I Left with His Baby, He Knelt Too Late

Gavin Delgado was the most dangerous name in Kingsford's elite circles.

I told him I wanted a baby.

He curled his lip, eyes dripping with contempt

Using a pregnancy to claw your way in? Pathetic.

I played along

You're right, of course. Then how about I keep the baby and lose the father? Would you allow that, Young Mr. Delgado?

Gavin assumed I was playing hard to get. Mocked me for overestimating myself.

A month later, I picked up my lab results at the hospital.

Then I deleted every trace of Gavin Delgado from my phone.

I even cleared out of the house so his new woman could have the space.

I heard that afterward, he searched the entire city, asking everyone like a man unhinged

Where is she? The woman who used me and ran?

The master bedroom at Hillside Manor still smelled like what had just happened between us.

I stepped barefoot across the carpet, picked up the nightgown scattered on the floor, and pulled it on slowly.

Gavin leaned against the headboard, an unlit cigarette pinched between his fingers, every line of his face slack with satisfaction.

Birth control's on the nightstand. Take it.

His voice was raw, and it wasn't a request.

My hands stilled. I turned and let my gaze settle on that flawless face of his.

Gavin, let's have a baby.

The air seemed to freeze for a beat.

Gavin looked at me like I'd told the funniest joke he'd ever heard. A scoff, and those heavy-lidded eyes filled with open ridicule.

Eudora Henson, you've been at my side for five years. I thought you were smarter than this.

He tossed the cigarette onto the nightstand, leaned forward, and seized my chin. His grip hurt.

Using a pregnancy to claw your way in? Pathetic. You think getting knocked up earns you a seat at the Delgado table?

The humiliation didn't surprise me.

Five years. No matter what I did, no matter how well I did it, in his eyes I was always the same thing: a woman who'd sold her dignity for money.

I held still against the sharp pain in my jaw, met his gaze, and smiled.

It was probably a bleak smile. But to him, it was just another scheme.

You're right, of course.

I reached up, placed my hand over the one gripping my chin, and pried his fingers away, one by one.

Then how about I keep the baby and lose the father? Would you allow that, Young Mr. Delgado?

Something shifted behind his eyes. He hadn't expected that.

The contempt only deepened, as if he'd seen straight through a clumsy trick.

Hard to get, Eudora? That routine is tired. Find a new one.

He flung my hand away and dropped back onto the bed. His voice went cold.

Take the pill and get out. I don't want to look at you tonight.

I turned without a word, picked up the pill box from the nightstand, popped a white tablet out of the blister pack in front of him, tipped my head back, and swallowed.

He didn't see me hold the pill under my tongue.

The moment the bedroom door closed behind me, I went straight to the bathroom, gagged, and spat the tablet into the drain.

The woman in the mirror was pale, her neck still marked with his kisses. I pressed a hand against my flat stomach.

Gavin, this time I mean it.

I want your child. But I don't want you anymore.

The next morning, noise from downstairs woke me.

As Gavin's private secretary and live-in house manager, my internal clock was always precise. But today, someone had beaten me to it.

Oh, Ms. Henson, sorry about that. Didn't mean to wake you.

Lauren Simmons stood in the open kitchen, working the espresso machine, wearing an oversized men's dress shirt that showed off two long, pale legs.

I recognized that shirt. Gavin had been wearing it yesterday.

I stopped at the foot of the stairs, and the same nausea from last night rose right back up my throat.

Lauren Simmons. Gavin Delgado's first love. One week ago, she'd made a high-profile return to Kingsford.

Since then, Gavin had barely come home. The few times he did, he carried her perfume on his clothes.

Ms. Simmons, that cup is mine.

I came downstairs and said it calmly.

Lauren's hand trembled. Scalding coffee spilled across the back of her hand, and she let out a sharp cry, her eyes instantly reddening.

I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I just wanted to make Gavin a cup of coffee

The master bedroom door opened upstairs.

Gavin stepped out in his robe. One glance took in Lauren with her reddened eyes and me standing expressionless beside her.

His face darkened instantly. He came down the stairs in long strides and seized Lauren's hand to examine it.

What happened?

Lauren sniffled, glancing at me timidly, wanting to speak but holding back.

It's fine, Gavin. I'm just clumsy. I used Ms. Henson's cup by mistake, and she wasn't too happy about it.

Gavin's head snapped toward me, his gaze sharp enough to cut.

Eudora, it's a cup. You're throwing a fit over a cup?

