[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-26032289AC7C-162":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},162,1,"Chapter 1: The Coldest Price Of Their Preference","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Five years later, Alexandria Rodriguez returned to the Cole estate.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Her parents were drowning in apologies for everything she’d endured while she was away. Even Callahan Meyer, Maya’s fiancé, couldn’t hide the way his gaze lingered on his old flame.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The house was thick with anticipation. Everyone was waiting for Maya—the girl they’d raised as their own—to snap. Would she scream? Have a breakdown? Start a scene?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya didn't give them the satisfaction.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She stood in the hallway, watching in silence as they hauled luggage into her bedroom. Her bedroom.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Maya,\" her mother said, her voice strained with forced brightness. \"Alexandria always loved the natural light in the master suite. About your room...\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I’ll take the guest suite,\" Maya interrupted. Her voice was flat, hollow. \"I’ll clear it out for her right now.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The next night, Callahan was supposed to take her to a birthday dinner.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya waited at the restaurant until 8:00 PM. When her phone finally buzzed, it wasn’t a reservation update.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I’m sorry, Maya,\" Callahan said. \"Alexandria got turned around at the mall. I have to go find her.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Fine,\" Maya replied, her composure unshaken. \"Go get her. I'll just spend my birthday alone.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">On the third day, the medical report arrived.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She was pregnant.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Peter, Martha, and Callahan reached a verdict before the ink on the paper was even dry: the pregnancy had to go.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Maya, you can't keep this baby,\" her mother said, her face a mask of cold, sharp urgency. \"Alexandria was devastated when she heard. She's terrified that once the baby comes, she’ll be pushed to the sidelines of this family.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan stood by the window, his back rigid. He didn't turn when he spoke.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"When you and Alexandria were switched at birth, my engagement shifted to you, Maya,\" he said. \"Alexandria has lost enough. Now that she's finally home, seeing you pregnant... it’s a lot for her to process.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He turned around, his jaw tight. \"The baby—we can have more later. Right now? It isn’t the time.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">They went on, circling the same point: Alexandria’s feelings, Alexandria’s trauma. They spoke as if Maya’s pregnancy was nothing more than a clerical error—a nuisance that needed to be erased.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">They were waiting for her to explode.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Peter had his speech ready to soothe her. Martha was prepared with a list of justifications in case she fought back. Callahan was already clutching a consolation gift, his fingers digging into the edge of the mahogany table.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya just set the report on the coffee table and gave a single, sharp nod.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Fine,\" she said. \"When’s the appointment? Today? I’ll head to the hospital.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She grabbed her coat from the back of the chair and turned toward the door.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Maya?\" Martha gasped, stunned by the total lack of resistance. \"You… you’re just agreeing?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya glanced over her shoulder. \"What else would you like me to do?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Peter looked like he’d been slapped. He paced a short, frantic circle in the middle of the room. \"Don’t you have anything to say? Any objections?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Does it matter what I think?\" Maya pulled at the corner of her mouth in a cold, humorless smile. \"If I fought this, would any of you change your minds?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She walked out. The three of them exchanged a panicked look before scrambling after her, reeling from her sudden, icy detachment.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The hospital smelled like antiseptic and regret.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya changed into a surgical gown, pinning her hair back with a disposable cap. Her face was pale, devoid of anything resembling the woman they thought they knew.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Just as she reached the surgical suite, Callahan grabbed her wrist. His grip was bruising.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Are you really going through with this so easily?\" he hissed, his voice thick with frustration. \"No argument? No tears? This is our child—are you actually this indifferent?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya looked up at him.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan had always been striking. A razor-sharp jaw, deep-set eyes, and thin lips that gave him the look of a man who owned every room he stepped into.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Right now, those brows were furrowed. His eyes were turbulent, swirling with confusion, scrutiny, and a flicker of panic he was clearly trying to bury. He ran a hand through his hair, his composure finally fraying.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She almost laughed.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Indifferent?\" she repeated softly, as if she were considering the word for the first time. \"Callahan, are you saying you’ve changed your mind? You want to keep the baby?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan flinched, his eyes darting away from her gaze. His voice turned defensive, sharp. \"That’s not what I meant. It’s just... you’ve changed, Maya.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Is that so?\" Maya’s smile didn’t touch her eyes. \"People change. But you three?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Her gaze flicked over her parents and then back to him.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You’re all exactly the same.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Everything they touched, everything they breathed, was still orbiting Alexandria.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan felt a spike of irritation, tangled with a cold, creeping dread he couldn't name. He reached for her hand, his tone shifting into a forced, needy plea.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Maya, don't be like this. The baby... we can have more later. I promise.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Later.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maya pried his fingers off her wrist, one by one.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"The procedure is starting.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She turned her back on him and walked toward the operating room, whispering to the ghost of the life she was about to end.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">*No. There will never be another child of ours.*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She had already signed the papers to sever every tie to the Cole name. Once her immigration paperwork cleared at the end of the month, she would be gone for good.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272929845]