His Love Came Too Late

Choose Between Me and the Baby

The tactical knife flashed beneath the stormy sky, driving straight toward Sophia’s unprotected stomach.

Everything seemed to slow to a terrifying crawl.

Sophia froze, her eyes widening in absolute horror as her body refused to move.

No.

Not the baby.

Richard’s face was completely twisted with madness.

“If I can’t control you, then neither you nor that child will live!” he roared, tightening his grip on the hilt.

Before the blade could pierce her, a dark figure lunged forward with violent, protective desperation.

It was Ethan.

He slammed his weight into Sophia, brutally throwing her out of harm's way.

A sickening, wet puncture sound split the air.

Sophia crashed hard onto the wet concrete, and as she looked up, her entire body went completely numb.

Blood.

So much blood.

Richard’s tactical knife was buried deep into Ethan’s side.

“ETHAN!” Her scream tore through the raging storm.

Ethan grunted in sheer agony, but his dark eyes held only one focus–Sophia. Seeing her safe, an unadulterated, primal rage exploded within him. Shattering years of corporate restraint, he grabbed Richard’s wrist and twisted it with brutal force.

A sharp c***k echoed across the bridge as Richard screamed, dropping the weapon. Ethan unleashed a vicious barrage of punches, each hit wilder and more feral than the last. He was no longer a controlled CEO; he was a furious predator protecting his mate.

Richard collapsed onto the pavement, spitting crimson onto the concrete. Ethan grabbed him roughly by the collar, his voice vibrating with deadly promise. “You touched my wife.”

Richard laughed weakly, coughing up blood as a cruel smile spread across his face. “You still don’t get it, do you? She knows the truth now. She was never your choice, Ethan. Because I made sure you hated her before the marriage even began.”

Sophia froze, her breathing turning shallow as the rain pounded harder around them.

“You really believed fate brought you together?” Richard laughed bitterly, pointing a trembling finger at Sophia. “No. I poisoned everything from the very start. I forged the evidence. I sent the fake messages, the photos, the financial documents. I made sure you believed Sophia married you purely for your money, that she was spying on Kingsley business secrets, and that she was the reason Olivia left you.”

A heavy, suffocating silence exploded over the bridge. Sophia felt the world tilt as tears spilled down her face.

Everything finally clicked. Ethan’s coldness, his years of calculated distance, his resentment–it had all been carefully manufactured by her father's lies.

She turned slowly toward Ethan. The arrogant billionaire had gone completely pale, shock and an overwhelming, raw horror fracturing his handsome features.

“No…” Ethan choked out, his body violently shaking as he slowly released Richard's collar.

The truth hit him like a physical blow. Sophia had never betrayed him. She had never used him. She had loved him purely, completely, and he had spent three agonizing years destroying her for crimes she never committed.

As Ethan turned his pain-filled eyes toward her, Sophia stepped backward. This realization hurt far more than his indifference.

“So that’s it?” she laughed, a broken, tragic sound escaping her lips. “All this time… you punished me for something I never did? Do you know what you took from me? You destroyed me! I loved you! I loved you so much it hurt, and you made me feel utterly worthless! You killed the woman I used to be.”

Ethan took a desperate step toward her, his chest tightening painfully. “Sophia, please–”

“Don’t!” Her voice cut through the air like a whip, forcing him to freeze. Her tear-stained eyes had completely hardened. “I can forgive betrayal from enemies. But from the man I loved? No. I will never forget what you did to me.”

Instinctively, protectively, her hand moved down to rest over her stomach. “But this child changes everything. You want redemption, Ethan? You want another chance?”

A desperate flicker of hope ignited in Ethan’s dark eyes.

But Sophia shattered it instantly. “Then choose.”

Ethan frowned, his voice raw. “Choose what?”

Sophia looked at him with chilling, absolute control. “Me or the child. If complications happen during delivery, and only one of us can survive… who do you choose?”

The question slammed into Ethan like a lethal weapon. His entire body shook as he clenched his fists, staring at his fragile wife. How could he possibly choose between his soul and his own flesh and blood?

“Don’t ask me that, Sophia,” he begged, his voice cracking for the first time in his life.

“Answer me.”

The silence between them became unbearable.

Finally, Ethan lifted his head, his dark eyes burning with an intense, unyielding emotion.

“I choose you,” he whispered fiercely, stepping closer despite the blood pouring from his side. “If I lose our child, I will grieve forever. But if I lose you… I will die.”

Sophia stopped breathing, the sheer weight of his words hitting her too hard.

Suddenly, a weak, wet laugh interrupted the moment.

They both turned to see Richard, heavily bloodied but smiling a terrifying, triumphant smile.

“You’re too late, Ethan,” Richard mocked, his eyes gleaming with pure malice as he looked directly at Sophia. “You finally love her… but you’re already too late. There’s one last thing you still don’t know.”

Sophia's heart stopped in her chest as a chilling dread gripped the air.

Richard’s smile widened into something demonic. “The baby… may not even be Ethan’s.”