My Secret Baby Was Just Pasta

My boyfriend just spent three months backpacking across Europe with the woman of his dreamsthe one who got away.

Now, hes back, staring at my slightly rounded stomach with a look of pure, unadulterated rage. Who the hell did you sleep with, Piper? Harrison barked, his voice echoing through the penthouse.

I didnt answer. Instead, I let my gaze flicker toward his best friend, Hudson Wilde, who was standing by the bar, nursing a drink and watching the drama unfold.

Harrison froze. Then, without a word, he swung. His fist connected with Hudsons jaw, the sound sickeningly wet.

Hudson, who had been enjoying the show a second ago, stumbled back, stunned. He wiped a streak of blood from his lip, and before Harrison could pivot, he lunged back. He landed a clean hook right across Harrisons nose.

"Are you out of your mind? I never touched her!" Hudson roared.

They went at it, blow for blow, a messy, expensive brawl on the designer rug.

I watched them for a moment, completely unfazed, and then quietly slipped out of the lounge. Once I was safely in the hallway, I gave my stomach a firm pat. The "bump" flattened instantly.

Who said I was pregnant? I just overdid it at the all-you-can-eat pasta bar for dinner.

To avoid the inevitable barrage of frantic calls, I blocked both Harrison and Hudson on my way home.

I retreated to my apartment and sank into a lukewarm bath, trying to wash off the scent of Harrisons expensive cologne and his even more expensive betrayal. I was just drifting into a half-sleep when my phone buzzed on the tile floor. A message from an unknown number lit up the screen:

Open the door in sixty seconds, or Im breaking it down. I mean it.

Harrison was the type to act without speaking, but this had Hudsons signature all over it. Hudson was petty, vindictive, and never let a grudge go cold. I knew hed come looking for me to settle the score for that punch, I just didnt expect him to be this fast.

Knowing him, the "breaking down the door" part wasn't an exaggeration. I folded.

Im in the bath. Give me five minutes.

Hudson replied instantly: Fine. Five minutes. Clock is ticking.

I didnt dare linger. I scrambled out of the tub, rinsed off the bubbles, and threw on a silk slip dressthe first thing I grabbed. When I swung the door open, Hudson was standing there, chest heaving, looking ready to burn the building down. But the moment his eyes hit my bare shoulders and the damp silk clinging to my skin, he went rigid.

"Could you maybe put some actual clothes on?" he snapped, his ears turning a frantic shade of pink.

I gave him a look of feigned innocence. "I was getting ready for bed. Is there a dress code for my own apartment?"

Hudson choked on his next words, then pivoted. "Why did you tell Harrison I was the one who knocked you up?"

"Wasn't it you?" I countered, leaning against the doorframe.

Out of all Harrisons friends, Hudson and I were the ones who hated each other most. It was a simple dynamic: I loathed his sharp tongue and elitist attitude; he loathed my "social climber" persona.

For the three months Harrison was away with Isabellahis "Golden Girl," his untouchable museHudson had hovered over me like a vulture. He claimed he was just making sure I didn't embarrass his best friend by sleeping around, but he was a constant, suffocating shadow. If he hadn't made my life such a misery, I wouldn't have turned to emotional eating as a coping mechanism. Every meal for ninety days had been a twelve-course feast of spite.

Hudson looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. "I haven't so much as brushed a finger against you, Piper. How the hell could I get you pregnant? Was it immaculate conception?"

I smiled, saying nothing. I stepped closer, looping my arms around his neck, my breath ghosting over his skin. "Well, youre touching me now, arent you?"

Hudson froze. Then, as if hed been scorched by a hot iron, he practically leaped back, shoving my hands away.

"What is wrong with you?"

I watched the flush creep from his neck to his forehead and laughed. "Im just giving you what you wanted, Hudson. Attention."

"You... you are absolutely shameless!" He was stammering now, his usual cool composure shattered.

"Youve told me that a thousand times," I said, checking my nails. "Get a new line."

He ground his teeth, muttered something about not wasting his time on a "lost cause," and turned to leave. But he only made it three steps down the hall before he spun back around.

I arched an eyebrow. "Change your mind, Hudson?"

He looked at me, his expression unreadable. "Are you really... is there really a baby?"

"Don't you have eyes?" I pushed my stomach out again, holding my breath to mimic the bloat.

Hudson glanced down, his face darkening. "Youre dead, Piper. Harrison might let a lot of things slide, but if you actually cheated on him? Hell ruin your family. You'll be lucky if youre not out on the street by morning."

I didn't flinch. I reached out and toyed with the collar of his jacket. "Then why don't you help me?"

