No More Children For You

The day I went into labor, my husband ordered the nurse to administer the third dose of labor suppressants.

Sweat soaked through my hospital gown, my hair plastered to my forehead in salt-slicked clumps. I clutched his sleeve, my voice a broken rasp. Please, Simon, Im begging you... the doctor said if we wait any longer, the babys heart wont take it. Hes in danger.

Simons expression was a mask of cold indifference. He didn't even flinch at the sight of my agony.

I made a promise, he said, his voice level. Only Norma is allowed to give birth to my firstborn.

He looked down at me, as if explaining a simple business transaction. The first child in the Harvey line is the only one who inherits the primary estate trust. Your child is a product of this marriage; Ill ensure hes taken care of for life. But he wont be the heir.

Its just a two-hour delay, he added, pulling his arm away from my frantic grip. If hes really my son, he can handle a little discomfort.

Two hours later, my unborn son suffocated in my womb.

While the life was draining out of me, Simon was in the next wing, cradling the son Norma had just delivered. A perfect, happy family of three.

When the news finally reached him that my baby was gone, Simon merely knit his brows. His tone softened, but only slightlythe way one might speak to an employee who had misplaced a file.

Take care of yourself, he said, sliding a slip of paper onto the bedside table. There will be other children.

It was a check for ten million dollars.

Consider this your compensation, he added.

I didn't move. I didn't look at the check. I didn't even breathe.

He had no idea. There would never be "other children."

Simon had just personally murdered the only child he would ever have.

I remained motionless, my gaze fixed on the gray sky outside the window, my eyes hollow and glazed.

Simon sighed, the sound of a man whose patience was being unfairly tested. He placed the check on the nightstand with a sharp clack.

Think it over, Cassidy, he said. Its a tragedy, losing a child. But Im keeping my wordyoure still Mrs. Harvey. That hasnt changed.

I didn't offer a word of protest. I didn't even blink.

Fine, Simon said, turning toward the door. If you dont want to talk, then rest.

I knew exactly where he was going. He was heading to the VIP suite next door to visit Norma, his "one who got away."

They had both just given birth.

I looked like a specter, my skin the color of curdled milk. Norma, I heard from the whispering nurses, looked radiant, a delicate flush on her cheeks as she held her prize.

Simon, come look at our son.

I could almost hear her voice through the walls. Earlier, when they moved her past my door, she had given me a look of pure, sharp-edged triumph. A look that said: Cassidy, you lost.

I tried to pull my lips into a smile, a bitter self-mockery, but I didn't even have the strength for that.

A sudden, blooming warmth spread across the bedsheets. I looked down slowly. A sea of crimson was swallowing the white linens.

Nurse... I croaked.

A second later, a tray crashed to the floor. Doctor! Emergency! We have a postpartum hemorrhage in Room 6!

Perhaps it was the cocktail of drugs theyd forced into my system. My consciousness began to drift, heavy as lead. Amidst the frantic shouting and the rattle of the gurney as they pushed me back toward the operating theater, a voice drifted over me.

Mrs. Harvey, stay with us! Dont you dare close your eyes!

But my eyelids were so heavy.

I slipped into a dream. Noa nightmare.

I was back on the delivery table. Simon was standing over me, ordering the nurses to prep another injection. I was paralyzed, my strength siphoned away, cold sweat drenching the pads beneath me.

Every contraction was a dull saw blade hacking at my vitals.

The nurse had pleaded with him. Mr. Harvey, we cant keep doing this. Weve exceeded the safe dosage. If we continue, the fetal distress will become irreversible.

The attending physician was pale, his voice trembling as he faced Simon. Sir, shes fully dilated. The heart rate is plummeting. If we delay any further, the baby will suffocate. We are looking at two lives on the line!

Simon stood in the doorway, his silhouette sharp and uncompromising. He uttered only two words.

Keep dosing.

I had reached out, my fingers clawing at his expensive suit. Hes your flesh and blood, Simon. Please... the doctor said two more hours will kill him.

We had been married for three years. I had been the perfect wife. I had played the role of the elegant Mrs. Harvey, never causing a scene, never breathing a word about the rumors. I had endured his lingering obsession with Norma in silence, all for the sake of this child.

