He Chose Her Over Us

---- Chapter 11 Gregory Velazquez POV: The words hung in the air, heavy and poisonous. "Fake belly?" My mother' s eyes were merciless. "Did you ever once go with her to a doctor's appointment, Gregory? Did you see a single piece of medical proof? Or did you just take the word of a woman who has done nothing but lie to you since the day you met?" She didn't wait for an answer. She threw another set of photos onto the desk, scattering the images of Belen and Camden. These were different. Grainy, candid shots.

One showed Adrianna meeting Richard Thorne-the man who had brought me the photos of Belen-at a secluded cafe, their hands clasped together. Another showed them entering a hotel, Thorne's arm possessively around Adrianna's waist. "The auction was a setup, you idiot," my mother spat, her voice thick with disgust. "A scheme she and Thorne cooked up to get their hands on your money. And the kidnapping? A pathetic, staged drama to play on your ridiculous guilt complex." | stared at the pictures, my mind refusing to process what my eyes were seeing. "No," | whispered.

"It can't be." ---- My mother delivered the final, killing blow. "And the baby... the baby isn't yours. It's his." She pointed a trembling finger at the photo of Thorne and Adrianna. The timeline clicked into place. The lies, the manipulation, the convenient timing of it all. It was a perfectly executed con, and | had been the perfect, willing mark. Adrianna let out a choked sob. "It's not true! Eugenia, you're a cruel old woman, trying to poison him against me! Greg, darling, tell her. Tell her the baby is yours!" She grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my sleeve.

For the first time, | looked at her. Really looked at her. | saw the panic in her eyes, the desperate flicker of a cornered liar. The illusion shattered completely. "Is it my child, Adrianna?" | asked, my voice dangerously quiet. "Of course, it is!" she shrieked, her voice high and shrill with terror. My rage, which had been a hot, burning thing directed at Belen, now turned icy cold and focused entirely on the woman clinging to me. | grabbed her by the throat, my fingers tightening around her neck. "Where is Belen?" | snarled, shaking her.

"What have you done?" Adrianna gagged, her eyes bulging. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth where she bit her tongue. "I... | don't know!" ---- Suddenly, her body went limp. She collapsed to the floor, clutching her stomach and letting out a piercing scream. A dark stain began to spread across the front of her pale dress. | recoiled, letting go of her as if she were poison. The sight of her blood triggered a memory, a vision of Belen crumpled on the factory floor, her hand covered in her own blood. What have | done? The question wasn't for Adrianna. It was for myself.

Belen had known. She must have known all of it. The shattered jade, the ultrasound report-it wasn't a game. It was a test. A final, desperate test to see who | would choose. And | had failed. | had chosen the lie. | had chosen the viper. | had left my pregnant wife bleeding on a cold floor to save her attacker. A sound, raw and animalistic, tore from my throat. "BELEN!" | stumbled out of my office, out of the building, and into the pouring rain. The world was a blur of gray water and blurred lights. | fumbled for my phone, my fingers slipping on the wet screen. | tried to call her.

The number you have dialed is no longer in service. Blocked. She had blocked me. The broken jade. The silent phone. The empty house. It wasn't ---- a tantrum. It was a goodbye. A final, silent severing of our life together. The truth crashed down on me with the force of a physical blow. | had lost her. | had lost my child. | had destroyed the only good, pure thing in my life with my own stupid, arrogant hands. | fell to my knees on the wet pavement, the rain plastering my hair to my skull, and | howled my wife's name into the storm, my voice lost in the thunder.