When Mitchell got home, everyone had already finished lunch.


    His father looked at him with clear disapproval. "Do you know what time it is? Suzan''s pregnant-you''re about to be a father, yet you''re still acting so irresponsibly!"


    The frustration in his voice was unmistakable.


    Mitchell stood in the foyer, head down as he changed his shoes, saying nothing.


    His clothes were wrinkled, and his jacket still carried the sharp scent ofst night''s whiskey and smoke from the bar.


    He didn''t bother to defend himself. He just let his father lecture him in silence.


    It was Adeline who came out, her tone gentle as she tried to smooth things over. "Darling, don''t be so upset. It''s the holidays-Mitchell just wanted to rx with his friends for a bit. That''s perfectly normal."


    She turned to Mitchell with a mother''s kindness. "Mitchell, we set some food aside for you. I''ll have the housekeeper warm it up."


    His father snorted. "Keep coddling him, and you''ll regret it soon enough." With that, he turned and disappeared into his study.


    Mitchell spoke quietly. "Mom, I''m going to change out of these clothes first."


    Upstairs, Suzan was sulking.


    Mitchell hadn''te home at allst night, and she was furious.


    She sat at her vanity, clutching her hairbrush so tightly her knuckles whitened. Her eyes in the mirror were red and puffy-she''d clearly cried.


    She hadn''t slept a wink. The thought kept looping in her mind: she wasn''t even married to Mitchell yet, and he was already treating her like this. What would the rest of her life be like?


    She needed to figure something out.


    When the door opened, Suzan spun around, her voice trembling with restrained anger. "So you finally decided toe home? Where have you been? Why didn''t you answer your phone?"


    Just thinking about being pregnant while Mitchell was out partying made her blood boil.


    Mitchell wasn''t the man he used to be.


    A nervous unease gnawed at her, but she couldn''t control him.


    He stood in the doorway, looking disheveled his clothes crumpled like he''d slept


    in them, his tie hanging loose, and a suspicious lipstick stain marked the cor of his shirt.


    He rubbed his temples, his tone dismissive. "I had too much to drinkst night. Crashed at a friend''s ce."


    "Oh, really? And which friend was that?" Suzan''sugh was cold as she snatched her phone and flung it onto the bed. "Your friends posted pictures on social media at two in the morning-there you were, at the Velvet Lounge, all over some woman!"


    Her hands shook as she gestured to her swollen belly. "I''m barely three months pregnant, and you''re already-"


    She couldn''t finish the sentence.


    How could Mitchell have changed so quickly?


    He used to be so good to her. He''d even dumped Effie for her. She thought she''d won, destroyed something deep and real between them.


    But she''d underestimated Mitchell''s worst instincts. Men always crave something


    new.


    "Enough!" Mitchell suddenly raised his voice, making Suzan flinch.


    He seemed to realize he''d lost his temper and yanked his tie off, irritation written


    all over his face. "It was just harmless fun. Do you have to blow everything out of proportion?"


    Effie never nagged like this. God, how he missed the quiet.


    "Oh, I''m blowing things out of proportion?" Suzan shot back, her gaze hard as she stared at the red marks on his neck. "Did you sleep with her, too?"


    Mitchell''s eyes darted away, then he shrugged off his jacket with a scowl. "Think whatever you want."


    He turned to head for the bathroom, but Suzan jumped to her feet and grabbed his sleeve.


    "Mitchell! Is this how it is now? You think just because I''m pregnant I can''t do anything about it? How can you treat me like this? Have you no conscience at all?"