I had stripped away every ounce of my pride. For the baby, I would have accepted any humiliation.

Please... let me bring him into the world. Ill give Norma everything. Ill leave. Ill disappear. Just let him live!

Simon looked down at me from his height, his eyes devoid of warmth.

You think I need you to give her anything? he asked quietly. Everything Norma wants, I will hand to her myself.

I promised her. Only she carries the true Harvey heir.

His voice was flat, but every word felt like a shard of glass in my heart.

The firstborn gets the legacy. Your child is just a legal formality. Ill provide for him, of course. Hell have the best life money can buy.

Its two hours, Cassidy. If hes my son, he can endure a little hardship for the sake of the family.

Endure it?

He was a living soul. He had been kicking inside me for ten months. He had responded to my voice. He was a person.

I shook with sobs until my vision blurred. The medical staff looked at me with pity, but they were terrified of the man in the doorway.

The needle bit into my skin once more.

The cold liquid surged in. The pain of the contractions spiked into an agonizing crescendo, and thennothing.

I stared at the ceiling, my eyes vacant.

I felt the movements inside me slow. The frantic thrashing became a weak flutter. Then, a final, desperate jerk.

And then, silence. A silence so absolute it felt like a physical weight.

Heartbeat is gone, the doctor whispered, his voice cracking. The fetus is... there are no signs of life.

In that moment, something inside me died, too.

I couldn't tell if I was still dreaming or if the chaos around me was real.

Wheres the family? Who is the emergency contact for Cassidy Harvey?

The patient is in critical condition! We need a signature for surgery immediately!

There was no answer. Only the hum of machines.

A young nurse whispered, I know her. Isn't she the Harvey woman? Her husband is Simon Harvey. I saw him leave a few minutes ago. Apparently, the woman in Room 7 wanted birds nest soup, and he went home to slow-cook it himself.

Just as the panic reached its peak, a cold, steady voice cut through the noise.

Ill sign.

The air in the hallway seemed to freeze.

The doctor stammered, And you are...? What is your relation to the patient?

Im her... brother-in-law.

The paperwork was handled in a blur. I was rushed back into surgery, a ghost being haunted by living men. When the lights finally dimmed and the scalpels were put away, the surgeons stood over me, their faces grim.

Her will to live is non-existent, one whispered. The surgery was a success, but the patient is fading. Its up to her now.

They were right. I didn't want to wake up.

But as I began to slip into the dark, a mans voice vibrated near my ear. It wasn't Simons. It was deeper, rougher.

Cassidy. Are you really going to die like this? Pathetic and forgotten?

The man who killed your child, the man who destroyed you... hes still out there. Hes breathing. Hes celebrating.

Theyll be happy if you die. Youre just clearing the path for them. Are you really going to give them exactly what they want?

No.

The thought sparked like a dying ember. I couldn't die.

I had to survive. For my son.

A nurse gasped. Her pulse! Its stabilizing!

Its a miracle.

I don't know how much time passed before I finally opened my eyes. The room was bright, filled only with the rhythmic beeping of monitors. There was no sign of the man who had spoken to me.

Since the universe had seen fit to give me back my life, I decided to take it. I stayed in the hospital, letting them pump me full of vitamins and iron, rebuilding my shattered body.

A week passed.

Simon didn't visit once. However, he ensured I was "taken care of." Private nurses, gourmet meals, silk pajamas. The perfect gilded cage.

I would listen to the nurses gossiping in the hall, their voices hushed but excited.

That Norma in Room 7 is the luckiest woman alive. Her husbandwell, the fatheris obsessed with her.

Shh, thats not his wife. The woman in Room 6 is the real Mrs. Harvey. Norma is just... the first love.

I heard he delayed his own wifes labor just so the mistresss kid could be the firstborn. The whole hospital is talking about it.

Money cant buy a soul, I guess. Id rather be poor than be that woman in Room 6.

When they realized I was awake and listening, they scurried away like mice.

I remained calm. I felt like a frozen lakesmooth on the surface, but with a terrifying, jagged depth beneath.

Norma eventually found the strength to waddle over to my room, carrying her son like a trophy.

Oh, Cassidy, she sighed, her voice dripping with artificial sympathy. I was so heartbroken to hear about your little one. Such a tragedy.

