Like your body's here in the restaurant, but your brain's about a million miles away. What's going on?"
I shake my head, as if realizing for the first time that I'm even in a restaurant—with my best friend, surrounded by chatter and the clatter of dishes. I try to push through the fog clouding my mind. "Nothing."
She rolls her eyes and gives me a look that says she's not buying a word of it.
"Seriously, Jenna?"
"It's nothing. I just have a lot on my mind."
"I'll say. Come on—lay it on me."
God, how I wish I could. But how do I even begin to tell her that I might be pregnant… with my fake fiancé's baby? It's too ridiculous. Too humiliating.
Seriously, who does that?
What is wrong with me?
Why wasn't I more careful? Why didn't I think something like this could actually happen?
It must have been from that first time Grayson and I had sex—on his damn desk. I took the morning-after pill and figured that was that. But looking back, it must have been too close to my ovulation date for it to work. I've been regular with my pills ever since, so it couldn't have happened later.
God, what the hell am I going to do?
I already know the answer. I know exactly what I have to do.
I can't keep it.
It would be insane to even think about keeping this pregnancy.
I'm not in any kind of place to have a child—not now.
I'm still building my company, my career.
I barely sleep as it is. While I've never been opposed to being a single mom, I just don't have the time, the money, or the emotional bandwidth for a baby on top of everything else.
And I can't talk to Grayson about it. If he finds out, he'll lose his mind—and he'd have every right to. He basically told me from the start that if this ever happened, it would be my responsibility to handle it.
And I agreed.
I thought I had handled it. Turns out, I hadn't.
Shit.
Either way, it's up to me to take care of this. Grayson's already juggling enough chaos with his family. This is my mess, not his. Why drag him into it?
Except… the idea of ending it makes my stomach twist.
No, that's not right. It doesn't make me uneasy—it makes me heartsick.
Devastated.
And there's no one I can talk to about it.
I didn't expect to feel like this. It's the first time I've ever had a pregnancy scare.
I've always been careful—or lucky. Lately, I've been too busy for sex to even be a factor.
I've never really had to think about abortion beyond the abstract.
I've always supported the right to choose. I still do.
But this is different.
Now it's not a theory—it's real. It's me.
I'm not just weighing an idea. I'm thinking about an actual life—a tiny, impossible life forming inside me. A life created from Grayson's DNA and mine. Something unique, that's never existed before and never will again.
Yes, it's my body. My choice. But do I really want to end this? Do I even have the right?
I never thought I'd have to wrestle with these questions.
"Okay," Ash says finally, her tone snapping me back. "If you don't tell me what's going on right now, I'm walking out of here. For real this time."
Her eyes are narrowed, arms crossed, waiting.
And I just sit there, my throat tight, trying to find words for something that doesn't even feel real yet.
I take a deep breath. I should probably just tell her. If I can't tell Ash, there's no one else on this planet I can tell—and I have to talk to someone. Maybe her psychology minor will help me untangle what's going on in my head.
"I think…" I lick my suddenly dry lips. "I mean, I know… I just found out today… God, this sounds so ridiculous—"
"Just spit it out, Jenna!"
"I'm pregnant!"
The words burst out louder than I intend, sharp enough that the people at the next table stop eating and stare.
"Sorry," I mutter, lowering my voice as I turn back to Ash.
Her eyes are wide. "What?"
I nod weakly. "I found out today. I wasn't feeling great, so I went to the pharmacy for some meds and picked up a pregnancy test, just in case. Turns out that was the right call. I'm going to see a doctor later to confirm, but… yeah."
"Oh my God." Her hand flies to her mouth. "I can't believe it."
"Yeah." I exhale shakily. "I can't either."
"Is it Grayson's?"
I nod again.
"I thought you said you two were only together for show!"
"I know, I know." I drop my head into my hands. "It was supposed to be. But then… so much happened. He's really not the kind of guy I thought he was. He's… he's…"
I trail off, because there aren't any simple words. Sweet? Arrogant? Brilliant? Infuriating? All of them—and somehow none of them. Grayson isn't someone who fits neatly into boxes.
