I opened my eyes to find myself naked beneath the sheets, and I cringed, holding the sheet up to my chin. George was nowhere in sight. Had he drugged me just to sleep with me?

The door opened just then, and George walked in, wrapped in the arms of another lady, their tongues rolling against each other as though I were invisible. They collapsed onto the sofa next to the bed and began tearing at each other's clothes. I couldn't take it anymore.

“George!!! Are you insane? What do you take me for? A mannequin?”

He looked up at me with a killer gaze that made me shiver. I couldn't believe this was the guy I killed my baby for. God knows I was really willing to carry that baby until he showed up.

“What did you just say?”

Before I could blink, he dealt me several slaps across my cheeks until I saw stars and my head ached.

“I'm glad you know what you are. A mannequin. I will only touch you when and how I like.”

With that, he dragged me to the bathroom and locked me inside. I cried bitterly. It was hard to block my ears from the disgusting noises they made in the room. I couldn't believe this was the life my parents wanted for me.

A WEEK LATER

Our wedding was a blast and the talk of the town. My mum's operation had finally been paid for and scheduled, as well as the house bills. But I had a new problem. The baby hadn't been aborted as I had thought.

Of course, I didn't breathe a word about it to anybody until I put to bed. The family was so immersed in the celebration and preparation for the arrival of the new baby that no one noticed a thing.

“Aww… he is so cute. Just like his father,” my mother-in-law cooed at the baby a few days after my delivery. “What shall we name him, George darling? Have you thought of any name yet?” She turned to her son in her usual high and lofty voice.

“Prince Williams,” George said with a wide smile.

“Prince Williams,” his mother mulled thoughtfully.

“No. I actually thought of a name already. I think I would prefer Theodore. Theodore was your grandfather's name. He was the first to own an estate in the region and was the richest in his time, just as your father is presently.”

Theo? No way.

George shrugged in surrender. “So be it then, Mum. As you say.” He flicked his gaze to me, and I forced a smile.

“I think Prince Williams would actually be better,” I objected calmly.

“No, dear. We shall name him Theo. Your husband didn't object,” Maria, my mother-in-law, said. “You don't hate the name, do you?”

She gave me a long, knowing stare with a smile that looked mischievous. I felt a tight knot form in my stomach.

Later that evening, when I went to make myself some coffee in the kitchen, Maria came in and shut the door. I held my breath as I watched her. Even in her late sixties, she was still strong and had the energy of someone in her thirties.

“The nerve of you, Victoria, to carry Theophilus’ baby and pretend to be pregnant for my son.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came forth. Did she do a thorough background check on me? What was she up to?

“I know George is infertile, though he refuses to acknowledge it. So I was surprised when your pregnancy was announced. But I don't want a situation whereby a nobody from nowhere comes claiming my grandson.”

She produced an envelope I hadn't realized she had been holding.

“This will be between the two of us. Sign this document stating that if anyone ever comes to lay claim to my grandson in the future, you will never accept the claim. DNA test or not. And if ever you do, I will make sure you are rendered childless,” she threatened. “After all, I just did you a huge favour by naming him after his dad.”

Theodore and Theophilus don’t sound alike to me, I thought bitterly, unable to utter a word.

I signed it hurriedly without thinking. First of all, there was no way in the world Theo would know this was his baby. And secondly, it wasn't as if he would ever want anything to do with me again.

TEN YEARS LATER

It was Theodore's tenth birthday. As usual, George was hosting the celebration in grand style. I was relieved he was totally ignorant of his son's paternity. The joy of Theodore's birth had saved me from his fierce wrath. Not like he treated me half as kindly as Theo once did, but I made myself believe there was a slight difference at least.

However, as I walked among the guests, greeting and exchanging pleasantries, a familiar face struck me.

Wasn’t that Theo?

Our eyes met for a fleeting moment, and I looked away immediately as my pulse raced. Theo was ten times more handsome and elegant than the last time I saw him. He was seated among the VIP guests at the high table and was even chatting freely with George.

