"Yes," Lauren said sweetly, her voice coated in artificial warmth. "Caius and I were supposed to get married when I got pregnant... but I told him to wait. I wasn't ready."
She said it like it was a sweet memory. Something tender and shared between lovers.
But anyone who knew her — anyone who had seen her desperation behind closed doors — would know that was a lie.
The truth was much more pathetic. And painful. Caius had never wanted to marry her. Not when she first told him she was pregnant.
Not when she sobbed on his front porch, ring in hand. Not even when her mother had called him, trying to force the issue and begging.
Lauren had begged.
More than once.
And the worst part? Even then, when his life was crumbling and Heather had refused to sign the release for his company, he still hadn't married her. He'd rather burn than settle for her.
But of course, no one could know about that part. So she smiled through the lie.
