Dodged a Lifetime Disaster

My smile snapped in place. This two-year-old—who could barely string a sentence together—just called me a homewrecker.

Cassie shot me a quick look, then fake-scolded him.

"Lucas, what are you saying? She's your godmother! She's always loved you the most."

Luke quickly covered the kid's ears. "Cassie, don't yell at him. He's just a kid. Arya's gonna be my wife—she won't take it to heart."

I gave a tight, bitter smile, sitting there like some outsider crashing their perfect little family. "His wife"? That felt like a joke.

Never heard a toddler say 'homewrecker' so clearly before.

Lucas—Luke + Cassie. Took me this long to realize what his name actually meant.

Luke didn't even flinch. Tried to hand the kid to me like nothing happened.

I stepped back. "Enough. I'm leaving."

Luke grabbed my wrist. "Arya, you're free now. Might as well start getting used to taking care of a kid."

I let out a cold, dry laugh. "I might be dumb, but I'm not insane. Why would I raise your side chick's kid? If you three don't think I'm in the way, well—I do."

Cassie, catching the vibe, jumped in with a smile.

"Arya, you know I never wanted to get married. The baby was an accident... If you want him, I'll sign over guardianship. That way your marriage to Luke won't be affected."

She nudged Luke while she talked, her chest brushing against his shoulder like it was nothing.

"Go home with your wife. I've been doing this solo for two years—I can keep going. If Arya ever wants a kid, she can take over anytime."

Lucas suddenly burst into tears in Luke's arms.

Luke freaked, fumbling for tissues, whispering comfort till the kid calmed down.

Then he handed Lucas to Cassie and finally turned on me.

"Arya Addington, enough! I couldn't be there for my son because of you—and now you wanna take him from his mom too? You've been taking care of him. He's used to you. You either keep doing it or forget about marrying me."

I couldn't breathe.

I stormed out.

Because of me he couldn't be there for his son? What kind of twisted logic was that?

I bolted down the stairs, yanked open the car door—just as I was about to slam it shut, Luke stepped in the way.

He frowned, blocking it. "Arya, I was gonna tell you when Cassie got pregnant. I didn't mean to hide it. But she's your best friend, and she never wanted to get married... I figured when the kid got older and things got tough, she'd hand guardianship over to you."

I stared at him, eyes burning. "Too bad you said it out loud. If I hadn't known, maybe I would've raised her kid. But now? I'm not raising some love child you made with your side chick."

He saw the tears in my eyes and scoffed. "You're the Addington heiress, and you can't even handle this? You're nothing compared to Cassie. She grew up in the slums and still has more backbone than you."

My nose stung. I forced back the tears. "I'm not gonna argue with you. I'm done."

Luke yanked me out of the driver's seat and pulled me into a tight hug. "Come on, don't cry. I'll make it right—just not now."

I let out a hollow laugh and slipped out of his arms.

Looked away for a second before whispering, "Forget it. Let's break up."