Page 104 of Knocked Up by My Fake Fiancé
The loneliness hits hard, so sharp I feel sick.
Moments later, I'm on my knees in the bathroom, throwing up the coffee and toast I managed to force down.
Once it's over, I rinse my mouth and sit there for a moment, dizzy but relieved. I must've caught a bug or something. Still, on the way to work, I stop at a pharmacy to grab something for my stomach.
That's when I see it.
The pregnancy test kits.
I freeze in the aisle, staring at them. A thought slams into me so fast it steals my breath.
No. No, no, no.
Surely I can't be pregnant.
I've been careful with my pills—except that one time, the first time with Grayson. But I took Plan B after that.
I can't be pregnant… I can't.
Just to be sure, I grab a test and tuck it into my Prada handbag. Well… "handbag" is generous. It's more of a structured shoulder bag — big enough to hold half my life: phone, files, water bottle… and, apparently, a pregnancy kit.
The second I get to the office, I head straight for the bathroom.
Minutes later, I'm staring down at the test in my hand, hardly believing what I am seeing—two clearly unmistakable pink lines, where there should only be one.
CHAPTER 30
Grayson
The next day, I read the article Fiennes mentioned—the one that supposedly details my relationship with Jenna.
Unsurprisingly, most of it is horseshit.
It's what I call a polite hit piece: full of insinuation, never quite crossing the line into libel. The writer builds their little house of cards with implication and half-truths—just enough conjecture for readers to form their own ugly conclusions, yet not enough to sue them for.
According to their carefully "balanced" account, Jenna is an out-and-out gold digger. The story implies she approached me while I was dating Anastasia—which is ridiculous, since Anastasia and I never dated—and that she threw herself at me to win the showcase bid, then used that connection to sink her claws into my family's fortune.
Of course, they never say any of this outright. They simply arrange the timelines, nudge a few numbers together, and let the reader "add two plus two" to arrive at a very convenient five. Totally unfair. Totally biased. But, as I said, not actionable.
What gets under my skin most is that I'm not really the target here. Sure, the article makes me look weak—an easy mark for a "clever" woman to manipulate—but the focus is on Jenna.It paints her as cold, calculated, and ambitious to the point of cruelty. A woman who uses her body to get ahead, trampling anyone in her way. It erases her talent, her relentless work ethic, her ethics, her decency.
And that pisses me off more than I can say.
Jenna is one of the few people I know who not only has strong moral principles but actually lives by them. She doesn't just talk about integrity; she embodies it. To see her dragged through the mud for no reason—especially because of me—hits right in the chest.
Last night, while she slept beside me, I lay awake wondering whether to tell her about the article. She'll be deeply hurt if I do, but if she finds out on her own… that might be worse. After a lot of back-and-forth, I decide not to say anything. Not yet. Not until I figure out who's behind this.
I note the journalist's name and forward it to my lawyers. They'll know what to do—apply pressure, imply the writer's about to be sued within an inch of their career. Suggest they'll never work again in New York. But honestly, I don't care what happens to the journalist. They're a pawn.
What I really want is the name of the person behind the piece. The one pulling strings behind the curtain like the Wizard of Oz.
If my lawyers squeeze hard enough, maybe the journalist will break and admit who set them up. Because no one writes a front-page smear like this for no reason. Someone powerful had to push it through.
This isn't my first media ambush. Back when my father stepped down and I took over as CEO, a few shareholders didn't like it. They tried to use the press to discredit me. Long story short—they failed. I'm still here; they aren't.
Maybe this is the same playbook all over again.
But why target Jenna? Why go after someone who's practically unknown outside her field? She's not a threat to anyone.
