The bar was dark, or maybe it was just my eyes being puffy from crying. I had to make sure Roberts didn't follow me because he had insisted that the bar was too rough and dangerous for someone of my status I knew he meant to say personality.

Well I didn't care anymore.

If my husband and best friend could join forces and betray me, why should I care? I sauntered over to the bartender and flashed a smile.

"Vodka please" I said and he stared at me, tilting his head to the side.

"You alright miss?" He said in a British accent and I rolled my eyes.

"Give me the damn drink" I snapped, and he nodded and pulled out a glass and vodka bottle. I grabbed the bottle and the glass.

"I'll pay for the bottle, be ready to give me more if I ask" I said and he stared at me in surprise. I guess it wasn't everyday he got a female customer in an expensive dress demanding for a drink like a sailor.

Not that I care......at least not now.

I headed over to a dark corner and settled down. A lot of interested eyes followed me, men licking lips, some were openly staring which made me wonder why Jason would ever do that to me. For a moment the emotions came flooding back and my eyes watered.

No, no. No tears

I sucked in my breath and cocked open the bottle pouring a glass of vodka in the glass cup and chugged it down my throat. I gritted my teeth a bit as the sharp taste filled my senses and I sighed. My head felt a bit light and the chatter around me suddenly felt dim.

Good.

This felt like peace, I poured a glass again and raised it to my lips.

"Miss" someone with another British accent called and I sighed..wonderful, now I was being admired by British men, why are they so much here anyway or was my head playing tricks with me.

"Yes Brit" I said and he smiled, he wasn't bad looking but not handsome either and his eyes were a rough blue and from his face I could tell he was a proper hooligan, but for some reason, or rather for a reason I didn't seem to care.

"Can I sit?" He asked indicating to the chair across mine and I grinned at him.

"Of course Blud" I said faking an accent, "You can" 

He smiled at me as he sat and poured himself a drink without permission and I just smiled.

"Vodka" he said simply, inhaling before drinking. "Good drink"

"Yes it is" I said, sipping mine. I stared at him, "Why are you here?" I said, I never would have asked bluntly on a normal day but things weren't normal with me right now.

"You're beautiful, sexy, everything a man wants" he answered simply and I chuckled bitterly.

"Everything a man wants?" I said, trying so hard not to be hysterical, "Are you fucking with me?" I said dangerously close to annoyance not at him but for everything that's happened.

He leaned forward and not even backing down.

"Yes, I would fuck you now if you would let me" he said and at first anger was my reaction, then I was reminded of my loyalty to Jason but I stopped. Why should I remain loyal to the man who had no right to deserve my loyalty? Why should I even refuse a man who really wanted me, thug or not? And this was my chance to forget all that had happened, maybe sex is all I need.

"Alright" I said with a drunk grin as I took another sip, the drink going straight to my head.

"Alright?" He echoed and I smiled at him, suddenly happy.....the damn drink.

"Alright, I'll let you do it, what's your name?" I said and he raised a brow then he grinned.

"Good girl. The name's Tom" he said, he stood and pulled me up. He started to lead me upstairs but suddenly our path was blocked by a...

Oh my God was I seeing things.

The man in front of us was tall, maybe six foot eight, his green eyes looked like a mini stormy sea. He was well built and there was his face, in my drunken state I could register it but I was very well aware of how handsome he was....very handsome.

"I want that one...." I slurred and the man in front of us, frowned.

"She's drunk mate, let her be" his voice was soothing deep and I closed my eyes as it ran through my bones.

"Why, so you can fuck her yourself?" Tom asked and the man in front of us didn't even react.

"No, not like you Tom, like I said...Fuck off" he said and Tom scowled gripping my hand or tight it hurt.

"Or what?" he growled and the other man laughed. He reached for his waistband and Tom's eyes widened and he dropped my hand, and raised his.

"Whoa I am sorry mate" he said backing up, "I'll leave now"

"Scot" the man said and Tom ran off. He watched Tom go then he turned to me.

"Hey baby" I flashed a grin and he didn't even smile back, he picked me up in his arms and headed outside the pub.

I groaned and thrashed in his arms, "Hey my drink, I need it please" I said and he shook his head.

"No"

"Please" I begged, near tears. "You don't understand, I need it or......" I stopped and his green eyes suddenly rested on mine and even in my bold drunken state I looked away suddenly shy.

"Or...?"

"Or I'll remember" I said and he nodded. I could see in his eyes that he knew what I was talking about or had an idea.

"Alright let's take you home" he said and I stared at him in surprise.

"Home?" I asked and he dropped me in the backseat of his car.

"Shhh" he said and without warning covered my face with a bandana, I felt myself going weak and my eyes widened.

"You....." I started and he pressed harder and suddenly I went limp.

"Night night" he said before my world went dark.

The harsh sunlight of the morning must have been the reason I woke. The first thing I noticed was that the bedroom I was in was unfamiliar, the bedroom was quite spacious and well furnished.

