From Broken Fiancée To Corporate Queen

I walked into the hospital wing to find my fiancé, Derrick, holding his pregnant high-school sweetheart.

His plan was sickening: he would publicly claim her baby to save her from scandal, while our child, the one I was secretly carrying, would be hidden away-a shameful 'accident'.

He locked me in a damp guesthouse as his mother called me a whore and my unborn child a bastard.

But the true cost of his weakness came when she dragged me to a clinic and forced an abortion, killing my seven-month-old baby while Derrick was away caring for his other family.

Six months later, I returned.

Backed by a powerful new family, I walked into the Bradford Corporation's boardroom to face them all.

Derrick looked at me like he'd seen a ghost, not realizing I was there to take his entire empire.

I signed the papers that made me his boss and smiled for the cameras.

"The old Ava is dead," I whispered. "Long live the queen."

Chapter 1

Ava Clements POV:

Walking into the private hospital wing, I never expected to find my fiancé, Derrick Bradford, comforting his high-school sweetheart, Charlotte Sawyer, who was also visibly pregnant. The world tilted and blurred around me in that sterile hallway.

Charlotte, her face flushed, leaned into Derrick. His arm wrapped around her, a gesture of tenderness I hadn't seen in weeks. She giggled, a sound that felt like nails dragging across a chalkboard in my chest.

"He was so worried," Charlotte chirped, her voice too loud for the hushed environment. "Said he' d come straight here the moment I called. My little angel' s first kick, and he just had to be here."

Her hand, manicured and sparkling with rings, rested possessively on her swollen belly. Derrick' s hand hovered over hers, a silent affirmation.

My breath hitched. My own hand instinctively flew to my still-flat stomach. Our baby. Our secret joy. It twisted in my gut.

Derrick' s eyes, usually so warm and loving when they met mine, darted up. They locked onto mine across the polished hallway. His face drained of all color.

"Ava!" he gasped, his voice a strangled whisper.

He pushed away from Charlotte, scrambling to his feet. He moved fast, a blur of expensive fabric and panicked energy.

He reached me in three long strides, grabbing my arm. His grip was tight, almost painful.

"Derrick, let go," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

It trembled, fragile and broken. The shock had frozen my tears, but my lungs burned.

"Ava, please," he pleaded, his eyes wide and frantic. "It's not what you think. I can explain."

He pulled me further down the hallway, away from Charlotte.

"She... she's not carrying my child," he insisted, his words tumbling out. "I swear to you, Ava. This is a misunderstanding."

A single tear escaped, tracing a cold path down my cheek. My body felt heavy, disconnected.

"Please, Ava, don't cry," he begged, his voice cracking. "I love you. Only you. That baby isn't mine."

He tried to pull me into an embrace, but I stiffened. My heart was a bruised, pulsating mess.

"Derrick!" Charlotte's voice cut through the air, sharp and demanding.

She lumbered toward us, her face a mask of wounded innocence. Her lower lip trembled.

"You promised," she accused, her voice thick with fake tears. "You promised you'd tell her everything. You promised you' d protect me and our baby."

My head snapped towards her. Our baby?

"No, Charlotte, you just... you don't understand," Derrick stammered, his eyes darting between us.

Charlotte placed a hand on his chest, her touch gentle, almost loving. "Oh, I understand perfectly, Derrick. You just confirmed it for her, didn't you? You told her my baby isn' t yours."

She turned to me, a smirk barely hidden by her trembling lip. "He always was a coward, Ava. Couldn't even own up to his responsibilities."

My chest tightened. It was a cruel, sickening game.

"He promised to claim my child, Ava," Charlotte continued, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "To protect my family's name after... well, after the real father abandoned us."

Derrick' s hand flew to my cheek, wiping away a tear I hadn' t even realized was falling. But his eyes were on Charlotte.

"Ava has a right to know the truth, Charlotte," he said, his voice strained.

Charlotte laughed, a brittle, humorless sound. "Oh, does she? Then let's lay all our cards on the table, shall we? You can claim my baby, and we can tell everyone about your little secret. Your... inconvenient pregnancy."

She paused, letting her words hang in the air, thick with malice. Then her gaze dropped to my stomach, a triumphant glint in her eyes.

"We can just say hers is... an accident, for now. A temporary lapse of judgment on your part, of course."

A triumphant, vicious smile spread across her face.

"What?" I choked out, the word raw and disbelieving. My grief turned to confusion, then a searing, burning anger.

"Derrick, what is she talking about?" I demanded, my voice rising. "What does she mean by 'accident'?"

My entire world was crumbling, piece by agonizing piece.