I hurried off immediately to avoid being noticed, only to hear George's booming voice.

“Tori, honey! Over here. Come say hi to my good friend. Theo Naths. CEO of Theory Holdings.”

Theory? Theo…ry?

The name resounded in my ears. Tell me it’s not what I’m thinking.

My heart paused as I turned around slowly, hoping my heels didn't look wobbly as I walked unsteadily toward them.

“Lady Victoria Earnest,” Theo said coolly, extending his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Earnest? My brain reeled. I had dropped that name years back after marrying George and was now Victoria Williams. Why was he calling me that?

“You know my wife?” George raised his brows at Theo in surprise.

“No, I don’t,” Theo laughed. Despite the tense atmosphere, I couldn’t help but notice he still had that charming smile. I bet he must be turning heads wherever he went. “I think your wife is the one who knows me instead,” he muttered with carefree ease, his eyes lingering on me.

I could feel my heart pounding in my ears as George's questioning gaze rested on me.

What the hell was Theo up to?

“Come on, George. He is only pulling your legs. I’m only meeting him for the first time. I guess he must have overheard me reuniting with one of my old-time friends. She practically yelled my name a hundred times.” I forced a laugh, giving Theo a warning side glance.

“Oh. I was wondering,” George mulled, nodding genuinely in understanding.

I was about to take a deep breath and walk away when my son, Ted, suddenly came hopping to my side.

“Mum, where have you been? I need you to come say hi to my new friends from school I told you about.”

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the way Theo ran his gaze over Ted. No doubt they both had striking similarities, should anyone bother to pay close attention. Same nose. Same hair colour.

“This is my boy, Ted,” George said proudly to Theo, gesturing. “Ted, come say hi to Daddy’s friend first.”

“Hi,” Ted muttered as Theo stretched out his hand for a handshake.

“Such a fine lad you are. I think we look alike,” Theo murmured jokingly, loud enough to be heard. “Right?” He glanced at George, who stared blankly for approval.

Good Lord. Was Theo actually sent as the devil himself to ruin things for me?

“Come on, Teddy, let’s go. We shouldn’t keep your friends waiting,” I said quickly before anyone could respond, hurrying off with him.

“Who is that guy, Mum? I think he is cool,” Ted began.

“Yeah, I think all your dad’s friends are cool,” I responded casually.

“But he is not wrong, huh? We look alike, don’t we?”

I forced a scoff. “Where did you say your friends are? I don’t see them.”

“Really? Can’t you see them taking photos by the pool?” he pointed ahead.

Of course, I had seen them the whole time.

My brain was in several splits for the rest of the party, no matter how hard I tried to pull myself together. Worse still, each time George called on me to greet a guest, Theo was always there, feeding his eyes on me as though I were some special treasure.

Once, after greeting one of the guests, a fine young gentleman slipped a card in between my fingers.

“Excuse me?” I said, giving him a condescending glare. I was used to being respected by all because I was George’s wife, so I hadn’t expected this.

The guy simply nodded toward Theo, where he sat, and I held my peace at once.

“Are you okay? What’s that?” George demanded, observing me closely.

“I’m good. I just need to use the restroom.”

“I thought I saw that guy give you something just now.”

I forced a smile. “Don’t mind me. I was careless. He only helped me pick up a card that fell out of my purse.”

I was quite amazed at how quickly and easily I wove the lie. It was a very good thing George didn’t seem to notice anything, and his attention soon got diverted.

That night, after the party, while lying on the bed, I contemplated texting Theo using the number on the business card, but a part of me resisted. Ten years had passed. There was no point in him coming to raise dust, neither was there any point in fueling his pride. He should know his place and start his own family. Paternal rights shouldn’t be limited to merely donating sperm.

George soon emerged from the bathroom, but I didn’t notice because I was lost in my thoughts.

“Are you thinking about him?”

I turned to him sharply. “Thinking about who?” I could barely hide the quiver in my voice.

George gave me a lopsided grin as he approached the bed slowly. “You think I’m a fool and don’t know, right?”