Go get the burn cream. If Lauren scars, you're answering for it.

I stood where I was and watched him cradle Lauren's hand, blowing gently on the burn. That gentle lookfive years beside him, and I had never once seen it.

Five years ago, when I threw myself in front of him and the blast wave left my left ear streaming with blood, all he did was frown, hand me a check, and tell me to take myself to the hospital.

President Delgado, the burn cream is in the medicine cabinet. Second shelf.

I pointed toward the TV console. I didn't move.

He clearly hadn't expected me to refuse a direct order. Surprise flashed across his face, then fury swallowed it whole.

Eudora, you've gotten bold. Since when do you ignore what I tell you to do?

I have somewhere to be. I'm heading out.

I picked up my bag, didn't spare either of them another look, and walked out of the villa.

Behind me, Gavin's voice erupted, raw with fury

Walk out that door and don't bother coming back! Cancel her cardlet's see how long she keeps up the attitude!

Outside the gates of Hillside Manor, I drew in a slow breath of cool morning air.

Gavin, you've probably forgotten.

In five years, every cent I spent, aside from Grandma Stella's medical bills, came from my own salary.

I loved money, sure. But I valued my own neck more.

The OB-GYN corridor was packed.

I sat wedged into a corner wearing a mask and a baseball cap, the appointment slip clenched tight in my hand.

Eudora Henson.

My name flashed on the call screen.

I stepped into the examination room. The doctor was a kind-faced woman in her forties.

Congratulations. Four weeks along. The fetus is developing well.

The breath I'd been holding finally left me, and in its wake came a complicated ache, bitter and sour all at once.

It was real.

Last month, Gavin had come home drunk. It was the only time he'd forgotten protection, and the only gamble I'd ever taken.

However, you're somewhat malnourished. And your left ear

The doctor studied my chart, concern creasing her brow.

Make sure you rest during the pregnancy. Your body's run-downyou don't have much in reserve.

I know. Thank you, Doctor.

I touched the tiny hearing aid hidden behind my left ear and smiled bitterly to myself.

This ear was the price I'd paid saving Gavin, and the biggest thing keeping me tethered to him now.

Gavin despised imperfection. He had no idea my left ear was nearly deaf.

Late at night he always leaned close to my left side to talk, and all I could do was murmur back at the right moments, pretending I'd heard every word when I couldn't make out a single one.

Outside the hospital, my phone rang. The care facility.

Ms. Henson, your grandmother's account balance is running low. Could you top it up in the next couple of days for next quarter's fees?

Of course. I'll transfer it right away.

I hung up and stared at my mobile banking balance.

Gavin had been generous over the years, but most of what he gave me had been swallowed by Grandma Stella's medical billsa pit that never filled. The rest I'd set aside, bit by bit, for exactly a day like this.

Now, with a baby on the way, the expenses would only grow.

I was still running the numbers in my head when a red Ferrari pulled up beside me.

The window slid down, revealing Connor Harding's irreverent grin.

Well, well. If it isn't our very own Secretary Henson. What are you doing out here alone?

Connor pulled off his sunglasses, and his gaze dropped to the hand I'd pressed over my lower belly without thinking. The playfulness left his eyes in an instant.

Are you sick?

Connor and I had been high school classmates. Back then he was the school's resident troublemaker, and I was the scholarship kid who did nothing but study.

Neither of us would have guessed we'd cross paths again years later in circles like these.

No, just visiting a friend.

I shoved the lab report deeper into my bag.

Connor clearly didn't buy it. He pushed the door open and stepped out, his tall frame casting a shadow over me.

Eudora, you can't even look at me when you lie.

He moved closer. He smelled faintly of tobacco, though it wasn't unpleasant.

Did that bastard Gavin do something to you?

The mention of Gavin's name sent a small, sharp tremor through my chest.

No.

Get in. Connor pulled the passenger door open without waiting for an answer.

Cabs don't come through here. I'll give you a ride.

I couldn't argue my way out of it, so I got in.

In the car, Connor kept up what sounded like casual conversation, but his eyes never really left me.

Heard that green tea Lauren is back. Has Gavin lost his mind? He'd throw away someone like you just to crawl back to an old flame?

I watched the scenery blur past the window and said quietly

He never wanted me to begin with.

Connor slammed the brakes. The car jerked to a stop at the curb.

He turned to face me, staring hard, eyes full of the kind of frustrated anger that has nowhere to go.

