Chapter 1 - The Choice In The Dark
The vibration rattled against the polished wooden floorboards like an electric shock.
Vincent froze with our crying newborn cradled clumsily against his broad chest. His tailored shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and the shadows under his eyes were deep. Yet, when the screen flashed Victoria’s name again, his entire posture tightened with a reflexive panic that made my stomach twist violently.
"Vincent, look down at him," I whispered, my voice cracked and dry from weeping through three straight feedings.
He stared at the bright blue screen, his throat moving as he swallowed hard. The baby whimpered, tiny fingers clutching Vincent’s thumb with a desperate, instinctive strength that should have anchored any real father to the floor.
"She’s having an anxiety breakdown at the Bellagio, Clara," Vincent muttered, barely looking at me. "Her brother called me. She doesn't have anyone else in this town."
"Our son doesn't have anyone in this town either," I said, standing on trembling legs that still throbbed from the emergency surgical incision. "He doesn't have a father if you walk out that door right now."
Vincent pulled his fingers free from our baby's grip and handed Nico back to me like an awkward parcel. The cold air rushed against my chest as I took my son, whose sudden wail pierced the vast, suffocating luxury of the master bedroom.
"Don't manipulate me with the baby, Clara," he snapped, grabbing his silver watch and phone from the nightstand. "This isn't a competition. She's in genuine distress. I’ll be back in an hour, two hours tops."
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He turned on his heel before I could speak another word, his expensive loafers clicking sharply across the Italian tile hallway. The heavy double doors slammed shut with a finality that echoed through the entire penthouse.
I stood alone in the dark, the quiet hum of the air conditioner mocking the empty room. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs, and the phantom smell of another woman's sweet vanilla perfume seemed to linger in the hallway like poison.