I really thought, since we were pregnant at the same time, our boys could grow up like brothers.

She shifted the baby, ensuring I could see his face. Did Simon tell you? He already picked out the name. Julian. It means youthful and strong.

I looked up at her then. My heart didn't break; it turned to stone.

Julian.

Years ago, during our brief "honeymoon" phase, Simon had whispered that name to me while we were curled up in bed.

If we have a son, Cassidy, I want to call him Julian. After my grandfather. Its a name for a leader.

I had been naive enough to believe him. I didn't realize back then that every time he called me "Cass," he was actually reaching for the "Norma" hed lost.

I looked at Normas smug face and the child in her arms.

Congratulations, I said. My voice was as dead as the winter wind.

The smile faltered on her lips, her eyes narrowing at my lack of a breakdown.

Two weeks later, I was discharged. The first thing I did was return to the Harvey estate.

Simon was in the study, looking over some documents. He didn't even stand up when I walked in.

I figured youd be back today, he said. Its been over two weeks. I assume your little tantrum is over?

He flicked a check across the mahogany desk.

Your allowance for the month. Buy something expensive. Go to a spa. Just stop moping.

I didn't touch the paper. You already gave me a check at the hospital.

Simon raised an eyebrow. That was... for the child. This is for you.

I let out a soft, jagged laugh. How generous of you, Simon.

This was his pattern. Every time he crushed a piece of my soul, he tried to buy the silence with a signature.

When he threw me out of his car on the highway because Norma called with a "crisis" and I had to walk five miles until my feet were a bloody mess? A million-dollar check.

When I took the fall for a scandal Norma caused and was harassed by the press for a month? Five million.

And now, for the life of our son? Ten million.

I was tired of the game.

Simon, we need to talk

Simon!

The study door swung open. Norma walked in, glowing in a silk robemy silk robeholding the baby. She froze when she saw me, her expression shifting into a mask of feigned surprise.

Cassidy! Youre home! I didn't expect you so soon.

I turned to Simon, my voice trembling for the first time. Why is she in our house?

During the entire pregnancy, I had tolerated their affair. My only boundary, my only request, was that he keep her away from our home. No matter how bad things got, he had always respected that one line.

Until now.

Now, she was standing in my study, wearing my clothes, likely sleeping in the master suite that got the best morning sun.

Simons face hardened at my tone.

Norma just had a difficult birth. Shes fragile, and her apartment isn't suitable for a newborn.

Besides, her son is the Harvey heir. Its absurd for him to live anywhere else. This is his legacy.

He stepped toward me, his eyes cold and mocking. Norma will be living here from now on. If you want to remain the mistress of this house, Cassidy, youll have to learn to get along with her.

If not, he shrugged, youre welcome to move into the old family estate on the outskirts. My brother is the only one who uses it, and hes never there.

I stood there, surrounded by the ruins of my marriage.

Norma stepped forward, her voice a sugary whine. Cassidy, honey, I hope this isn't a problem. I never wanted to come between you and Simon. I just... I wanted to be close to him. For the babys sake.

Simon wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, his touch tender in a way it had never been with me.

Why are you out of bed? he murmured to her. Go rest. Let the nanny handle the baby.

Watching them play house was the final kill. The divorce papers I had planned to demand stayed in my pocket. I wouldn't just leave. If I left now, Id leave with nothing but a check and a broken heart.

I nodded slowly.

Fine. Ill move to the old estate.

I turned and walked out without a second glance.

Simon hadn't expected me to fold so easily. I heard him call out behind me, a hint of confusion in his voice.

Cassidy, don't be dramatic.

Dramatic?

I had screamed. I had begged. I had wept at his feet in that delivery room. I had asked him to choose his son over his ego.

He had found me "tiresome" then. He found my grief "inconvenient."

Now that I was silent, he didn't know what to do with me.

I stopped at the door and looked back at him. Im not being dramatic, Simon. I told you onceIm willing to give up everything.

Simon flinched. For a fleeting second, his face went pale. He was remembering the hospitalremembering me on the floor, losing my dignity as I begged for our childs life.

Please, Ill give Norma everything... just save him.

He looked as if someone had just tightened a hand around his throat. But the moment passed, and I walked away.

I went to our room to pack. The maid stood by, looking terrified.

