THE SPITEFUL BRIDE: Marry To Rival's Son novel Chapter 190

Chapter 190

Stefan turned from the window and his eyes were moist, Mia heart ached for him.

He was the one that had to feel the heat if the rivalry mostly.

He was still a baby when it all started. Their fathers are both trash.

"I went home that afternoon," Elizabeth said. "And two days later, Samuel came to see me. He looked different, clean-shaven, dressed in an expensive suit I'd never seen before. He sat in my living room and he told me he'd found a way forward. That he'd met someone who could help him fight back."

"My mother," Mia whispered.

"Your mother," Elizabeth confirmed. "She was the only daughter to her parents, who were one of the billionaires. They had old money, lots of it.

Samuel had met her at some charity event the day before and he'd charmed her completely. He was good at that, when he wanted to be, Samuel could make you feel like you were the only person in the world who mattered."

Ethan's face had gone carefully blank, the way it did when he was processing something painful. "He used her."

"He married her a month later," Elizabeth said. "Quick, quiet ceremony. Nothing like the wedding he'd planned with Annabelle. Your mother thought it was romantic, this wounded man who'd been betrayed finding love again so quickly. She had no idea she was funding a war."

"Did you tell her?" Mia asked, leaning forward. "Did you try to warn her?"

Elizabeth's face crumpled. "I should have. God, I should have. But I was twenty-three years old and pregnant and terrified, and Samuel came to me before the wedding and asked me to stay quiet. He said if I kept his secrets, he'd keep mine. He said he'd make sure Jeremiah never found out about you, Stefan. That he'd help me disappear if I needed to."

Stefan's jaw clenched. "A deal."

"A deal," Elizabeth agreed. "I was young and scared and I took it. I let your mother marry him without knowing what she was walking into. And I've regretted it every day since."

The room felt smaller suddenly, the air thicker. Mia stood up and went to Stefan, wrapping her arms around him from behind. He covered her hands with his, his grip tight enough to almost hurt.

"What happened next?" Sienna asked quietly. "With Jeremiah, with my mother?"

Elizabeth's expression shifted, something darker moving across her features. "Jeremiah called me three weeks after his wedding. Called me at two in the morning from a payphone because he didn't want Annabelle to know. He said we needed to talk. I hung up on him. He called back seventeen times. Finally I answered and he said we needed to meet, that there were things we had to discuss about 'the situation.'"

"The baby," Elena said. "He meant Stefan."

"He meant Stefan," Elizabeth confirmed, and her voice had gone cold. "I met him at a diner outside the city. He showed up in sunglasses even though it was evening, paranoid someone would recognize him. He sat across from me and he said..." She stopped, visibly steeling herself.

"He said he couldn't be a father to this child. That it would ruin his marriage, his business relationships, his reputation. That Annabelle's family was very religious and very wealthy and they'd cut him off if they knew he'd gotten another woman pregnant before the wedding."

"Oh God," Mia breathed.

"He asked me how much," Elizabeth said flatly. "How much money it would take for me to make it go away. Like Stefan was a problem that could be solved with a check."

Stefan made a sound like he'd been punched. Mia's arms tightened around him and she felt his whole body shaking.

"I told him to go to hell," Elizabeth said, and there was steel in her voice now. "I told him I was keeping my baby and he could either be a father or he could walk away but he couldn't pay me off like I was some kind of..." She stopped, shook her head sharply.

"He got angry then. Said I was being unreasonable, that I was trying to trap him, that if I really cared about the child I'd give him a better life than I could provide alone."

"He tried to manipulate you," Ethan said, his voice hard.

"He tried," Elizabeth agreed. "But I'd already seen what he was capable of. I'd watched him betray Samuel and marry Annabelle and steal a business contract all in one smooth move. I knew he was dangerous. So I told him I was keeping the baby and he was never to contact me again."

She looked at Stefan, her eyes full of old fear and fierce protection. "He got very quiet then. Very still. And he said, 'If you keep this child, Elizabeth, I'll make sure you regret it. I'll make sure everyone knows what kind of woman you are. I'll tell them you tried to trap me, that you were sleeping with other men, that the baby might not even be mine. I'll destroy your reputation so completely that no one will believe a word you say.'"

The room erupted.

"He threatened you?" Sienna was on her feet, her voice sharp with shock and fury.

"While you were carrying his child?" Elena's hands were pressed to her chest like she couldn't breathe.

Stefan pulled away from Mia and turned, his face transformed by rage, he'd known all these but hearing it again brought memories that weren't sweet.

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