Emily felt her pulse pounding in her ears.
The baby shifted in her sleep, making a soft sound.
Ryan’s eyes traced every tiny feature.
The dark hair.
The small nose.
The faint dimple in her chin.
A dimple Ryan had inherited from his father.
His hand lifted slightly, as if he wanted to touch her—but he stopped himself.
“What are you doing here?” Emily snapped.
Ryan turned slowly.
His panic hadn’t faded.
If anything, it had grown.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was a girl?”
Emily stared at him.
Then she laughed.
Not happily.
Not kindly.
Just bitter disbelief.
“Why would I tell you anything?” she said. “You said the baby wasn’t yours.”
Ryan ran a hand through his hair.
“I didn’t mean that.”
“You meant it enough to divorce me.”
“I thought…” His voice faltered. “I thought you lost the baby.”
The words hit Emily like a slap.
“What?”
“My fiancée told me,” Ryan said quickly. “She said you weren’t pregnant anymore. She told me you had a miscarriage after the divorce.”
Emily’s stomach twisted.
“Your fiancée lied to you.”
Ryan’s face darkened.
“You’re telling me she made that up?”
“Congratulations,” Emily said coldly.
The baby stirred again.
Ryan looked back down at her, his expression softening with something dangerous.
Hope.
“Emily,” he said carefully, “when was she born?”
“This morning.”
“And you never… told anyone?”
“You made it very clear you didn’t want to be a father.”
Ryan swallowed.
“I didn’t want to be forced into it,” he admitted quietly.
Emily felt anger spark inside her chest.
“I wasn’t forcing you.”
“You said the baby changed everything.”
“Because it did.”
Ryan looked at the baby again.
The silence stretched.
Finally he whispered, “What’s her name?”
Emily hesitated.
Then she said it.
“Lily.”
Ryan repeated it like he was testing the sound.
“Lily.”
His voice cracked slightly.
Emily watched him carefully.
This man had once been the center of her world.
The man who used to kiss her forehead before work.
The man who promised they’d build a life together.
But ambition had changed him.
Or maybe it had simply revealed who he was all along.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Emily said quietly.
Ryan didn’t move.
Instead, he pulled his phone from his pocket.
Emily frowned.
“What are you doing?”
Ryan stared at the screen.
Then he said something she never expected.
“I’m canceling the wedding.”
The room went still.
Emily blinked.
“What?”
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