Chapter 4

"Piper Hayes, did you honestly think I wouldn't track you down just because you hid in a hospital?"

Austin's mother's voice echoed through the OB-GYN waiting area while I was waiting for my number to be called.

Seven or eight expectant mothers were sitting around me, some accompanied by their husbands, others by their mothers-in-law. At the sound of her screech, every head turned in our direction.

I stood up.

"Mrs. Vance, this is a hospital."

"I know it's a hospital," she sneered, marching toward me. "And I know you're here for a prenatal checkup. What, you break up with my son and still come running to the Vance family's clinic?"

It wasn't their clinic. But the Vance family held VIP status here; Austin's mother knew the department head, so she acted like she owned the place.

Chloe trailed behind her, clutching a thermos, wearing an expression of deep concern.

"Auntie, keep your voice down, please. There are pregnant women everywhere."

Austin's mother lowered her volume marginally. "Piper, let me make this very clear: you cannot keep this child.

The psychic read the charts. The baby's aura clashes with Austin's destiny. Keeping it will ruin his fortune."

"Mrs. Vance, Austin and I are over. The baby will take my last name. It has nothing to do with the Vance family."

Austin's mother froze for a second, then let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

It wasn't deafening, but in the quiet waiting room, it grated on everyone's ears.

"Take your name? A child of the Vance bloodline, taking *your* name?"

"We aren't married. The child can take whatever name I choose."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm stating a fact."

Austin's mother looked me up and down with utter contempt.

"Piper, I won't sugarcoat it anymore. Austin and Chloe have been close since childhood. That's the match I've always wanted.

You? You're an outsider who came later. It's not that I look down on you, but you two were never meant to be.

While we can still keep things civil, take care of the pregnancy, walk away cleanly, and everyone wins."

I turned my eyes toward Chloe.

She kept her gaze cast down, gripping her thermos in silence.

If any of it were untrue, she would have denied it.

She didn't utter a single word.

A man sitting beside his pregnant wife couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and cut in. "Ma'am, this is a public space. Could you please keep your voice down?"

Austin's mother shot him a venomous glare, and the man shrank back half a step.

I took a deep breath, my hands instinctively shielding my lower abdomen.

"Mrs. Vance, I will raise the baby myself."

"Raise it yourself?" Her voice shot right back up. "With what? What's your monthly salary?

Don't you know your own place? A girl from a no-name town with zero backing—the only reason you even have a roof over your head in this city is because Austin pulled you up! And now you're telling me you don't need the Vance family?"

The waiting area fell dead silent. Everyone was staring.

Chloe finally stepped in. "Auntie, please stop. Piper is having a hard time too."

She turned to me. "Piper, Auntie doesn't mean it like that. Please don't take it to heart, she's just worried."

Then she tugged at Austin's mother's arm. "Auntie, let's go. Let's let Piper get her checkup in peace."

Austin's mother took two steps back, then abruptly whipped around. She pulled a checkbook from her designer bag, scribbled on it, and slammed a check down onto the armrest of the waiting chair.

"Fifty thousand dollars. Terminate the pregnancy. Consider it compensation for your recovery."

I stared at the check.

I had to convince myself that this was actually happening. A grown woman, standing in an OB-GYN clinic in front of dozens of pregnant patients, slapping down fifty thousand dollars to demand that another woman abort her child.

A sudden, sharp cramp seized my abdomen.

I grabbed onto the arm of the chair next to me.

Another spasm hit, sharper than the last.

A triage nurse rushed over. "What's wrong? How far along are you?"

"Twelve weeks. Twins."

The nurse's face instantly hardened. "Sit down. Don't move. I'm calling the doctor right now."

Austin's mother stood two steps away, the check still lying on the armrest.

"Don't try to play the victim to gain sympathy."

Chloe crouched down, trying to support my arm. "Piper, don't be scared, you'll be fine—"

I yanked my arm back from her grip.

A doctor pushed a wheelchair over and helped me into it.

Austin's mother stood frozen in place, unsure whether she should leave or stay.

Just as the wheelchair was being pushed into the corridor, the heavy double doors of the waiting room were shoved open.

A woman walked in. Her gaze swept over the crowd and locked onto me with absolute precision. She dropped to one knee beside the wheelchair, placing a warm hand over the back of mine.

"Piper, I'm here."

My aunt, Eleanor Hayes.

The moment Austin's mother saw her, all color drained from her face. Her lips twitched.

"M-Ms. Hayes?"

Eleanor didn't even look at her.

Chloe stood paralyzed behind her, her grip tightening on the thermos, struck completely speechless for the first time.

Eleanor stood up and addressed the nurse. "Is the Chief of Obstetrics here? Bring him to me."

The nurse hesitated for a fraction of a second.

Eleanor pulled a business card from her coat pocket and handed it over.

The nurse glanced at the name, her eyes went wide, and she took off running.

Eleanor turned around, finally deigning to look at Austin's mother.

"Mrs. Vance, if you ever appear in front of my niece again, you will learn the true meaning of the word 'consequences.'"