I grew tense but managed to mask my feelings. “I sincerely don’t understand what you are talking about.”

He sluggishly dried his body with his expensive white towel. “I overheard Ted telling you he wants to go see the rodeo show at Theo's Park, but you refused and have no intention of telling me, right?”

I was immensely relieved. George was indeed a fool. Good thing he was.

I forced a smile. Of course, I had refused. No way I would take my ex’s son to him in the name of going to his park for a kids’ show.

“Don’t tell me you hate Theo. He is a nice guy, isn’t he? Got a lot of humour too. He might be my junior, but I think he is way more mature and sensible for his age,” George remarked, putting on his pyjamas. “Compared to the other jerks I deal with, I think he is a smart ass.”

I'm pretty sure he was indirectly referring to Adam.

“What exactly does he do?” I asked out of curiosity.

George threw himself onto the bed first. “Real estate investment and stuff. Owns a park and several shopping malls.”

Quite impressive. So Theo, the once broke, poverty-stricken kid, was now making it real big. Well, back to my problem. Ted was a big fan of horses, and horse riding was his thing. Moreover, rodeo shows like these were a rare privilege, and I had no concrete excuse to deny him.

“Whatever you do, Tori, just make sure my boy doesn’t miss the rodeo,” George muttered, turning off the bedside lamp as he shifted his attention to his phone.

I rolled my eyes in irritation in the dark. “Your boy indeed,” I mouthed.

“I have a very important business deal I need to strike with Theo, and we need to play really nice with him, don’t you think?”

I said nothing in response and rose from the bed instead, slipping Theo’s business card into my nightie. I needed to check on Teddy.

“You will respond when I talk to you, Victoria!” George suddenly yelled, slamming a fist hard on the bed.

I inhaled deeply first. “I heard you quite well,” I answered as calmly as I could. Here was his real self, yelling my name like a maid in private, and yet out in public he dared call me sweet names.

“And where are you off to?” he fired.

“I need to check on Ted,” I murmured, shutting the door before he could say anything in response.

Ted was wide awake on his bed when I entered his room, busy with his phone. He gave me his usual sweet smile, but my stomach dipped this time because the smile was strikingly similar to Theo’s.

“Hey, birthday banana, isn’t it bedtime yet? Look at the time.”

“Don’t you think you should stop calling me that now? I’m no longer a kid,” he protested.

I wasn’t listening as I peered at his phone. “What are you doing?” I craned my neck.

He brought the phone closer to me. “You wanna see? You know Bobby, my best friend? He thinks Theo is cool and that we look alike.”

I bit my lower lip and dug my toes into his soft Persian rug.

No way in the world was he falling for Theo now.

My brows shot up as I glanced at his screen. Ted had been looking Theo up on his social media handles.

“Why? What makes you think you guys look alike? Because Theo jokingly mentioned it and it’s getting into your head?”

“No, Mum, come on. Have you forgotten he came to talk to the kids himself about the rodeo show? It was Bobby who mentioned it, and I didn’t even tell him anything. By the way, will you let me go?”

“You can go, and stop stalking his accounts,” I said curtly, rising.

“And how the hell am I doing that? I’m only trying to know more about him,” he flared.

“Why don’t you try to know more about the people around you instead?” I fired back. “I heard your grandma asking how old your dad was earlier today and you couldn’t even respond, yet you claim to want to know more about a total stranger you’ve barely met.”

“I answered her, of course! Isn’t Dad forty-nine? That’s seventeen whole years older than Theo Naths! You know, I wish he was my dad instead. Unlike Dad, he was so cool and everyone loves him.”

I resisted the urge to scream and tell him to shut the hell up. Instead, I stilled myself as much as I could.

“Ted. Your dad had you when he was twenty-nine. Go to bed now. Enough of this Theo talk. I already promised you, you would attend the rodeo show.”

I slammed the door hard as I left and made for the balcony instead of the bedroom.

It was way too early for Ted to start liking Theo. I couldn’t wait for the stupid rodeo show to come and go so I could have my peace.