My head pounded and I barely could remember what happened from the night before and wait why was I in a strange bed and a strange house. Why was I here? Where is Jas......

I choked down a sob, the memory came flooding back and suddenly the tears I was trying so hard to hold came flooding out. I didn't deserve, I never even wanted to be married in the first place. I did and I fell in love with a man who played me and even go ahead to be cheating on me with my best friend.

I must have sobbed for maybe a full twenty minutes before I realized that Jason wasn't worth crying for.   Maybe it was also my fault, if only I was only to give him kids.

"You done?" came that vaguely familiar voice and I whirled around to find that man from yesterday staring at me. His presence suddenly made the room feel like it was closing on me, his frame alone filled the door.

"You" I frowned when I remembered what he did yesterday. "You drugged me, made me go to sleep" I said with a scowl and he shrugged.

"You were a fucking mess, had to put you to sleep, you were raving on about some "Jason" in your sleep too" he said and I turned away.

Shit

"I don't know who that is" I lied and his green eyes suddenly bore into mine like he could see clearly see that I was lying. It took all my willpower not to look away, and I would have did if not that the green in his eyes looked so mesmerizing, as if it was pulling me in holding me in some kind of trance.

"Is he the reason you're crying?" He asked and I stared at him in surprise. How perceptive can he be? 

"No" I stuttered and he cocked his head to the side, he leaned into the door frame.

"That doesn't sound convincing" he said and I glared at him already disliking the persistent.

"You're Fucking persistent. I don't need to be......."

"You curse?" He interrupted and I stopped, he walked over till he was standing in front of me, he towered over me making me tilt my head. 

"Who doesn't?" I countered and he smiled or just the barest hint of one.

"Fair point" he said. His eyes skimmed over my face in concern. "You should get a bath"

"Why?" I said suspiciously and he shrugged.

"You reek" he said simply and leaned in "Of alcohol" he whispered in my ear and I shivered. I took a step back, afraid of my own body reactions to a mere whisper. I stared at the huge glass windows and nodded.

"Thank you.....for Uhh last night" I said to him and he nodded, he pivoted on his heel and walked away. I let out the pent up breath I had been holding up. I don't know, but standing so close to him made my head dizzy like I was high on something and I blushed.

I didn't spend long in the shower because of how self conscious and weird I was feeling, when I came back to the bedroom a new set of clothes were laid out on the bed for me. I picked them up and I gasped, it was my favorite gown, how did he.......

Nevermind.

I must have mumbled it all in my drunken sleep, I headed to the sound of clanging in the kitchen and stopped at the doorway when I saw him.

He was shirtless and I stood there frozen; not in shock but in hypnosis, Jason was hot but seeing this man in front of me made all my hairs stand on end, I could barely breathe I didn't even notice my ragged breathing, the sign of my effort to act normal.

"You're done" he announced, watching me and my head snapped up to his.

"Yeah, yeah. I was hungry and I heard someone in the kitchen I decided to check" I blurted out and he nodded. He handed me a cup of coffee and I downed it in one gulp, he grinned at that.

"Hungry much?" He asked and I sighed dramatically.

"Starving" 

"I can see that" he tossed me toast and I wolfed it down and he laughed, the sound was so endearing that I started at him in surprise.

"You eat like a cow" he said and I nodded, not paying heed to his remarks instead concentrating on finishing my food.

"I know" I said after I shoved down the last of the toast. He studied me and leaned forward.

"Who's Jason?" He asked and I stopped, annoyance brewing in my gut.

"It's none of your business" I retorted and he nodded, he leaned forward and took a lock of my hair playing with it and my heart beat faster.

"You're stubborn" he said and I stared at his lips, fighting the urge to lick mine.

"I am?"

"I think you know" he answered and I looked down, avoiding his eyes.

"Your name?" I blurted out, desperate to say something and he grinned.

"Call me Four" 

"Four" I chuckled, "Is that........"

Suddenly my stomach lurched and I ran to the toilet, and opened the lid and retched into the bowl, throwing up the content of what I just ate. I gasped as I wiped my mouth and stared at the mirror.

Why did I look pale?

For some reason I fished out the pregnancy tester from my blouse pocket and I tried it.

My eyes widened

I am pregnant

My head spun, not from the vodka anymore, but from the sudden, earth-shattering realization that I was pregnant.  

I am pregnant.

The words echoed in the small, unfamiliar bathroom, the pregnancy test clutched in my shaking hand. 

My heart, which had felt like a dead stone for the past forty-eight hours, suddenly started thumping with manic speed.  

A child. A child.

For years, that was the one thing Jason and I fought over. The one thing he desperately wanted, and the one thing I couldn't give him. 

I had been devastated when I thought I was infertile. But now, here it was. Proof that I wasn't.  

A smile stretched across my face, wide and bright, pushing away the memory of Jason's fists, Rhea's cruel smirk, and the dark, intoxicating allure of the man named Four. None of it mattered now. This changed everything.  

This baby Jason's baby, very certainly would save my marriage.  