Eudora! What is it you even want from him? His money? Name a number, I'll cover it. Him? His heart is made of stone. You spent five years trying to warm it and it's still cold. How is that not enough?

I lowered my head, heat prickling behind my eyes.

Five years.

I'd told myself that if I was obedient enough, considerate enough, one day he'd finally see me.

But the moment Lauren came back, I knew. A stand-in is always a stand-in.

Connor, I'm leaving.

My voice was barely above a whisper.

Connor froze. The anger drained from his face, and something close to raw, unguarded relief took its place.

Where to? I'll take you.

I haven't decided yet, butas far away as possible.

Connor held my gaze for a long moment, then put the car back in gear.

Done. Wherever you want to go, end of the earth, I've got you.

By the time I got back to Hillside Manor, it was already dark.

Gavin sat on the living room sofa with a laptop open in front of him, his expression cold and remote.

He didn't look up when the door opened.

Oh, so you can bear to come home. I thought you were spending the night out.

Every word dripped with a sneer that scraped.

I changed my shoes and said nothing. I didn't want to fight with him.

Go make dinner. Lauren wants sweet and sour ribs.

He closed the laptop and issued the order like a man accustomed to being waited on.

My feet stopped mid-step.

I was his secretary, not his housekeeper.

Before, I'd done it willingly, because I loved him, because I wanted to take care of him.

But now

President Delgado, the chef has already left for the night. You can order delivery.

Gavin shot to his feet and closed the distance in three strides, towering over me.

Eudora, what the hell is wrong with you today? Are you actually trying to defy me?

He reeked of liquor. Clearly not in a good mood.

I'm tired.

I pushed past him toward the stairs.

He grabbed my wrist, fingers clamping down hard enough to grind the bones together.

Tired? You weren't tired out there messing around with some stranger?

He shoved his phone in my face. On the screen was a photo of Connor dropping me off earlier today.

I had no idea who had taken it, but the angle was vicious. It looked like we were kissing inside the car.

Explain.

Gavin's eyes burned with the rage of a man whose possession had stepped out of line.

I ran into him. He gave me a ride.

I looked at him, steady.

Gavin, you brought Lauren home. So you get to do whatever you want, but I can't even accept a ride?

You think you compare to Lauren?

He sneered.

She's a proper lady from a real family. You're

He stopped himself. As if even he found the word too ugly to finish.

I'm what? I finished it for him.

An orphan. A gold-digger. Your bed-warming tool. Right?

Gavin pressed his lips together. He didn't deny it.

Something sharp drove through my chest, and whatever warmth was left went cold for good.

Since President Delgado thinks so little of me, let's end the contract.

I finally said the words I'd kept locked inside for so long.

Gavin stared, like he'd just heard a joke.

End the contract? Eudora, don't forgetyour grandmother's still in that care facility. Without me, how are you paying those bills? Going to sell yourself?

The slap cracked through the empty living room before I even registered my hand moving.

My palm was numb, my whole body shaking.

Gavin's head snapped to the side. A red handprint rose fast across his cheek.

He turned back slowly, disbelief in his eyes, a storm gathering beneath.

Eudora. You hit me?

That was for the Eudora who was stupid enough to love you for five years.

I pulled my hand back, nails digging into my palm.

Gavin. We're done.

I turned and walked upstairs without looking at him again.

Behind me, a vase shattered against the floor, and Gavin's roar followed

Eudora! If you walk out that door today, don't ever come crawling back to me!

I closed the bedroom door, leaned against it, and slid to the floor.

One hand on my stomach, I whispered

Don't be scared, baby. Mama's taking you away.

Over the next two days, as if to punish me, Gavin paraded Lauren to every high-profile event he could find.

The headlines were everywhere: Delgado Group president and childhood sweethearthappy news imminent.

I packed inside the manor.

There wasn't much to pack.

The designer bags, the jewelry, the clothes Gavin had given me. I left every piece behind.

All I took were my documents, my bankbook, and the pregnancy report.

The day I left, it was raining.

Gavin wasn't home. Neither was Lauren.

I'd arranged Grandma Stella's transfer to a care facility in a small southern city.

It wasn't as luxurious as the one here, but it was quiet, and the fees were something I could manage.

Before I walked out, I placed a resignation letter and a signed breakup agreement on Gavin's desk in the study.

The terms were simple: every cent he'd given me over five years, counted as salary and compensation for what he'd put me through. After that, we owed each other nothing.