While standing there, I decided to text Theo, but I couldn’t find the business card. My heart pounded. It must have slipped out in Ted’s room.

I hurried back only to meet Maria chatting leisurely with him.

“Is everything okay? I only came to check on my birthday grandson,” she said dryly.

“Uhm… well, I already checked on him and was just passing by when I saw his light on. I remember asking him to turn it off and go to bed,” I rambled, my eyes scanning the corner of the bed where I had sat earlier and the floor where Maria stood. The card had to be somewhere around.

“Are you looking for this?” she asked, holding it up.

I was stunned into silence.

“Ted said it slipped out of your gown when you left his room,” she continued.

“What?” I sputtered.

“Yeah, I was going to tell you, but you were too busy yelling at me.” he rolled his eyes.

The day was almost over already. Did it really have to get worse? Hot sweat broke out on my forehead.

Before I could gather my thoughts, Maria’s phone suddenly buzzed.

“Oh, that’s my medicine alarm,” she murmured, hurrying out.

She left with the card, and an eerie feeling settled in my chest.

“Are you okay, Mum?” Ted asked, watching me closely.

“Go to bed, banana. Tomorrow is another day,” I said, exiting his room.

I couldn’t sleep all night as my mind raced back and forth. Now, thanks to Theo, Maria would start keeping tabs on me again.

Theo, on his part, obviously had something up his sleeve, and whatever it was, it didn’t look good. For him to be so bold and audacious in my husband’s presence, make a frank comment about how he and Ted looked alike, and even invite him to his park said a lot. He had also gone as far as giving me his business card.

What more? George considered him an important business asset.

What did Theo want? Me or Ted? Was he certain Ted was his son, or did he only suspect?

The following day, I went with the chauffeur and Ted to the venue of the show. It was quite a grand and interesting spectacle, something I would have been thrilled to enjoy on a good day.

“You know what, Mum? I’m so confident. I bet I’ll be among the kids selected during the audition.”

I frowned. “What do you mean by audition? Isn’t this the main show?”

“Nope. They just want to give us some little tryouts so the best of us can feature in the main show tomorrow.”

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Here I was, longing to get done with the day and everything that came with it. I couldn’t believe we’d be doing this again tomorrow.

Before I could reason with Ted, a familiar cologne filled the air.

Theo Naths himself, with his usual charming smile and elegance.

“Who do we have here?”

I was about to give him a sharp response when I realized he was addressing Ted, not me.

“Hello, Theo,” Ted greeted warmly with a big smile.

“Hi, Big Tee. What’s up?” Theo gave him a cool, friendly handshake as though they were old friends.

I grew more puzzled. “Wait. I don’t get it. Have you two met already? And why are you calling him Theo?”

“Because I asked him to.” His gaze rested on me.

“Yes, Mum. We met yesterday after he announced the show. I told you he was cool. Look how he calls me Big Tee, but you keep calling me banana.”

Theo chuckled, but I felt sick to my stomach.

Things were moving faster than my imagination.

“You know what, sweetie? I think that’s Bobby waving at you over there. Why don’t you go say hi while I have a word with Theo?”

I had barely finished speaking before Ted turned and hurried off excitedly.

“Theophil. Really? What the hell are you up to?” I demanded indignantly.

“What are you talking about?” he asked calmly, like the perfect gentleman, in his usual husky voice.

That same voice that had whispered kisses and promises in my ears years back. That same voice that had once set my mind spinning and made my heart flutter.

Theo had been attractive back then, and even now, he was even more so. Unlike George, whose charm stopped at a cute baby face.

The fact that Theo had left the top three buttons of his shirt undone, exposing the faint hair on his chest, was enough to unsettle me. His cologne, his voice and proximity.

I was forced to take an involuntary step back and almost stumbled as I stepped on a stone, but Theo caught me just in time before I could hit the ground.

It felt like a movie scene as we held each other’s gaze for a fleeting second.

Our lips were only inches apart.