I rushed out of the bathroom, barely registering the strange man, Four, still shirtless and powerful, sitting in the kitchen.  

"I need to go," I blurted out, grabbing my expensive handbag that was sitting on the counter.  

He stood up, his green eyes narrowed, the movement making the muscles in his chest and arms shift. He was like a piece of dark, beautiful marble, intimidatingly huge.  

"Where the hell are you going?" he asked, his voice deep and demanding.  

"Home! I'm going home!" I cried, feeling giddy. "I have to tell Jason. I have to tell my husband!"

The smile vanished from Four's face. He walked towards me, and for a second, I felt that strange, compelling pull again, the dizzying effect he had on me.  

"The man who beat the crap out of you?" he countered, his voice dripping with cool disapproval. "The one you were raving about, saying he hated you?"  

I flinched but shook my head violently. "You don't understand! He only did that because he was angry! He wanted a child, and now... now I can give him one! This changes everything, Four! It fixes us!"  

He looked at me with an expression I couldn't decipher contempt, maybe pity.

"You're a fool," he stated simply, but his eyes were blazing. "That kind of hatred doesn't go away with a baby. It only changes its target."

"Stop it! You don't know him!" I snapped. I hated his persistence. I didn't need to hear his opinion. I just needed to get to Jason.  

I snatched the keys to my car, which he must have taken from my bag last night, and darted out the door before he could stop me. 

I didn't even care that I was wearing the gown he'd laid out for me and not the expensive dress I had been wearing when he drugged me.  

I drove frantically back to the mansion, the adrenaline pumping in my veins. I am pregnant. I am pregnant. 

I chanted in my head like a desperate prayer.

Roberts wasn't there, so I parked my car, stumbling out onto the perfectly manicured lawn. I flung open the front door and ran through the grand marble foyer.  

"Jason! Jason!" I called out, heading straight for the sitting room where he sometimes held informal meetings.

I stopped dead in the doorway.

He was there. Jason, looking impossibly handsome in an open-collared silk shirt, was sitting across from Rhea, my treacherous best friend. 

They were leaning over a large, glossy catalogue. A small smile genuine this time, not the forced one he'd given me at dinner played on his lips as he pointed to a picture.  

Rhea laughed, a high, tinkling sound that used to comfort me but now grated on my nerves.  

"The calla lilies, darling," Rhea purred, touching his hand. "They'll be perfect for the aisle. My aisle."  

My blood ran cold. Wedding plans.  

I walked into the room, my voice a shaky whisper. "What is this?"

Jason looked up, and his blue eyes were completely devoid of warmth. Rhea just smiled, that cruel, indifferent smirk.  

"Veronica," Jason said flatly, as though I were an annoying interruption. He stood, picking up a sleek manila envelope from the table. "Timing is everything, isn't it? I was just finalizing the date. The prenup for the second marriage, that is."  

He tossed the envelope onto the table. It slid across the glossy surface and stopped right in front of me.

Divorce papers. Signed by him.  

"I told you it was over," he said, his voice cold and indifferent. "Now sign."  

I didn't look at the papers. I didn't look at Rhea. I looked only at Jason, my heart pounding with a painful mix of hope, fear, and desperation.  

"I'm pregnant," I choked out.

The room fell silent. Rhea's smile faltered, her blue eyes widening in genuine surprise. Jason didn't move.  

"What did you say?" Jason asked, his voice low.

"I'm pregnant, Jason! We're having a baby!" I cried, rushing towards him, reaching for his arm. "It fixed us, right? We fixed it! We can throw those papers away. We can be a family!"  

He didn't take my hand. He looked down at my face, and for one heartbreaking second, I thought I saw a flicker of emotion, maybe even hope.

Then, the coldness returned, harder and sharper than before.

"A baby?" he scoffed, pulling his arm away. "After three years of trying and failing, you suddenly get pregnant a few days after I serve you divorce papers? Who is the father, Veronica? That thug you spent the night with at the bar?"  

Did he stalk me?

My eyes widened in shock. How did he know about Four?  

Rhea recovered quickly. "Don't be naive, darling," she said sweetly. "She's desperate to keep you. It's probably a pathetic lie."  

"It's not a lie!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "It's yours, Jason! It has to be! I love you! This is what you wanted!"

Jason just leaned down, his face inches from mine, and delivered the final blow, his voice dangerously soft. 

"I wanted a child from a loyal wife. And I'm certainly not going to raise a possible bastard from some lowlife you picked up in a dive bar. Sign the papers, Veronica. I have a wedding to plan. With a woman who is ready to give me an heir."  

Loyal? Look who's talking about loyal

I was shattered. 

Utterly and completely shattered. He didn't deserve me, he didn't deserve this child. He had traded me for a traitor and now denied my gift out of cold spite.  

I walked back to the table, picked up the pen, and with a shaking hand, signed the papers. I was done being the meek wife.  

"You can have the name, the houses, the money, everything," I whispered, throwing the pen down. "But you will never see this baby."  

Well, Four was right