Chapter 1053:

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Andrew’s thoughts began to spiral as his gaze locked onto Cathryn, his expression darkening.

Cathryn had been briefly startled by the sight of him, but she steadied herself quickly. She held out a sonogram photo and smiled. “The doctor said the baby is about the size of a grain of rice, but the heart is already beating. Take a look,” she said, pointing to the small dot on the ultrasound image.

Andrew didn’t even glance at the photo. “You seem very happy about this,” he said. His eyes stayed fixed on her, unable to reconcile the genuine light in her expression with the situation in front of him.

Cathryn looked down, her smile softening. “Of course I am. It’s a new life.”

Had Andrew looked more carefully, he might have noticed that her smile was quietly heavy with sadness rather than true joy.

𝗡𝖾w w𝖾𝗲𝗄𝘭𝗒 𝖼𝗁ар𝘵e𝗋𝗌 𝘰𝗻 gа𝗅𝗇𝗼𝘷𝖾𝗹𝘴.𝖼𝗈𝗆

He ground his teeth. “You lied to me. You said you were going shopping.”

Cathryn met his gaze. “I know you don’t want this baby. I thought that if you saw the photo — if you saw the heartbeat — you might change your mind. This is your own flesh and blood, Andrew.”

Andrew squeezed his fists until his knuckles cracked. “Do you really want Kyla to have this child that much?”

Cathryn nodded. “Yes. Don’t worry. I will love this baby and raise it as if I were its mother,” she promised.

Andrew’s mouth twisted into a sharp, mocking smile. Cathryn made it sound as though he was worried about the baby growing up without a mother. He meant nothing of the sort.

What truly terrified him was the baby becoming a wall between him and Cathryn — a permanent, undeniable record of his infidelity. He couldn’t bear the thought of Kyla using the child as leverage, something to pull on whenever it suited her, something that would keep her permanently woven into their lives. And if the child took after Kyla in any way, the dread curdled deeper still. How was he supposed to look at that face every day?

His mind churned with fears. Didn’t Cathryn share them? Or was she simply not afraid of losing him?

Andrew fixed his gaze on her, unwavering. “Aren’t you even a little worried that having this baby around is going to bring me closer to Kyla?”

Cathryn went still, and her eyes betrayed the turmoil she couldn’t quite conceal. Of course she was worried. But what would that change now? Had she been able to bear children herself, she would never have asked Kyla to carry this child — nor would she have permitted it to remain part of their lives.

Her gaze drifted to the ultrasound image of the tiny embryo. It was everything she had ever wanted, and fate had been cruel enough to place it in Kyla’s womb instead of hers.

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