Tessa's POV
The moment Tyler walked through the front door, I knew it was going to be one of those nights. His tie was loosened, his sleeves rolled up, and that arrogant smirk—the one he wore whenever he thought he had the upper hand—was firmly in place.
"Tessa," he drawled, tossing his keys onto the marble countertop. "You look... tense."
I ignored him and continued chopping vegetables, gripping the knife tighter than necessary. I had no appetite, but I needed something to do, something to keep my hands busy before I said something I'd regret.
Tyler leaned against the counter, watching me with the lazy amusement of a man who believed he was untouchable. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
I scoffed. "Don't call me that."
He chuckled, low and patronizing. "Still in a mood, huh? Let me guess—you've been sulking all day because of the pregnancy news?"
I slammed the knife down, the loud clang echoing in the kitchen. "You mean the pregnancy that you forced me into? The one that—" I cut myself off, shaking my head. I wasn't about to waste my breath explaining something he'd never care to understand.
Tyler sighed dramatically and walked around the island, stepping into my space. "Tessa, we agreed to this."
"No, you decided. I was pressured into it."
"Semantics," he dismissed, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. "Bottom line—you're pregnant now. Congratulations."
I inhaled sharply, rage boiling just beneath my skin. "You act like this is a game, Tyler. Like my body, my life, is just another deal you brokered."
"Come on," he said, taking a bite of the apple. "You always wanted a child. Now you have one. And it's mine—"
"Is it?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Tyler froze. The smug expression cracked for just a second before his grip on the apple tightened. "What the hell does that mean?"
My exact expression when I discovered at the hospital today that my eggs have been mistakenly fertilized with another man's sperm. An unknown man.
I couldn't speak for over 30 minutes, shocked to my bones.
I just took my eggs to the hospital to get it checked since I haven't been able to conceive after five years of trying. My eggs had been mistaken as a donation to the hospital and fertilized with another man's sperm.
The doctor behind that mistake had gone on his knees, crying and begging because if I get them sued, he might lose his license.
I turned to him fully, arms crossed. "It means you might want to sit down before you embarrass yourself."
His jaw twitched. "Tessa—"
I took a deliberate step closer, letting the silence stretch between us until the tension was suffocating. "I got a call today. From the hospital."
He didn't react. Not outwardly. But I knew him too well. I saw the way his fingers curled slightly, the way his breathing slowed just a fraction.
I continued. "There was a mix-up, Tyler. A clerical error." I let the words settle, watching as his arrogance faltered. "This baby isn't yours."
The apple slipped from his hand, rolling onto the counter before hitting the floor.
For a moment, he didn't speak. His lips parted slightly, as if forming a word, but nothing came out. Then, slowly, dangerously, he stepped toward me.
"You're lying."
I held my ground. "I wish I was."
His voice dropped, rough and accusing. "You cheated on me."
I laughed, the sound hollow. "That would almost be easier to explain, wouldn't it? But no, Tyler, I didn't cheat on you. The hospital made a mistake. A big one. My eggs were fertilized with someone else's sperm."
His face darkened. "Who?"
I didn't answer.
"Who?" he snarled, slamming his palm against the counter.
I refused to flinch. "Does it matter? It's not yours."
His chest rose and fell sharply, his hands clenching at his sides. Then, just as quickly as his anger surfaced, it was replaced by something colder. Calculating. "This doesn't change anything," he said.
I blinked. "Are you delusional?"
"You're my wife, Tessa. That baby, regardless of how it got there, is mine."
I shook my head in disbelief. "That's not how biology works, Tyler."
"You think some billionaire—because let's be real, that's the only kind of man who'd be involved in a surrogacy at that hospital—is going to swoop in and play father?" He smirked, his arrogance creeping back. "No, sweetheart. That child will be raised here, as a Will."
I stepped back, my pulse hammering. "You're insane."
His voice softened, but it wasn't comforting—it was suffocating. "You don't have a choice, Tessa. What will people say when they find out my loyal wife is carrying another man's child? You think the media will let you walk away from this unscathed?"
I gritted my teeth. "I don't care what people think."
"You will," he countered smoothly. "Because the moment you try to leave, I'll make sure the world sees you as exactly what you are—an unfaithful wife, an opportunist looking for a payday."
"You bastard," I hissed.
He grabbed my wrist—not painfully, but firm enough that I knew he wanted to remind me of the power he thought he still had. "Careful, Tess. I've been generous. But if you push me, I won't be."
I wrenched free, my breathing ragged. "You don't scare me anymore, Tyler."
He tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "That's the pregnancy hormones talking. You're not thinking clearly."
I clenched my fists. "No, for the first time in years, I am thinking clearly."
A slow, knowing grin spread across his face. "Then let's be honest, Tessa. What exactly do you plan to do? Run to him?"
My silence was answer enough.
Tyler laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, this is rich. You actually think whoever's baby you're carrying will want you? That he'll fight for you?" He leaned in, voice a low whisper. "Men like that don't save women like you. They use them."
A lump formed in my throat, but I swallowed it down.
I met his gaze head-on. "Then I guess we'll find out, won't we?"
Tyler's smirk faltered. He hadn't expected that. He was so used to me breaking, to me folding under his weight. But not this time.
Not anymore.
I stepped around him, walking toward the staircase. "Enjoy your dinner, Tyler," I said over my shoulder. "Because it's the last one you'll ever have in this house with me."
And with that, I left him standing alone in the kitchen—silent, furious, and for the first time in his life, completely powerless.