Chapter 21N
Slade’s POV
The photos were crystal clear–Millicent was dressed provocatively and draped around different men in a nightclub.
In one photo, she was drunk and undressing; in another, caught mid–kiss with a blonde man.}
The photos, while slightly blurred, were explosive, each timestamped–from a year ago, even just a few months ago.
Grandpa’s face turned thunderous. With a loud crash, his wine glass shattered on the floor.”
“What the hell is this?!“&
Millicent turned ghost–pale. One hand instinctively covered her belly, the other trembling as she reached down to pick up the photos.} Her voice cracked in panic as she tried to defend herself. “Grandpa… These are fake! They’re edited! Someone set me up–“> “Bullshit!” Grandpa slammed the table, his fury unrelenting. “Today is my celebration! And you dare humiliate me in front of all the guests?!”
“I didn’t! I swear I didn’t!” Millicent stumbled toward me, her eyes pleading. “Slade, you have to believe me! I never betrayed you. The baby -this baby is yours! It’s your child!“}
“Enough.”
My jaw tightened, my face dark with rage.§
I pointed at the photos strewn across the floor. “You’ve made this–the biggest disgrace of my life–happen at my Grandpa’s birthday party?”
In desperation, Millicent clutched my hand. “Please, Slade, it wasn’t me! Someone framed me! I’m carrying your baby! How could I ever do something like this?”
Without her expecting it, my hand landed on her cheek.
At that moment, gasps echoed through the crowd.
Millicent staggered back two steps, clutching her cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Y–You… hit me?“}
“That slap is on behalf of my family,” I growled. “You told me you were clean, decent, anr respectable. I treated you like a human being. But now? You’re not even worth that. You’re beneath a stray. You have no place in this family. Not now, not ever.”
Mom, face pale, stepped forward. Her voice was hoarse. “Millicent, you fooled all of us! You lied about the baby being ours?! You really think we’re that easy to trick?!“}
Millicent shook her head weakly, her voice barely audible. “No… it’s not like that…”
Grandpa slammed his cane down hard. “Get out! Get out now! I’d rather this family end with me than take in a disgrace like you!” “Security!” roared Dad. “Throw her out!”
But just then, someone pushed through the crowd, shouting, “She fell! She’s bleeding!”
I spun around. Millicent lay on the ground, her skirt soaked in crimson, her face ashen.
The room fell silent.
Mom’s voice cracked with urgency. “Call an ambulance! Now!“}
No one could die here. Not under our family’s roof.
Soon, Millicent was carried onto a stretcher. Her trembling hand clutched my sleeve, her voice frail. “Slade… please… save me… save our baby…”
But I didn’t move.
The warmth in my blue eyes had vanished. All that remained was a bone–deep coldness.
I just stood there, watching her disappear from sight.
At that moment, all I felt… was relief.
My child with Virginia had once made me feel alive. But Millicent’s child only felt like a chain.
At the hospital, Grandpa remained unconscious in the ICU. The entire family was weighed down by gloom.
I sat at the far end of the hallway, my eyes red, my knuckles white around my phone.
“Sir…”
Rhett hesitated, and then he finally spoke in a low voice. “I found her. Miss Aberdeen–she’s in Texas.“@
My head snapped up, and my voice was raw. “Where in Texas?“N
“She… She’s in Harris County. She’s getting her marriage license today.”
It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room, and my chest felt like it had been split open.