Just a few suitcases of clothes, I instructed her. Leave the rest. Leave everything.

Norma would want it all anyway. My things would only be an eyesore in her new life.

When I got into the car, the driver asked quietly, To the old estate, maam?

I looked back at the housethe house I had tried to turn into a home. Through the window, I saw the silhouette of Norma leaning into Simons chest.

I closed my eyes. The old estate.

After all, I wasn't going to be alone there. I was going to find my only remaining ally.

That night, I arrived at the sprawling, gothic mansion on the edge of the city. I dismissed the staff and didn't go to the bedroom.

Instead, I walked down the long, dim hallway to the library.

In three years of marriage, I had never stepped foot in this wing. This was the domain of Simons older brother, Dominic.

The two brothers were at war. A brutal, silent struggle for control of the Harvey empire. Simon had warned me a thousand times: Dont speak to Dominic. Don't go near him. Hes a vulture.

For three years, I had obeyed. I had crossed the street to avoid Dominic.

But after dying on that operating table, I realized who the real vulture was.

I knocked three times.

The heavy oak door creaked open. Dominic stood there, his gold-rimmed glasses catching the light. He looked at me with genuine shock.

Cassidy?

He looked past me, searching for Simon. When he saw I was alone, a slow, dark smirk spread across his face.

Well, this is a surprise.

Simon isn't here, yet here you are... knocking on my door in the middle of the night.

I didn't blink. He kicked me out.

Dominics smirk faded. He leaned against the doorframe, studying me. And you came to me? Why?

I looked at his facecold, sharp, but fundamentally honest. I didn't play games.

Dominic, I never got to thank you for signing my surgery papers at the hospital. You saved my life.

Im here to show you my gratitude.

Dominic froze. He looked at me for a long beat, then let out a short, dry laugh.

Interesting. And how do you plan to do that?

Dominic was the true firstborn of the Harvey family. But because his mother had died young, the old patriarch had sent him abroad, leaving the path clear for Simons mother to maneuver her son into the CEOs chair.

Everyone knew they hated each other.

I know where the bodies are buried, I said, stepping into his office. I know everything Simon has done.

Dominic, I know youre not the villain he made you out to be. The company should have been yours. Simon stole it, and I am going to help you take it back. Every single cent.

I met his eyes. No one knows his weaknesses better than I do.

His gaze was no longer mocking. It was calculating. And what do you want in return?

Justice for my son, I said, my voice like iron.

Simon killed my baby. I want him to feel what its like to lose everything. I want him disgraced. I want him bankrupt. I want him to watch as his world turns to ash.

Dominic stared at me for a long time. Just as I thought he would turn me away, he reached out and took my hand.

Welcome to the team, Cassidy.

A week later, Simon showed up at the old estate. He acted as if nothing had happened.

Arrange a family dinner for three days from now, he commanded. Im bringing Norma and Julian. Its time they were formally introduced to the elders.

He wanted to legitimize his mistress. He wanted to rub his bastard son in my face in front of the entire Harvey clan.

In the past, I would have collapsed. I would have screamed at him.

Now, I just nodded. Of course. Ill make the arrangements.

My compliance seemed to please him.

Youre finally growing up, Cassidy, he said, patting my shoulder. Youre starting to act like a real Harvey wife.

Three days later, at the family gala.

Everyone, Simon announced, his voice booming with pride as he stood in the center of the ballroom. Id like to introduce Norma. She has given the Harvey family its greatest giftmy firstborn son, Julian. From now on, they will reside in the main estate as my family.

He beamed at Norma, his eyes full of that sickening, soft devotion. Norma leaned into him, cradling the baby, soaking in the polite applause and the shocked whispers of the elders. She looked at me, her eyes dancing with malice.

Simon walked over to me, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Cassidy, as my wife, I expect you to help raise Julian as your own. He is, after all, the only heir to the Harvey name.

He was waiting for me to break. He was waiting for the show.

Instead, I took a slow sip of my champagne and looked him dead in the eye.

Simon, I said clearly. Do you have a humiliation fetish?

The room went silent. Simons smile vanished. What did you just say?

I smiled, and it was the sharpest thing in the room.

I mean, why else would you be standing there, proudly holding another mans child and calling it your heir?