"Do you love him?" Ash asks quietly.
I think about it. Now isn't the time for denial. "I don't know. But I think… maybe I do."
"Oh my God."
"I know."
"It's been like six weeks, Jenna."
"I know. Trust me, I'm as shocked as you are. But he's just… more than I expected."
"No, I get it." She sighs, then leans forward, voice low. "What are you going to do? Are you thinking of keeping it?"
"I can't. I'm pretty sure Grayson doesn't want kids—at least not right now. He told me the first time we hooked up, and I promised I'd take care of any… complications."
"Okay, but what do you want to do?"
"I…" My throat tightens and my eyes fill before I can stop them. "I don't know."
"Well, that's the thing," she says gently.
"It's your decision. No one can tell you what to do with your body.
Whatever the hell Grayson thinks, you're the one who has to deal with the consequences.
Sure, you can listen to him, but it's still your call.
If he's so dead-set against having kids, he should've worn a condom—or better yet, kept his dick in his pants. "
Despite everything, I smile at her fierce defense. "I love you."
"I love you too," Ash says softly. "And I'm here for you, whatever you decide."
After lunch with Ash, I head back to my office, determined to get some work done. I've been useless all morning, but maybe if I throw myself into planning the upcoming gala, I can stop thinking about my life imploding.
Nice theory.
Doesn't work.
Because when I step into my office, Grayson's mother is sitting there waiting for me.
"Mrs. Wolfe?" I freeze in the doorway. She rises slowly, her expression carved from ice.
This is my private office. How the hell did she even get in?
Then I remember—my assistant's rarely at her desk. Great. She probably just waltzed right in.
I shut the door behind me and paste on the brightest professional smile I can manage.
"It's… nice to see you," I say, lying through my teeth. "What can I do for you?"
"This visit," she replies coolly, "is about what I can do for you."
I blink. "I'm sorry?"
She picks up one of my notepads from my desk and holds it out to me, along with a sleek gold pen.
"I want you to write down a number," she says evenly. "Any number you like. Whatever you write—that's what I'll pay you to walk away from my son."
I blink at the woman, who stares back at me without flinching—calm, poised, and utterly unapologetic about her insane demand.
Of course, she doesn't know I'm pregnant with his child—not even Grayson knows that yet—and now is quite obviously not the time to announce that particular piece of news.
Mind you, I can't help wondering what she would do if she knew.
Would she want me to keep it? Or would she try to make me get rid of it?
Almost certainly the latter. She obviously thinks I'm only in this for the money, so she'd probably believe I'd deliberately got myself pregnant, just to get an extra hold over her son.
Honestly, though, even I don't know what's best any more.
I'm a busy professional. I didn't as for all of this complication in my life.
I should damn well never have said yes to Grayson's ridiculous contract.
Now here I am, feeling nauseated, and having listen to this ridiculous woman as she slanders me.
I'm brought back to there here and now by a discrete cough from Mrs. Wolfe, who arches an eyebrow, her gaze sharp and haughty.
"Well," she says. "Have you thought about it yet?"
"Thought about... how much I want you to pay me?" I clarify.
She nods.
"Seriously? You're really offering me money to leave your son alone?"
"Yes," she replies.
"Why?"
"I would assume it's obvious," she sighs.
"But very well, I'll be frank, Ms. Marlowe.
You should already know this relationship with my son is doomed.
Whatever love you think you share isn't real.
You're simply an act of rebellion against his father and me, and deep down he knows it.
Eventually it'll fizzle out like it was never there, and you'll be left with nothing.
Isn't it better to take what I'm offering and at least end up with something? "
"What makes you think we won't last?" I ask.
She shrugs. "Call it a mother's instinct.
You might make it to the altar and maybe last a year or two, purely due to Grayson's stubbornness.
But you're too different. Oh, I know you went to a decent school on a scholarship and got yourself a proper education—good for you, I'm impressed—but that doesn't make you one of us.
You know that as well as I do. You must have felt it back in school—one of the students, yes, but never quite the same as the others.
An outsider. We had one like that in my school too.
I can see it in your eyes—you know exactly what I'm talking about. "