Right after high school graduation, the class mean girl posted my pregnancy test results in the group chat. “Trailer trash is always going to be trailer trash. Selling yourself the second you turn eighteen? Do you even know who the baby daddy is? I bet it’s some wrinkly old sugar daddy.” Everyone jumped on the bandwagon, mocking me. Someone even dug up a photo of me on my knees in the mud, digging up sweet potatoes, looking like a mess. Just as the roasting was at its peak, a message popped up from the class’s most untouchable, old-money heir. “I’m the father. Anyone got a problem with that?” Chapter 1 I was shoveling fertilizer in the garden when I gagged. The smell was awful, so at first, I thought it was just the fumes. But later, while feeding Nana her lunch, the nausea hit me again like a freight train. Nana looked at me, her eyes clouded with age but still sharp as a tack. “Savannah, are you pregnant?” Her gaze was like a knife, cutting straight through my secrets. “You went down the wrong path, didn't you?” My heart stuttered. I swallowed hard. “Yes.” A few months ago, Nana went into heart failure. I was broke. Desperate. So I took night shifts at a dive bar downtown. That’s where I ran into Sebastian Sterling, the golden boy of our senior class. He’d been drugged. His usually pale, aristocratic face was flushed crimson, and he was delirious. He grabbed my hand, trying to pull me under his jacket. Seeing the school’s “High Mountain Flower”—the untouchable Sebastian—drowning in lust like that… my heart wouldn't stop pounding. I hesitated for exactly one second. Then I dragged him into the employee changing room. Everyone else was working the floor. It was just us in the back. We spent half the night tangled together. When I left, I wrote a note. I figured, hush money. Even fifty grand would save my life. I didn't expect him to wake up the next day and act like it never happened. It made me panic, so I tracked him down to ask for the cash. I remember his eyes. Ice cold. Like he was looking at garbage. He just said, “Here’s a hundred grand. Don’t cause trouble.” Then he dismissed me like I didn't exist. I took the money and ran to the hospital to pay Nana’s bills. In the chaos, I forgot the Plan B pill. By the time I remembered, my period was long gone. I bought a stick from the pharmacy. Two pink lines. I was torn. On one hand, the Sterling family is elite. Old money. Their threshold is too high for a girl like me. On the other hand, this was a lottery ticket. A chance to rewrite my destiny. I didn't want to fold my hand just yet. I dragged it out. My belly started to show. I wrapped it tight with bandages just to walk across the stage at graduation, but I passed out from exhaustion and ended up in the ER. That’s when Tiffany, the school’s self-proclaimed queen bee, snapped the photo and blasted it to the world. Chapter 2 Sebastian showed up the next day. He wasn't alone. His grandmother, the Matriarch of the Sterling empire, was with him. Sebastian was stone-faced. His eyes flickered over my stomach, then dropped to the floor. I couldn't read him at all. His grandmother, Mrs. Sterling, was surprisingly gentle. She asked my age, about my parents, my family situation. When I told her honestly that my parents were dead and it was just Nana and me, the old lady teared up. “Poor child.” She offered to take me in. I told her I couldn't leave Nana, who was bedridden. She immediately arranged for Nana to go to the Sterling family’s private care facility. “To be honest, a family like ours doesn’t usually welcome outsiders,” she said, her voice soft but firm. “But that baby is the first of the Sterling next generation. And you are Sebastian’s first woman. We can’t just leave you out here in the sticks.” On the ride back to their estate, Sebastian kept his eyes closed. He didn't say a word. I couldn't tell if he liked me or hated me. But I got my answer soon enough. He threw my bag onto the sofa and told me I was sleeping there. Yeah. He definitely hated me. The Sterling mansion was massive. His bedroom suite alone was split into three rooms. He put me in the smallest one. When I looked up, I saw a framed photo of a stunning ballerina on the wall. Sebastian shoved his hands in his pockets. “Pretty, right? I’ve been in love with her for years.” He looked down at me with a faint sneer in his eyes. I lowered my head, stealing another glance at the photo. Elegant. Swan-like. Her fingers looked like porcelain. No wonder he looked at me like I was dirt. Chapter 3 I didn't interact with Sebastian much. Even though we were classmates for three years, our relationship was limited to me collecting his homework. He was rich, a genius, always surrounded by simps. I’d snatch his notebook and run, keeping my head down. Even being that quick, I still got roasted. “Savannah, stop being so thirsty. Stop trying to seduce him.” “Her family is dirt poor, she’s practically selling herself. Don’t let her taint our Sebastian.” Small towns are vicious. Someone had seen me helping Sebastian into the back room that night at the bar. Rumors spread that I was selling my body for cash. But nobody guessed who the guy was. I’d catch Sebastian’s eye from across the classroom. Silence. I was immune to the slut-shaming by then. I never thought I’d actually be living with him. Even if we were sleeping rooms apart. He slept like a corpse. Face up, hands folded on his chest. Like a robot. I couldn't sleep. I turned to look at him. “Savannah, stop moving.” “I didn't move.” “You did. Your breathing is too loud.” “Sorry.” He didn't speak again. His breathing evened out. I’d had insomnia for years, but somehow, listening to him, I drifted off. That night, the nightmares came back. My mother’s screams. My father’s roaring. The flash of the knife. Chapter 4 When I woke up, Sebastian was already gone. He didn't wake me. I couldn't find the guest bath, so I had to use his. When I went downstairs, the ballerina from the photo was sitting at the dining table, sipping milk like royalty. Seeing me, she flashed a sweet smile. “Oh, this must be Sebastian’s little friend. She’s cute.” Fairies really are nicer than humans. I’ve spent my life toiling in the sun. I am definitely not “cute.” Sebastian sat next to her. I learned her name was Mia. Principal dancer for a top European ballet company. They grew up together. To the world, she was his “big sister” figure. But I knew the truth. Sebastian was down bad for her. His room was a shrine to her. Being loved like that… must be nice. I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat. After breakfast, Mrs. Sterling sat me down. She said she was speaking for Sebastian’s mother. The deal: Sebastian is eighteen. He isn't getting married. Especially not to me. The baby will be born and raised as his sibling. And I? I get a payout. A villa in the city. And a nine-figure sum in the bank account. If I wanted, the Sterlings would send me abroad to study. The condition: I can never see the child again. As she laid this out, Sebastian sat nearby, flicking his Zippo lighter open and closed, watching me with that same mocking smile. I sighed softly. I nodded. “Okay. I agree.” The lighter in Sebastian’s hand stopped spinning.
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