The Baby Shower That Shattered My Marriage,Married to a Billionaire After Betrayal

I'd come to my cousin's baby shower. But the moment I stepped into the banquet hall, I saw the husband I'd been secretly married to for six years, cradling a baby and cooing at it.

I thought he'd finally decided to go public, that he'd slipped in ahead of me to surprise me.

My heart leapt, and I hurried toward him. “Hon……”

“Honey, be careful, don't let the baby catch a chill.”

Then a soft, simpering figure stepped up and curled herself around my husband Nathaniel Sanchez's arm, the gesture intimate, practiced.

I froze where I stood, and the gift I'd brought for the baby slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor, the sound drawing their attention.

Our eyes met. Nathaniel's gaze flickered with panic. “How are you here?”

“My dear son-in-law, I've got the goat's milk all warmed up. Hurry and give my precious grandson a little, can't let him go hungry.”

Mom and Dad came toward Nathaniel, beaming, the bottle held out in their hands.

“Mom, Dad, since when did I have a son I don't know about?”

Only then did they notice me. They glanced my way, faces unchanged. “So you came. I'm the one who sent you the invitation. You were going to find out sooner or later.”

The blood drained out of me, reversed course, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed in a fist until I could barely breathe.

If my own family and the man I loved had all betrayed me, then I didn't want any of them anymore.

——

One betrayal stacked on another, until I could hardly stay on my feet. I opened my mouth, ready to demand the truth, but a hand clamped hard around my arm and dragged me into a side room.

Nathaniel looked at me coldly. “There are a lot of people here today. Don't throw a fit and embarrass Eileen.”

His grip dug into my wrist until it ached, and the fact that he was shielding Eileen like this turned my eyes red in an instant. My voice came out hoarse. “I haven't said a single word and you're already calling it a fit. Tell me, exactly how am I throwing a fit?”

That was when he realized he'd moved too fast. His eyes slid away from mine. “I'm just afraid you'll hurt Eileen. She just gave birth, she's already a little depressed, she can't handle being upset.”

“I'll explain all of this once we're home. It isn't what you think.”

My cousin Eileen Swanson spoke up, eyes red, playing her part. “I know you don't like me, Lorraine Summers. But the baby is innocent. All I wanted was to give him a home.”

I laughed, cold and short. “A mistress wanting to give a baby a home. You think you deserve that?”

Nathaniel's face darkened further, and his hand crushed down on mine until the pain washed the color from my face.

“Lorraine, what nonsense are you spouting?”

He lowered his voice and warned me, cold and flat. “If you dare slander Eileen again, there's no point holding the wedding next week.”

My heart sank with each throb of pain. The wedding I'd longed for, ached for, for six whole years, and he was using it so carelessly to threaten me.

That wedding with no announcement, no word to friends or coworkers, with only the two families invited, done in secret.

I lifted my head, fine tears glinting in my eyes. “Do you really think that wedding still matters? You already have a child now.”

He sneered. “Lorraine, are you threatening me? A shame it won't work.”

“You held on to a hidden marriage for six years, and now you're willing to give up the wedding? This is the wedding you waited six years for.”

He looked at me as though granting a favor. “As long as you promise not to make a scene and behave yourself, I promise the wedding goes ahead as planned.”

Dad looked at me with disdain. “If you keep causing trouble, then let Eileen and Nathaniel hold the wedding instead. Eileen has a child now. She can't stay hidden away her whole life. This way she can marry Nathaniel out in the open.”

“A nice big celebration, and no need to keep it all quiet to spare your pride.”

Mom chimed in too. “That's what I think as well. You can't have children anyway, so you may as well stay home and help look after the baby. Eileen's postpartum depression will heal faster that way.”