Chapter 2

The truth was, I didn't want to go back at all. I was afraid of running into them there.

When I got near Antony's place, I checked from a distance to see whether his car was there, whether the lights in the house were on.

Only after I was sure no one was around did I dare go in.

Since Antony had called me a money-grubber, fine. All those designer bags, the clothes, I'd take them and sell them.

Antony really wasn't home. I grabbed the things and left, and once I was out of his place I called Summer McClain.

"Summer, is it okay if I come to yours?"

Summer is my other close friend. She comes from money, she's beautiful, and these days she owns a bridal boutique.

"Of course it's okay. But tell me, did you get divorced?"

I knew there was no hiding it from her. "Yeah."

I didn't realize my voice caught a little when I answered.

"Where are you? I'll come get you." As she spoke, I heard a door opening on her end.

I knew there was no stopping her, so I gave her the address.

The evening wind in Ashford City carried the briny smell of the sea, a little salty.

Summer got there fast. I heard her sports car from a few hundred yards off.

The car pulled up and she was out in a flash, looking me over head to toe first, and only after she was sure I was fine did she start cursing Antony and Candice.

"Those two lowlifes. You're the victim here. If Antony hadn't forced himself on you back then, would you ever have married him? He's shameless. When Candice left he moped around like a whipped dog, and now that she's back he's fawning over her like one all over again. The day I run into those two, I swear I'll tear them apart."

Summer laid into Candice without holding back. The two of them had never gotten along.

Summer is a genuine heiress from a prominent family, while Candice is only an adopted daughter of the Delgados.

They'd actually known each other for a long time, but they'd always been sworn enemies.

After I met them, I became close with both, and the whole time they kept right on looking down on each other.

Once I was in her car she asked, "So the divorce is done. How much is Antony paying you in support?"

She wasn't asking because she cared about the money. She just didn't want me getting shortchanged.

"Thirty million." It was already more than enough for me, enough to raise the child on later too.

"With Antony's kind of money, that's not much." She said it, but it was fair enough. Otherwise she'd have gone straight into cursing.

"Lena, you don't need to be afraid. Stay at my place, don't worry about a thing. My home is your home. If you want to work, I'll find you something. If you don't, I'll take care of you."

Summer started the car. The way she was talking now was nothing like the woman who'd just been tearing into Candice and Antony a minute ago.

I knew Summer cared about me, and it moved me.

So I didn't want to hide the pregnancy from her either.

"Summer, actually, I'm pregnant."

The car had only just pulled out when Summer stamped down on the brake with a screech, and both of us pitched forward at once.

Her head nearly hit the steering wheel. I hurried to check if she was all right, but her attention was somewhere else entirely.

"Pregnant! Does Antony know?"

Her reaction was pure worry for me. The ease that had just come over her face was gone, tight with tension again.

I nodded. "He knows. He even went with me to the prenatal checkup. We agreed he won't take custody of the child..."

Summer cut me off. "You're still planning to have the baby? Althea, are you out of your mind? Antony is a scumbag. You seriously want to have his child?"

I knew Summer cared, that she was worried for me. But the child was growing inside me, and I really couldn't bring myself to do it.

I calmed her down first, then slowly began to tell her the truth.