In terms of net worth, the Wilde family was on par with the Montgomerys. In terms of sheer political clout, they were actually a step above.

Hudson let out a sharp, bitter laugh. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Why would I help you? You just framed me for an affair. I should be the one handing you the eviction notice."

"Because," I said, my voice dropping to a shameless purr, "I know Im special to you."

The laugh he let out this time was louder, incredulous. "What part of your delusional brain thinks you're 'special' to me?"

"You spent three months watching my every move," I said simply. "Nobody stares that hard at something they don't care about."

"I was watching you because I can't stand you! I was looking for a reason to get rid of you!"

"And yet," I smiled, "you never looked away."

Hudsons face went through three different shades of Pale. He looked like he wanted to scream. I decided to twist the knife, running my thumb over his bottom lipa slow, provocative move.

"Admit it, Hudson. Youre obsessed. You just haven't realized it yet."

He turned a shade of red I didnt think was biologically possible. He ripped my hand away, his voice trembling with fury. "Harrison is going to destroy you."

With that final threat, he practically fled toward the elevator. It wasn't a walk; it was an escape.

I leaned against the door, a cold smirk playing on my lips. Poor boy.

Hudson might be a hothead, but he was surprisingly sheltered when it came to women. He was an easy mark.

However, he was right about one thing: Harrison Montgomery was not a man to be trifled with. And he certainly wasn't the type to take a blow to his egoor his "property"lying down.

Harrison was the heir to a multibillion-dollar empire. My familys assets were essentially pocket change compared to his. If he decided to go nuclear, the West family would be vaporized within a week.

But honestly? I didn't care. My family consisted of a father who viewed me as a bargaining chip, a stepmother who hated my existence, and two half-siblings who took after her. They could lose everything for all I cared.

My only real concern was that once Harrison threw me out, my father would try to sell me off to some ancient, lecherous business associate to cover his debts. But Id cross that bridge when I burned it.

I had barely closed the door for thirty seconds when the bell rang again. Thinking Hudson had come back for a round two of shouting, I yanked it open.

Instead, I found myself staring into Harrisons icy, shadowed eyes. Before I could even breathe out a sarcastic greeting, he grabbed my arm and shoved his way in, slamming me against the foyer wall.

His hand clamped onto my jaw, his grip borderline painful. "Who was it, Piper? Tell me who you slept with."

Harrison was usually the embodiment of 'old money' restraint. Seeing him this unhinged was a rare thrill. Id managed to break his mask twice in one day.

I couldn't shake him off, so I did the next best thingI brought my heel down hard on his polished leather shoe.

"None of your business," I hissed.

Harrison grunted in pain, his grip loosening just enough for me to duck under his arm and bolt for the living room. But he was faster. He caught me from behind, his arm wrapping around my waist like a steel band, and hauled me toward the bedroom.

He threw me onto the bed and hovered over me, his shadow swallowing me whole. I stopped fighting. I just lay there, limp and indifferent.

"Go ahead," I said, my voice flat. "If you don't mind the leftovers."

Harrison flinched as if Id slapped him. His gaze dropped to my stomach, and the rage in his eyes flickered into something darker, something almost disgusted. He reached out and grabbed my throatnot to hurt, but to possess.

"You have three days," he spat, his voice low and dangerous. "Get rid of the brat. Do it, and maybe Ill consider giving you a chance to explain yourself. If not... don't say I didn't warn you."

He let go of me as if I were something contaminated and stood up, straightening his cuffs.

I sat up slowly, staring at him with cold clarity. "I think we should just end this, Harrison."

His hand paused on his tie. A flash of genuine shock crossed his face, followed quickly by a sneer of pure condescension. "You think you have the right to end this? Youre a placeholder, Piper. Nothing more."

"Isabella is single now," I reminded him. "You don't need a placeholder."

Harrison had been in love with Isabella for a decade. But Isabella had chosen his older brother. Six months ago, his brother died in a freak accident, leaving her a grieving widow. Three months ago, Harrison took her on that trip to "help her heal."

Marrying your brothers widow was a bit of a scandal, even in their circles, but for a man like Harrison, it was just another acquisition.

Harrison leaned over me one last time, his voice a chilling whisper. "Remember this, Piper: no one tells me what to do. This relationship ends when I decide Im bored, and not a second before. Youre a smart girl. You know what happens to people who lose my protection."

My heart sank. He was right. In this world, I had no leverage. I was just a ghost inhabiting someone else's life.