Connor's car was already waiting at the curb when I walked out of the estate gates.

He was leaning against the door, a scatter of cigarette butts at his feet.

The moment he saw me dragging my suitcase out, he crushed the cigarette and crossed the distance in a few long strides to take the handle from me.

You're sure about this?

His eyes searched mine, something complicated moving behind them.

Yeah.

I turned back one last time to look at the gilded cage that had held me for five years.

Let's go.

The engine started, and the car slid into the curtain of rain.

I watched the scenery fall away through the window, and the tears I'd been holding back finally came.

Goodbye, Gavin.

Goodbye to five ridiculous, wasted years I'll never get back.

Gavin didn't realize Eudora was gone until three days later.

For those three days he'd stayed away on purpose, sleeping at the apartment near the office, waiting for her to give in.

That was how it always went. After every fight, she'd show up within a day with a pot of freshly made soup, voice soft, apology ready.

But this time, three full days passed. His phone stayed silent. Not a single message. Not a single call.

President Delgado, here's the quarterly financial report

The new assistant placed the file on his desk with trembling hands.

Where's Eudora Henson? Tell her to come see me.

Gavin yanked at his tie, irritated. The coffee never tasted right when someone else made it, and nobody sorted his files the way she did.

The assistant froze for a second, then said carefully

President Delgado, Secretary Hensonshe hasn't come in for three days now. HR said they received an email. It was her resignation letter

Resignation?

Gavin was so furious he laughed.

She's really gotten addicted to the act.

He picked up his phone and dialed Eudora's number.

The number you have dialed is currently powered off.

The mechanical female voice only stoked his anger higher.

Find her! I don't care what hole she's hiding in, find her!

Gavin didn't believe Eudora actually had the nerve to leave.

She couldn't survive without him. Not without his money. Not without him.

That night, Gavin went back to Hillside Manor.

The house was pitch black. No soft yellow lamp left on the way it always was.

The faint jasmine scent that used to linger in the air had faded too, replaced by nothing but cold, dead silence.

Eudora?

He called out once. No one answered.

He pushed open the master bedroom door on the second floor and flicked on the light.

The room was immaculate, as if no one had ever lived there.

In the walk-in closet, half of Eudora's clothes were gone. What remained were the seasonal pieces he'd tossed her way over the years, tags still attached, never worn.

The vanity was bare. The only thing sitting on it was a car key.

Something unnamed and panicked began to rise inside him.

He strode to the study, and his gaze landed immediately on the two documents lying on the desk.

A resignation letter. A breakup agreement.

The handwriting was neat and graceful, but every stroke cut with finality.

Gavinwe're even.

He stared at those words, then crushed the paper into a ball and hurled it at the floor.

Eudora Henson, you've really outdone yourself!

He'd thought she was throwing a tantrum. He never imagined she'd been planning to leave all along.

We're even? You slept with me for five years and you think you can just walk away? Keep dreaming!

Gavin snatched up his phone and made several calls.

Shut down every exit route. Pull Eudora Henson's ID usage records. Tear this city apart if you have to, but find her!

The first month after Eudora left.

Gavin couldn't sleep.

Without that familiar trace of jasmine, he tossed and turned all night, barely managing to doze off at dawn.

His temper grew worse by the day, and everyone at the company walked on eggshells.

Lauren tried to stay the night several times, but he turned her away every time with the same excuse: I'm used to sleeping alone.

It wasn't that he couldn't sleep alone. It was that he'd grown used to sleeping with Eudora beside him.

Even on nights they didn't touch, all he needed was to reach over and feel the warmth of her body, and something in him would settle.

Gavin, are youthinking about Eudora?

Lauren's voice was careful, testing.

Gavin cut into his steak without looking up, his expression cold.

Why would I think about her? Ungrateful wretch I never should've fed.

It's justI found this in the back of the closet.

Lauren held out a crumpled sheet of paper.

A lab report from the hospital.

Gavin took it, glanced down with casual disinterest, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Pregnancy test positive

The date wasa month ago?

That day she'd said she wanted to have a baby. He'd assumed she was scheming, and he'd humiliated her for it.

She was already pregnant then?

His hand began to shake. His wine glass tipped, and dark red pooled across the white tablecloth like a stain that looked too much like blood.

She's pregnant

The words left him barely above a whisper. Eudora's face flashed through his mind, pale as it had been that day, and then that final resolute look in her eyes.

