Ex-Fiance's Mistake My Son Chapter 1

On the day of my wedding, the groom, Carter Sinclair, was nowhere to be found.

What he left behind in the bridal suite was a baby with a congenital heart defect, and a letter written on hotel stationery.

Maddie, I love you, but I’ve fallen in love with Brie, too.

I can’t give her the title of a wife, so to make it up to her, I’m taking her on a trip around the world.

I’m leaving you with a gift, too. You can raise the child Brie and I had together.

While we’re traveling, let our baby keep you company.

I stared at the paper until the ink blurred. No ring, no vows, no respect—why on earth would I raise their mistake?

Six years later, I was at the airport concourse, holding my son’s hand after dropping my husband off for a business trip.

When I turned around, I bumped right into a man pushing a sleek silver luggage cart. Carter Sinclair.

His eyes dropped to the little boy clinging to my leg, and a look of absolute elation washed over his face. "Maddie? My god, is this... is this the baby Brie and I left you? You've raised him so well."

Before I could speak, he puffed out his chest, looking agonizingly self-righteous. "Look, Brie and I officially tied the knot in Europe, so I can't marry you now. But don't worry. In my heart, you've always been my first wife."

I looked at the sharp jawline and the dark eyes that my son had unfortunately inherited from the Sinclair gene pool, and a harsh, genuine laugh slipped from my throat.

"Careful, Carter. Don't go claiming children that aren't yours. This is your little cousin."

* * *

The smug delight on Carter’s face shattered, replaced instantly by a dark, condescending scowl.

"Maddie, stop throwing a tantrum," he snapped, lowering his voice. "We didn't get to walk down the aisle, but your family kept the Sinclair trust shares. As far as society is concerned, you married into my family. Watch your mouth."

He glanced around the bustling terminal, leaning in closer. "Besides, my uncle is the only other Sinclair man, and he's a confirmed bachelor. If he hears you spreading rumors about having his kid, he’s going to ruin you."

The sheer, unadulterated audacity of the man left me momentarily breathless.

Our engagement had been nothing but a corporate merger engineered by our grandfathers. I had played the part of the dutiful fiancée, right up until he vanished. When Carter abandoned the altar, the Sinclair family, desperate to save the merger and their public image, had to offer a replacement.

That replacement was Harrison Sinclair. Carter's uncle.

Harrison hadn't just matched the trust shares; he had doubled them. But more than that, over the last six years, he had loved me with a fierce, quiet devotion that I hadn't known existed in the world. I wasn't some abandoned bride. I was the wife of the CEO of Sinclair Enterprises. I was the matriarch of the family Carter thought he belonged to. Even Carter’s own parents treated me with deferential respect.

Noah tugged at the hem of my cashmere coat. He tilted his head, his wide eyes darting nervously toward the stranger. "Mommy?" he whispered. "Who is that man? I don't know him."

I smoothed a hand over Noah’s soft hair, letting the grounding weight of my child anchor me. I didn't even dignify Carter with a response. I just turned toward the parking garage.

"You're not walking away from me!" Carter lunged, grabbing my arm.

From behind him, Brianna suddenly materialized. She wore oversized sunglasses and a manicured smile that didn't reach her eyes. She practically shoved past Carter, her acrylic nails outstretched as she reached to pinch Noah’s cheek.

"Hi, sweetie!" she cooed, her voice artificially high. "I'm your mommy. Do you want to come home with Mommy? We can get ice cream."

"Don't touch him!"

I yanked Noah back, stepping between him and Brianna. My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Noah buried his face in my thigh, trembling. A bright red crescent mark was already blooming on his cheek where Brianna’s nails had caught his skin.

"Mommy, I'm scared," Noah whimpered.

Tears instantly welled in Brianna’s eyes. Her bottom lip quivered perfectly on cue. "Baby, I'm your real mommy," she sobbed, turning to Carter. "Carter, is Maddie mad at me? Did she brainwash our baby to hate me?"

Carter’s jaw tightened. He reached past me, trying to grab Noah's jacket.

"Maddie, don't be a bitch," Carter hissed. "Brie is his biological mother. If she wants to hold him, she gets to hold him. Stop acting crazy!" He straightened up, looking down his nose at me with a sickeningly magnanimous expression. "Just give him to Brie. If you like playing mom so much, you and I can always have another one later."

Bile rose in my throat. I looked at the two of them—two ghosts from a past I had long buried—and felt nothing but profound disgust.

"Carter, you need to get your eyes checked," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous, icy calm. "Noah is my son. He has absolutely nothing to do with you or your wife."

I paused, letting the words hang in the air before delivering the final blow. "That nameless infant you dumped in a hotel room six years ago? Your parents sent him to the state ward a week after you left."