Three years ago, my father tried to marry me off to a sixty-year-old billionaire with a reputation for "unusual" tastes. I was desperate. I noticed that Harrison Montgomery looked at Isabella with a hunger that bordered on madness. Since Isabella and I shared a certain... aestheticthe same high cheekbones, the same dark, wavy hairI leaned into the resemblance. I mimicked her grace, her soft-spoken nature, her wardrobe.

I seduced him on a night when he was drowning in whiskey and self-pity over Isabellas engagement to his brother. He had been aggressive at first, but once he had me in bed, he stopped, as if realizing I was just a counterfeit.

But he kept me anyway.

For three years, I was his shadow-version of Isabella. We were "dating" in name, but everyone knew I was just a high-end mistress. Hudson, in particular, made sure I never forgot it.

But the weirdest thing happened. Despite knowing I was just a stand-in, I actually started to care for him. Once, while he was drunk, he promised hed marry me after his brother and Isabella were settled. I was naive enough to believe in "growing to love someone."

Then his brother died. And I knew the moment I heard the news that my time was up. Harrison would finally get the real thing.

Id been waiting for the axe to fall for months. When he told me he was taking her on a world tour, I expected the breakup. Instead, he told Hudson to "look after" me.

And Hudson, the loyal dog, took it literally. He watched me so closely I couldn't even go to a bar without him appearing like a vengeful spirit. I was so stressed and miserable that I ate my feelings, gained six pounds, and ended up being accused of carrying his best friends secret child.

I was starting to think Hudson did this on purpose. That bastard.

Harrison gave me seventy-two hours to "fix" the problem. Since there was no problem to fix, I spent the time at home, lounging in my pajamas and ignoring the world.

On the second night, a text came in from Hudson.

Are you dead yet?

Sometimes, when you hate someone enough, it starts to feel like a twisted kind of intimacy. I didn't block him this time.

Still here, unfortunately, I replied.

Hudson: Shocking. Im surprised Harrison didn't kill you on the spot.

Me: Don't worry. Bitchy weeds never die.

Hudson: True. Youve always had a high survival instinct.

There was a long pause. The "typing..." bubbles appeared and disappeared for nearly a minute.

Hudson: What are you going to do about the kid?

I blinked. He actually sounded concerned. The mischief in me bubbled up. The kid is innocent. Im keeping it, obviously.

Hudson: Are you insane? Hell ruin you!

Me: So let him. I have nothing left to lose anyway.

My grandmotherthe only person who ever truly loved mewas gone. I was just drifting.

Hudson didn't reply for a long time. Then: Whos the father? Really?

Me: Too many candidates to count.

Hudson: Dammit, Piper!

I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my sofa. Hudson knew hed been watching me, but he wasn't there 24/7. There was one night hed been busy, and Id gone to a club and ordered a round of male models just to spite him. Hed found me at dawn and dragged me out. He clearly thought that was the night.

By the third day, the walls were closing in. I went to a high-end hotel bar to lose myself in a few martinis.

I was halfway through my third when Harrisons security detail swarmed the booth. They didn't ask; they just grabbed me, hauled me out to a waiting black SUV, and drove me straight to a private surgical clinic.

When we arrived, Harrison was already there, standing in the sterile hallway like an avenging angel.

Between the gin and the sheer exhaustion, my filter was gone. "Harrison! Are you so obsessed with your sister-in-law that youve lost your mind? This whole 'substitute' thing is pathetic. It's sick!"

Harrison didn't yell. He just stepped forward, his hand like a vise on my jaw, forcing me to look up. "Ill ask one last time. Whose is it?"

"Your fathers!" I spat.

Harrisons eyes went dark. A terrifying, cold smile touched his lips. "Fine. You want to be difficult?" He turned to the surgeon waiting nearby. "Do it. And don't bother with the anesthesia. She should feel every bit of it."

The doctor blanched. "Mr. Montgomery... thats... we usually"

"I said do it," Harrison snapped.

I stared at him, my blood turning to ice. "You're a monster. Harrison, stop!"

"You chose this, Piper," he said, stepping back as the nurses moved in. "You couldn't keep your legs closed. Now you pay the price."

I started to struggle, panic finally setting in. "Harrison! Wait! I'm not!"

"Harrison!"

A sharp, mocking voice echoed down the hall. Hudson Wilde walked toward us, his hands in his pockets, looking as casual as if he were at a garden party.

Harrison frowned. "Hudson? What the hell are you doing here?"

Hudson looked at me, then at the doctors, and let out a long, theatrical sigh. "Im the father, Harrison. I figured I should probably be present for the 'procedure.'"

I froze. What?