Betrayed For An Heir

he doctor's offi

ouse so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowni

sed on the tests, it may be difficult for you to conceive natural

ptions. Every word st

at thick with emotion. The moment she steppe

al, like he was asking if

. "Yes. I'll be

ot while standing on the steps of the clinic, with

-

he air conditioner filled the emptiness. She walked past the wedding photo hanging above the firepla

t a

ree hours later, smelling faintly

said, trying not

marble countertop. "Meeting

may have difficulty conceiving nat

idn't change, but something in his e

id simply, wal

llow. "That's all y

snapped, spinning to face her. "T

id softly. "I want you to tell me t

usted him. "Do you think love alone is

d was heavier than the o

-

ired. Alesia pretended not to notice the extra hours he spent away from hom

ght, he came

g table, his eyes unreadable. "Ther

knew. Her st

ut our situation. About

d at her unt

n... considering. Someone

ead slowly. "You

ame is

Ziva. The name hit her l

s you

r's best friend. She's known to the

dly against the marble floor. "So what

aelan said, as if that ti

d wife? Or the real one, since

ve, Alesia. It's about legacy. You kne

u'd rather break our marr

dn't

ce was ans

-

e she had made a decision, but because she needed space to t

ing her mother would understand. But her m

you want to throw that away

e's marrying so

That's different. You

s name if it com

is is reality. If you walk away, Ziva wins everything.

-

es of Kaelan running through her mind-the way he used to hold her, laugh with

d she w

d betrayed her, even i

with her pride,

ide, a quiet voice whi

he didn't

e rewrote