Chapter 4

Aliya's POV

I dragged my exhausted body back to our Golden Hill mansion, desperate for some quiet time to process everything that had happened. My mind was still reeling from the cruel discovery at the hotel—both I and my husband's mistress were pregnant with his children. I needed space to figure out my next move.

As I slid my key into the lock, I heard voices coming from the living room. My heart skipped a beat when I recognized Evan's distinct tone.

He's back already? Coming to explain himself? I thought, instinctively lightening my footsteps.

When I rounded the corner, my blood froze in my veins. There was Evan, sitting on our sofa—our home—and across from him sat that woman from the hotel, Lily White. She was casually holding a cup of hot tea, looking completely at ease, as if she belonged here.

Evan spotted me and jumped to his feet. "Aliya, you're back. I was just about to come find you..."

My eyes darted between them, my throat tightening with each breath. "You actually brought her to our home?"

A rage I'd never felt before erupted from somewhere deep inside me. This was our space—where we'd picked furniture together, hung photos, built a life. And now he had the audacity to bring that woman into our sanctuary.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I stormed across the room toward Lily. My hand connected with her cheek in a sharp, crisp slap that echoed through the quiet living room. Her head snapped to the side, a red handprint immediately blooming on her pale skin.

"How dare you hit me?" Lily gasped, clutching her face as tears sprang to her eyes.

"How dare I?" I laughed bitterly, my voice shaking. "How dare you sleep with my husband and then sit in my home like you belong here!"

I yanked the pregnancy confirmation form from my purse and threw it in Evan's face. "Quite the pair of deceitful lovers you are!"

Evan scrambled to pick up the paper. "Aliya, please let me explain. It's not what you think..."

Lily started sobbing. "Mrs. Clayton, I understand you're angry..."

"Shut up!" I shouted, pointing a finger at her face. "You don't get to speak to me!"

Evan tried to step between us. "Aliya, there were too many reporters at the Crown Hotel after your press conference. I had to bring her somewhere safe..."

"It's our home for crying out loud!" I was incredulous.

Lily attempted to interject. "Mrs. Clayton, what Evan and I have is just—"

"Just what?" I cut her off. "Just a professional relationship? Just a sexual one? Or just a baby-making arrangement?"

I jabbed my finger at the pregnancy report, my voice cold as ice. "She's pregnant with your child, and you both have the nerve to sit here in my living room?"

Evan took a deep breath and pulled a document from his briefcase. "Aliya, this is strictly a transaction."

He handed me a contract. As I scanned it, I saw it outlined how Lily agreed to bear Evan's child in exchange for one million dollars plus promotional resources from the Bradley Group's entertainment division.

"I chose her because she resembles you," Evan explained, his voice clinical and detached. "So the child would look more like our biological offspring."

My stomach churned with disgust. Was this some kind of sick science experiment to him?

"After the birth, she'll disappear," he continued. "We'll raise the child together as our own. This is just to continue the Bradley bloodline—"

"Aliya," he said more seriously, "we only just confirmed her pregnancy. You know how important an heir is to the Bradley family..."

"So you went behind my back to get another woman pregnant?" My voice trembled with fury.

"We've been trying for so long without success," Evan countered. "The doctors said you might not be able to—"

"So it's my fault?" I cut him off, my chest tight with anger. "And that gives you the right to betray our marriage?"

"This isn't betrayal," Evan insisted. "It's an arrangement... a business transaction."

Lily quietly added, "I'm just a surrogate. Once the baby is born, I'll hand it over to you both..."

"Oh, so I should thank you for your contribution to our family?" My voice sounded foreign even to my own ears, dripping with sarcasm.

Evan tried to approach me. "Aliya, I know this is difficult to accept, but you're the only one I love."

I stepped back, avoiding his touch. "Were you thinking that while you were sleeping with her?"

He looked down. "We tried IVF, but it failed... This was the last resort."

"Why didn't you talk to me about it?" I asked, suddenly calm. "Why make this decision behind my back?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't agree," Evan admitted. "The pressure from the Bradley family is intense. My mother keeps reminding me about producing an heir."

I took a deep breath and stared directly into my husband's eyes. "Evan Bradley, I have one final question for you."

The room fell silent. Even Lily's sniffling stopped.

"What if I asked you to terminate her pregnancy?" I asked calmly.

Lily clutched her stomach protectively, her eyes darting to Evan in panic. After a moment of silence, he answered, "Aliya, this child is important to the Bradley family."

I watched his reaction, disappointment flooding through me. "So you choose her baby."

"I'm not choosing her," Evan desperately explained. "It's just that this child is already—"

I decided to keep my own pregnancy a secret. "I can't tolerate your betrayal. You won't give up this child, so I'm removing myself from the equation."

With that, I turned and walked to our bedroom to pack my things. Every item I touched felt like it burned my fingers—all our shared memories now tainted with lies.

I removed my wedding ring and placed it in the blue velvet box from his proposal. My eyes drifted to our wedding photo on the wall, taken at Lunar Bay where Evan had rented out the entire dock and proposed at sunset, promising "forever and always, never to part."

"How ironic," I said softly, glancing at Evan standing in the doorway. "Those vows you made sound like a cruel joke now."

Evan pleaded from the doorway, "Aliya, does it have to come to this? I haven't cheated on you. My feelings haven't changed."

"Evan Bradley," I replied coldly, "people who make mistakes deserve consequences."

I packed only a few essential clothes, leaving everything else in this house of heartbreak. As I dragged my suitcase to the front door, Evan blocked my path.

"Aliya, don't leave," he said. "If you insist, I can go instead. Let you stay here to calm down."

I shook my head. "This isn't my home anymore. Every corner reminds me of your betrayal."

Evan grabbed my wrist. "Where will you go? I'm worried you'll do something rash."

"I'm not a child," I yanked my arm away. "I won't do anything stupid."

"Aliya," Evan reminded me painfully, "you promised you'd never leave me. From Oak Tree Academy until now—nine years."

"That promise was made before your betrayal," I responded evenly.

As I reached my car, Evan made one final threat: "Aliya, if you leave now, I will cut off all your escape routes."

I paused, turning to look at the man I once loved. The desperation and threat in his eyes couldn't shake my resolve.

Move forward. Don't look back... I told myself as I got into my car and drove away from the place I once called home.