đź’” Episode 8: The Truth Between Us
The first thing she saw when her eyes opened… was him.
Abel.
Sitting at the edge of her hospital bed, his dark suit jacket folded over the chair, his shirt sleeves rolled to the elbows. His eyes—usually sharp, unreadable—were red-rimmed and full of something she'd never seen before.
Worry.
"Hey," she croaked.
"You're awake," he said softly.
She nodded, wincing slightly as she shifted. Then—
Her hand flew to her belly.
"They're fine," he said quickly. "The doctor said everything's stable."
She let out a breath and blinked back tears. "You know."
"I know."
There was a long silence.
"How long?" he asked.
"I found out right after the night we… before the marriage."
He nodded. No anger. Just… stunned.
"You were going to keep it from me."
"Yes," she whispered.
"Why?"
She swallowed hard. "Because I didn't trust you. You said our marriage was business. That you wanted control, not a family."
"That was before."
"Before what?"
He didn't answer. Just looked at her like she was the one thing holding him together.
"I didn't think I was capable of… this," he said finally, glancing at her belly.
"Love?" she asked, voice trembling.
"No," he said. "Hope."
Her heart cracked.
And then the door opened.
Grant walked in, face pale.
"We have a problem."
---
LunaTech Headquarters – Next Morning
News broke before dawn.
"Billionaire Abel Luna's Secret Wife Hospitalized — Rumors of Hidden Pregnancy Confirmed."
Photos leaked—grainy but real. Evan in a hospital bed. Abel standing beside her, hand on her belly.
The headlines exploded:
> "Revenge Marriage or Real Love?"
"Twins on the Way for the Ice King?"
"Who Is Evan Dendelion?"
LunaTech's stock trembled.
Investors panicked.
But Abel? He didn't flinch.
---
Estate – Evan's Room, Hours Later
She was holding her phone, scrolling through vicious headlines. The world suddenly knew everything… and it wasn't ready to be kind.
"Was it you?" she asked Abel when he walked in.
"No," he said. "I'd never expose you."
"Then who?"
"We'll find out. But for now…" He pulled something from his coat. A press statement.
"I'm holding a conference tomorrow," he said. "I'm claiming you. Publicly. As my wife. As the mother of my children."
Her heart stopped.
"You'd do that?"
He stepped closer, voice low.
"I married you for revenge. But I'm staying… because I can't imagine a life where you and those babies aren't mine."
Her breath hitched.
"You still don't love me."
"I don't know how to love, Evan. But I can protect. I can provide. And maybe… I can learn."
She stared at him, breaking and healing all at once.
"I don't want to be your obligation."
"You're not."
He walked over and knelt at the edge of the bed, his hand hovering just above her belly.
"You're my beginning."
---
đź’Ą End of Episode 8