The Billionaire's Broken Bride,Rescued by Her Stepbrothers

The day we were supposed to register our marriage, my fiancé Kenneth Matthews showed up late. Again.

There was a woman in the passenger seat.

He glanced at me standing in the wind, shivering, and let out a quiet laugh.

"The registration office is closed? Guess we can't get that marriage certificate after all."

"This little thing's so clingy. She won't go to a single prenatal checkup unless I'm there. Wears me right down." Kenneth looked at her with a smile dripping with affection. "Betty Simmons, how about we wait until after she has the baby, and then we'll register?"

"She's been so good about it, really. Never once tried to take your place."

"You've waited this long already. What's another year or so?"

The numbered ticket in my palm was crushed into a tight ball.

I turned and dropped it in the trash, then lifted my gaze to her flat little stomach.

"Fine."

My mother had remarried into a wealthy family. There were two stepbrothers waiting to meet me there.

——

The truth was, I'd known about Kenneth's affair since the beginning of the year.

One of the Syndicate's guys tipped me off.

"Boss has been making a lot of trips to the college district lately. You might want to keep an eye on that."

It didn't take long to find out.

The girl was barely in her early twenties, a college student named Eleanor Harding.

She'd started waitressing at one of our restaurants late last year. Her family didn't have much, but she was undeniably pretty.

"Don't worry too much about it, though."

"I think the boss is just chasing a thrill, reliving old times. Why else would he pick someone who looks so much like you?"

I stared at the photo on the table. The girl stood under a cherry blossom tree, smiling at the camera. There was a faint echo of my own face in hers.

From that day on, I waited. Waited for Kenneth to come clean.

But I never expected him to bring her right to my doorstep.

And throw in a two-for-one deal.

"Betty, I know you're the best." Kenneth reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

He cradled my face in his hands, the calluses on his palms rough against my cheeks.

"She's fragile. If she loses this baby, her first, it could do real damage to her body."

"I can't stand the thought of a young girl suffering because of me. Just wait a little longer. Next year, we'll register. I promise."

Looking at their fingers laced together, I couldn't stop my eyes from burning.

I'd been pregnant once, too.

I was barely in my twenties when I held up the ultrasound for him, beaming, certain he would do something romantic, maybe even propose.

He took the ultrasound, glanced at it, and said with a face as cold as slate:

"Get rid of it."

"People like us, living on a knife's edge, aren't meant to have kids."

My whole body went rigid. I could barely get the words out. "But the doctor said my health isn't great. If I lose this one, I might not be able to conceive again..."

"Then we won't have kids. Ever."

In my memory, Kenneth's profile was sharp and indifferent, his eyes locked on the game on his screen.

Back then, he said the timing wasn't right. Said it wasn't suitable. Said he didn't like children.

The one thing he never said was that he felt sorry for me.

But now, with that delicate woman tucked against his chest, his eyes were brimming with tenderness he couldn't contain.

Maybe the contrast was too stark. The tears I'd been holding back finally slipped free.

Kenneth's brow creased, barely perceptible. "You're not some eighteen-year-old girl. What's with the waterworks?"

"I told you, once she has the baby, I'll marry you."

The girl beside him tugged at Kenneth's sleeve and leaned forward to peer at me.

"Don't cry, okay?"

"I'm not trying to steal Kenneth from you. I just liked his genes and wanted to keep the baby without the man."

"Our generation isn't exactly desperate to get married."

Every word rolled off her tongue, light and easy, like it cost her nothing. Kenneth stood there listening, thoroughly amused.