Ryan sat frozen in his car, Tom's words echoing in his head.
*Pregnant.*
Mia was carrying his child.
His phone buzzed with another call from Tom, but Ryan couldn't move. His mind was racing through every moment with Maya—with Mia. Every conversation, every look, every time she'd seemed familiar.
How had he been so blind?
Finally, Ryan picked up his phone. "Tom, are you absolutely sure about this?"
"Yes, sir. I saw the medical records myself. She's about eight weeks along. The timing matches with—"
"The hotel," Ryan finished quietly. "That night."
"Sir, what are you going to do?"
Ryan looked back at the hospital building. Somewhere in there, Mia was crying. The woman he'd pushed away, insulted, and abandoned—twice now—was carrying his baby.
"I don't know," Ryan admitted. "I need time to think."
He hung up and drove home, his mind a chaos of emotions.
---
**Inside the hospital...**
Mia sat in a chair beside Emma's bed, her face buried in her hands. Emma was fine—she'd just fainted from low blood sugar. But everything else was falling apart.
"Mia, honey, you need to calm down," Emma said weakly from the bed. "Stress isn't good for the baby."
Mia looked up, tears streaming down her face. "How can I calm down? Ryan knows everything now. He looked at me like I was a monster."
Samuel sat on Mia's other side, his weathered hand patting her shoulder. "Give him time, dear. This is a lot to process."
"You don't understand," Mia said. "The way he looked at me... he hates me now."
"He doesn't hate you," Samuel said firmly. "He's confused and hurt. But Ryan is my grandson. Beneath all that anger, he's a good man."
"Is he?" Mia asked bitterly. "A good man doesn't abandon his wife for three years."
Samuel sighed. "You're right. And Ryan has a lot to answer for. But you also deceived him, Mia. You have to admit that."
Mia knew he was right. She'd lied, created a whole fake identity, made Ryan fall for someone who didn't really exist.
"I just wanted him to see me," Mia whispered. "Really see me. Not as some obligation or burden. As a person worth knowing."
"And he did see you," Emma said gently. "He fell for you, Mia. The real you. He just didn't realize it yet."
"It doesn't matter now," Mia said, wiping her tears. "Once he finds out about the baby, he'll probably think I trapped him on purpose."
"You have to tell him," Samuel said seriously.
"I know."
"Soon, Mia. Before someone else does."
Mia nodded, but her heart felt like lead. How could she tell Ryan she was pregnant when he could barely look at her?
---
**The next morning, at Blake Enterprises...**
Ryan arrived at his office looking like he hadn't slept. Because he hadn't.
All night, he'd replayed every moment with Maya. Every conversation took on new meaning now that he knew the truth.
She'd challenged him, stood up to him, refused to be impressed by his money or status. She'd made him want to be better.
And she'd done it all while being the wife he'd tried to throw away.
Tom knocked on his door carefully. "Sir, you have visitors."
"I'm not seeing anyone today."
"It's your mother and... Miss Carter."
Ryan's head snapped up. "Mia's here?"
"With your mother, sir. They're in the conference room."
Ryan's mind raced. Why was Mia with his mother?
He walked to the conference room and stopped at the door.
Through the glass, he could see his mother, Jessica, sitting across from Mia. They were talking, and Jessica looked angry.
Ryan opened the door.
Both women looked up.
"Ryan," Jessica said coldly. "Perfect timing. I was just having a very interesting conversation with your wife."
Ryan looked at Mia. She looked exhausted, her eyes red from crying. Something protective stirred in his chest, but he pushed it down.
"What's going on?" Ryan asked.
Jessica stood up, holding some papers. "I came here to discuss the divorce settlement. I wanted to make sure this woman got what she deserved for her little deception."
"Mother—"
"Do you know what she did?" Jessica continued. "She created a fake identity, infiltrated your business circle, competed against you—all while pretending to be someone else!"
"I know what she did," Ryan said quietly.
"Then you understand why she doesn't deserve a single penny from our family."
Mia stood up, her voice shaking but strong. "I don't want your money, Mrs. Blake. I never did."
"Oh please," Jessica scoffed. "That's what they all say."
"Mother, that's enough," Ryan said firmly.
Jessica turned to him, surprised. "You're defending her?"
"I'm asking you to leave. This is between Mia and me."
Jessica looked between them, her eyes narrowing. Then she grabbed her purse. "Fine. But don't come crying to me when she shows her true colors."
She left, slamming the door behind her.
Silence filled the room.
Mia and Ryan stood on opposite sides of the conference table, the tension thick enough to cut.
"Why did you come here?" Ryan asked finally.
"Your mother called me. She wanted to meet."
"That's not what I meant. Why did you come to my office? You could have met her anywhere."
Mia took a deep breath. "Because I needed to see you. I need to tell you something."
Ryan's jaw tightened. "More lies?"
"No," Mia said, hurt flashing in her eyes. "The truth. Something I should have told you before, but I was scared."
"I don't want to hear it."
"Ryan, please—"
"No!" Ryan's voice rose. "Do you have any idea how I felt last night? Finding out that everything between us was a lie?"
"It wasn't a lie!" Mia said desperately. "My feelings for you were real!"
"Your feelings?" Ryan laughed bitterly. "You don't have feelings for me. This was all just revenge, wasn't it? Make me fall for you, then reveal the truth and humiliate me."
"That's not true!"
"Then why?" Ryan demanded, walking around the table toward her. "Why did you do it?"
Mia's eyes filled with tears. "Because I wanted you to see me! The real me! Not the wife you were forced to marry, but the woman I actually am!"