I want your seed. But I don't want you anymore.

The words looped through his skull like a curse.

He'd always believed she'd said it out of anger.

She'd meant every word.

She had taken his child and run.

Get the car. The care facility. Now!

He shoved back from the table, the chair shrieking across the floor.

If she was going to leave, she'd take her sickly grandmother with her. Find the grandmother, find her.

The room at the care facility was already empty.

Stella Henson? She was transferred out two weeks ago.

The nurse scrolled through the records.

It looks like she was moved toI'm sorry, the family requested confidentiality.

Gavin stood in the middle of the empty room, and it felt like every drop of blood in his body was running the wrong way.

She had planned all of this. Every step, him included, and then she'd walked away without a trace.

Eudora Henson

He ground her name between his teeth, and the panic rising in his chest finally drowned out the anger.

He couldn't find her.

The woman who had always come when called, who had always stood exactly half a step behind him, had vanished from his world completely.

President Delgado, we found something!

His assistant rushed in, sweat beading across his forehead.

A property under Connor Harding's name, there's been recent power usage, andsomeone spotted a woman matching Ms. Henson's description nearby.

Where?

Seabrook. A seaside village.

Gavin was out the door before the sentence ended.

Eudora Henson, when I get my hands on you, I'll break your legs.

He was vicious in his head, but his trembling fingers gave him away.

He was afraid.

Afraid that she truly didn't want him anymore.

Seabrookthe sea breeze tasting faintly of salt.

I'd rented a little courtyard house by the shore. Sun on my skin every morning, flowers to tend, days that unfolded slow and easy.

My belly had started to round. Connor found me a dependable auntie to handle meals and keep the house running, and every weekend he flew down himself, arms loaded with supplements and baby things.

How's this rocking horse look? Gotta have something for my future godson to ride.

Connor crouched in the courtyard assembling it, sweat beading across his forehead.

I sat in the rocking chair and watched him, smiling.

How do you know it's a boy? What if it's a girl?

Even better! A girl who looks like you. Beautiful.

Connor lifted his head, and sunlight spilled across his facebright enough to make me squint.

The wooden gate to the yard was kicked open.

The crash jolted through me and the book slipped from my fingers, hitting the ground.

Gavin stood in the doorway, radiating hostility. His eyes were webbed with red, his suit wrinkled beyond recognition, every trace of his usual composure gone.

His gaze locked onto me and Connor, then dropped to the slight swell of my belly.

Eudora.

His voice was raw, scraped down to gravel.

So this is where you've been hiding.

Connor shot to his feet and stepped in front of me, guarded.

Gavin. What are you doing here? You're not welcome.

Get out of my way.

Gavin shoved Connor aside and strode toward me.

After the first jolt of panic, I steadied myself quickly.

This was always going to happen.

I gripped the armrest of the rocking chair and stood, meeting his eyes calmly.

President Delgado graces us with his presence. To what do I owe the honor?

He stopped a few steps away. His gaze traced my face, hungry, lingering on my brows and eyes before fixing on my stomach.

The baby's mine?

No.

I didn't hesitate.

It's Connor's.

Something fractured behind his eyes. He grabbed my shoulders so hard I winced.

You're lying! A month ago you were still in my bed! How could it be his?

You have such a short memory, President Delgado.

I let out a cold laugh.

I said I wanted a child. You told me I wasn't worthy.

You wouldn't give me one, so I went to someone who would.

Connor doesn't look down on where I come from. He's happy to step up as the fatherwhy wouldn't I let him?

Shut up!

Gavin's eyes were blood-red, a cornered animal lashing out.

Get rid of it. Come back with me.

On what grounds?

I shook his hands off.

Gavin, we're done. Who I have a child with is none of your business.

Eudora! Don't push me!

He ground the words through his teeth.

I can make the Harding family disappear from Kingsford by tomorrow. Believe that?

You wouldn't dare!

Connor charged forward and drove his fist into Gavin's face.

Gavin staggered back, blood threading from the corner of his mouth.

But he didn't so much as glance at Connor. His eyes stayed locked on me, and in them flickered something I had never seen beforepleading?

Eudora, stop this. Come home with me.

The babyif you insist on having it, fine. But it's mine. It has to be mine.

The irony nearly choked me.

Everything I'd begged for and been denied, he was now offering up freely, now that I no longer wanted any of it.

Too late, Gavin.

I looked him in the eye and said, word by word

I don't love you anymore.