Mr. CEO's Darling Shame

AVA'S POV By the time Ethan dropped me off at the Voss family estate, my tears had dried into a dull ache behind my eyes. I promised him again that I'd be fine, that there was no need to tell Father. Adrian didn't mean what he'd said. Ethan didn't believe me. I could see it in the way his jaw clenched, in the way his hands tightened around the steering wheel before he drove away. But what choice did I have? If Father found out, Adrian's deal with Sinclair Global would vanish overnight-and with it, the only dream I had left of Adrian achieving his dreams and someday being proud of me. I pushed open the front door, stepping into the cold, cavernous entryway. The scent of polish and lemon cleaner lingered in the air, but it did nothing to soften the voices that greeted me. "There you are," my mother-in-law, Margaret Voss, snapped from the sitting room. "Where have you been, Ava? Running off first thing in the morning while the house looks like a pigsty? I suppose you expect us to make our own breakfast now?" I froze, clutching my bag tighter. Behind her, on the chaise, sat Adrian's younger sister, Marissa, scrolling lazily through her phone. She glanced up, her lips curling. "Honestly, Mother, what do you expect? Ava's not a wife. She's a leech. A curse. She couldn't boil water without burning it, let alone care for this house properly." Heat rose in my face, but I kept my tone steady. "I-I had an appointment this morning. At the hospital." Marissa's phone clattered to the cushion as she sat upright, eyes wide. "Hospital? Wait-don't tell me-are you pregnant?" The words seemed to freeze the air. Margaret's face went pale, then blotchy red as she surged to her feet. "Pregnant?" Her voice cracked like thunder. "Don't you dare say such a thing in this house, Ava. Don't you dare!" I blinked, stunned. "But-why-" She glanced at me and scoffed. "But why? Because Ava," Margaret hissed, advancing on me with eyes full of venom, "my son's life has already been cursed once by marrying you. I will not have him chained forever to misfortune by a child that should never be born." My hand instinctively covered my stomach. My heart clenched as though she had struck me physically. Marissa smirked, her voice dripping with cruelty. "Mother's right. Imagine a child with her face. With that scar. What kind of misfortune would that bring to the Voss name?" Tears stung my eyes, but I held them back. I would not cry. Not in front of them. Margaret jabbed a finger toward me. "You'd better pray you're not pregnant, Ava. Pray every night. Because if you think we'll allow this family's legacy to be tainted, you're gravely mistaken." I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. The report in my bag burned like fire against my hip. Positive. The most beautiful word I had ever seen, now twisted into a curse on my tongue. "I'll... make dinner," I whispered, and I turned away before they could see the crack in my composure. *** That night, I sat alone in the darkened dining room, the clock ticking endlessly. The dinner I had prepared sat cold on the table, untouched. My scar ached with the memory of Margaret's words, Marissa's laughter, Adrian's denial. At last, the front door slammed open. I shot to my feet, heart racing, hope warring with dread. Adrian staggered in, the sharp tang of whiskey hitting me before he even crossed the threshold. His tie hung loose around his neck, his shirt half-untucked. Red lipstick smeared faintly across his collar. And clinging to him was a scent that didn't belong to me. Floral. Sweet. Expensive. Selene. My face fell. "Adrian," I breathed, stepping forward. "You're home." He stopped in the doorway, his gray eyes bloodshot, his expression hard as stone. "Don't." His voice was low, dangerous. "Don't come near me." I froze. His gaze flicked to the table, then back to me, disgust curling his lip. "What is this? Another pathetic attempt to play house? Do you think I need your little dinners to feel like I have a wife?" My chest tightened. "I just wanted-" "To disgrace me huh. What you want doesn't matter!" His shout cut through me, sharp and merciless. "Do you hear me? What you want doesn't matter. Not your feelings. Not your face. Not your-" He stopped abruptly, his nostrils flaring, his eyes narrowing as if he had caught something in the air. "And how dare you show your face at my office this morning after I've told you-warned you-not to? How many times must I remind you, Ava? You don't belong there. You don't belong in my world." The words ripped through me, harsher than the guards' hands dragging me out. I stumbled back, shaking my head. My hand instinctively brushed against my stomach. "What were you doing at the hospital this morning?" His words were cold, edged with suspicion. I swallowed, my throat dry. "It was just-just a check-up. Nothing important." He stepped closer, looming over me, the scent of whiskey and another woman suffocating me. "If you're hiding something from me, Ava..." His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "I'll never forgive you." I trembled, clutching my bag against me like a shield. The test result pressed hard against my palm inside, a secret I wasn't ready to share-not now, not like this. "Adrian, please," I whispered. "I just... I just wanted to see you happy." His laugh was bitter, sharp as broken glass. "Happy? By humiliating me? Happy? With you?" "I-I only wanted to surprise you. I thought you'd be happy." "Happy?" He gave a bitter laugh, his mouth twisted cruelly. "The only thing I felt when you walked into that building was shame." My heart dropped. "I warned you never to come to my office," I snapped, stepping closer. "And yet you did. After everything I've told you, you still disobeyed me. Do you have any idea what you've done? You humiliated me in front of my staff. In front of Sinclair Global." My chin trembled. "I didn't mean-" "Didn't mean?" His laugh was bitter. "You're unstable, Ava. Confused. Obsessed with playing the role of wife when you're nothing but a liability to me. I've been protecting you from the world's eyes, and this is how you repay me?" My eyes filled with tears, but I shook her head desperately. "Adrian, that's not fair-" Tears blurred my vision. My heart twisted so violently I thought I might faint. Protecting me? Was that what he called his shame? Was that what he meant every time he'd told me not to show up at his office, not to attend his events, not to stand beside him in public? He wasn't protecting me. He was hiding me. Selene was right. "And now," He roared, slamming my fist onto the table, "I find out you've been parading around in public with another man? Do you enjoy making me look like a fool?" My breath caught in my throat. "Who is he Ava?" My face went white. "What? No! Adrian, I would never-" "Don't lie to me!" The force of his voice shook me to my core. My hands instinctively pressed against my stomach, as though to shield the tiny secret growing inside me. His gaze lingered for a second, suspicion flickering in his eyes, before turning away in disgust. He shoved past me, sending me stumbling against the table. Plates rattled, silverware clattered, but I caught myself before falling. The silence he left behind was deafening. Adrian didn't look back. He only muttered, "You disgust me." as he disappeared up the stairs, leaving the reek of whiskey and betrayal in his wake. I sank into my chair, the tears spilling freely now. My hand trembled as it lingered on my stomach. I can't tell him, I realized with a sickening clarity. If he could look at me with such hatred now, what would he do if he knew? He wouldn't see a baby. He would see a trap. Another curse. Staring at the untouched dinner, the lipstick stain burnt into my memory like a stamp. My stomach twisted violently-not from the child I carried, but from the growing realization that Adrian might never see me as anything more than a shame he couldn't erase. Would he have acted this way if he knew about my identity as the heiress to the Company he wishes to secure a partnership with? And in that moment, I understood: the life I was carrying, the life I thought would save us, might be the very thing that breaks me completely. Upstairs, the muffled sound of Adrian's phone buzzed through the silence. I couldn't hear the words exchanged, but I knew that laugh. Selene's laugh. And as my hand cradled my stomach, I realized the truth that chilled me to my bones. If Adrian ever discovered I was pregnant... it wouldn't bring him closer. It might destroy me. How do I tell him about my true identity when I can't even reveal my pregnancy to him?