"So you lied about who you were?"
"You never gave me a choice!" Mia shouted. "You signed our marriage papers and left! You stayed away for three years! When you came back, you sent me divorce papers without even meeting me! What was I supposed to do?"
"You were supposed to have some dignity and just sign them!"
The words hung in the air like poison.
Mia stepped back as if he'd slapped her.
"Dignity," she repeated softly. "You want to talk about dignity? You slept with me at that hotel and threw money at me like I was a prostitute. But I'm the one without dignity?"
Ryan's face flushed. "I didn't know it was you."
"Exactly! You didn't know me! You still don't! You fell for Maya because you actually took the time to see her. But you never—not once—tried to see Mia."
Ryan opened his mouth to argue, but he couldn't. Because she was right.
"I'm pregnant," Mia said suddenly.
The words dropped like a bomb.
Ryan froze. "What?"
"I'm pregnant. With your baby. From that night at the hotel."
Ryan felt like the floor had disappeared beneath him. "You're... how long have you known?"
"Two weeks."
"Two weeks?" Ryan's voice rose. "You've known for two weeks and didn't tell me?"
"I was trying to find the right time!"
"The right time? How about before you made me fall for a woman who doesn't exist?"
"She does exist!" Mia cried. "Maya is me! Everything I showed you as Maya—that's who I really am! Smart, confident, strong—that's the real Mia! The Mia you never bothered to meet!"
Ryan ran his hand through his hair, pacing. "This is insane. All of this is insane."
"I know," Mia said, her voice breaking. "But it's real. The baby is real. And I'm scared, Ryan. I'm terrified."
Ryan looked at her, really looked at her. She was shaking, tears running down her face, one hand protectively over her stomach.
For a moment, he wanted to go to her. To hold her and tell her everything would be okay.
But the betrayal was too fresh. The wound too deep.
"I need time," Ryan said. "I need to think."
"We don't have much time," Mia said. "I'm eight weeks along. Soon everyone will know."
"Then we'll figure something out. But right now, I can't... I can't be near you."
Mia nodded, more tears falling. "I understand."
She walked to the door, then paused. "For what it's worth, Ryan... I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to love me the way you loved Maya."
She left before he could respond.
Ryan collapsed into a chair, his head in his hands.
She was pregnant. They were having a baby.
And he had no idea what to do.
---
**That evening, at Ryan's penthouse...**
Ryan stood on his balcony, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He hadn't touched it—he just needed something to hold.
His phone kept buzzing with calls and messages. His mother. Tom. Friends who'd heard about the "scandal."
Everyone wanted to know what he was going to do.
Ryan wished he knew.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Go away!" Ryan called.
The knock came again, more insistent.
Ryan opened the door, ready to yell at whoever it was.
Grandpa Samuel stood there, looking stern.
"We need to talk," Samuel said, walking past Ryan into the penthouse.
"Grandpa, I'm not in the mood—"
"I don't care," Samuel said firmly. "Sit down."
Ryan had never heard his grandfather use that tone before. He sat.
Samuel looked at him with disappointment. "I'm ashamed of you."
Ryan felt like he'd been punched. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. I'm ashamed. I raised you better than this."
"Grandpa, you don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly," Samuel interrupted. "Mia made a mistake. She lied to you. But do you know why she did it?"
"Because she wanted revenge—"
"Because she was lonely!" Samuel's voice rose. "Because she spent three years married to a man who treated her like she didn't exist! Because when you finally came back, you wanted to throw her away without even meeting her!"
Ryan stood up. "She created a fake identity! She competed against me! She made me fall for—"
"For the woman she really is!" Samuel finished. "Think, Ryan! Everything you loved about Maya—her strength, her intelligence, her fire—that's all Mia! She didn't become a different person. She just stopped hiding who she really was!"
Ryan fell silent.
"You fell in love with your own wife," Samuel continued more gently. "You just didn't realize it. And now she's carrying your child, and you're pushing her away. Again."
"I don't know if I can forgive her," Ryan said quietly.
"Then you're a fool," Samuel said. "Because that woman loves you. Despite everything you've done, she loves you."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've watched her, Ryan. For three years, I've watched her wait for you. Hope for you. And when you came back wanting a divorce, did she demand money? Did she make a scene? No. She held her head high and tried to move on. Until you slept with her and threw money at her like she was nothing."
Ryan winced.
"She could have told everyone what you did," Samuel said. "She could have gone to the media, embarrassed you, ruined your reputation. But she didn't. Instead, she decided to show you what you were missing. And it worked. You fell for her."
Ryan sat down again, his head spinning.
"What do I do, Grandpa?"
Samuel put his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "You decide what kind of man you want to be. The kind who runs away when things get hard? Or the kind who fights for the people he loves?"
Before Ryan could answer, his phone rang.
It was Tom, and he sounded panicked.
"Sir! Turn on the news! Right now!"
Ryan grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.
His blood ran cold.
On the screen was a reporter standing outside Blake Enterprises.
"Breaking news: Billionaire CEO Ryan Blake's secret wife revealed! Sources confirm that business rival Maya Alvarez is actually Mia Carter, Blake's wife of three years. And in an explosive development, insiders claim she may be pregnant with his child!"
Photos of Mia filled the screen. As Maya. As herself. Entering the hospital.
"How did they get this?" Ryan whispered.
Samuel's face was dark. "Someone leaked it. Someone who wanted to hurt both of you."
Ryan's phone exploded with calls and messages.
And somewhere in the city, Mia was watching the same news broadcast, her world falling apart again.
The secret was out.
And there was no going back now.