He Revealed a Secret Son, So I Swapped Grooms Instead Chapter 01

He Revealed a Secret Son, So I Swapped Grooms Instead Chapter 01

On the day of my engagement party to Desmond Prescott, golden boy of the old money set, he handed me a paternity test.

“Claire, I have a son. He’s three.”

Then he reached for the hand of the woman in white beside him.

“Her name’s Nora Ellison. She’s the mother of my son—the only woman I’ve ever loved.”

“You and me? This’s just a strategic marriage our families put together.”

“So be smart about it. Once we’re married, we go our separate ways.”

“As long as you stay in your lane, the title of Mrs. Prescott’s yours.”

I nearly laughed in his face.

The title of Mrs. Prescott?

He made it sound like a favor he was granting me.

Did he seriously not get why our families arranged this marriage?

It had never been about appearances.

It was about combining our resources.

It was about making sure our future children could legally inherit everything.

And now, before we’d even said our vows, he’d already sprung a three-year-old son on me to stake a claim on the family fortune.

I slapped the paternity test against his chest.

“Desmond, a strategic marriage calls for a man with a brain—not one who can’t keep his pants zipped.”

“If you can’t bear to give up your true love and your son, I’ll go straight to your grandfather and ask him to choose a different heir.”

“After all, you’re not the only Prescott with a pulse.”

—

Desmond’s face darkened the second he heard that.

He grabbed my wrist.

“Claire, stop.”

“Today’s the day our families are joining forces. It’s not the day for your spoiled rich-girl act.”

I glanced down at his hand.

“Let go.”

He didn’t. Instead, he lowered his voice.

“If you walk out and take this to Grandpa, you’ll only make things awkward.”

I looked at him and gave a short laugh.

“You brought your mistress and your illegitimate child, and now you’re worried about making things awkward?”

His expression turned colder.

“I’ve been clear. The title of Mrs. Prescott’s yours. Nora and the boy won’t threaten your position.”

“What more do you want?”

I almost laughed at the nerve.

“Won’t threaten my position?”

“Does the boy carry the Prescott name?”

“Will he get a share of the Prescott family equity?”

“And if you and I have a kid, is mine supposed to call hers ‘big brother’?”

Desmond’s jaw tightened.

“Leo’s my blood. I won’t turn my back on him.”

I nodded. “So you want the Hastings resources, your true love, and your illegitimate kid to have a legal claim to the family fortune?”

“Desmond, you’ve certainly got quite the scheme.”

A few people around us snickered.

But not at Desmond. At me—for making a scene.

Several of Desmond’s friends came over.

A man in a loud floral shirt raised his glass and said lazily, “Miss Hastings, that’s enough.”

“Come on. In our circle, who doesn’t have someone on the side?”

Another man chimed in.

“Exactly. Desmond’s giving you the title of Mrs. Prescott—that’s already more respect than your family’s owed.”

“So what if he has someone else?”

“As long as he’s discreet about it, can’t we all just look the other way?”

I took my time looking at each of them.

I knew them all.

Chase Whitmore. Bennett Ellsworth. And Derek Thorne, who seemed to make the tabloids every other week.

They were all spoiled heirs their families let run wild.

Their families didn’t trust them with the companies.

They weren’t allowed anywhere near major projects.

Their families had one rule—don’t screw up badly enough to make headlines.

Of course they didn’t see a problem with any of this.

None of them were in line to inherit a damn thing.

Desmond was different.

His grandfather Arthur Prescott had personally chosen him as the next head of the family.

His marriage to me had never been about romance.

It was about pooling Prescott and Hastings resources. Capital. Connections. Influence. Equity.

And locking in the next generation’s claim to the family fortune.

And before the ink was even dry on this marriage, he’d shoved his illegitimate kid right in my face.

He’d just torched the Prescott family’s biggest bargaining chip.

I pulled out my phone and sent my father a message.

[Desmond has a mistress and a kid. The marriage’s in trouble.]

The message had barely gone through when Desmond noticed.

His eyes hardened.

“Who did you text?”

I put my phone away.

“Not your concern.”

Just as things were about to blow up, Nora stepped forward, the boy in her arms.

She looked at me, eyes brimming with tears.

“Miss Hastings, please don’t blame Desmond. This is all my fault.”

“I shouldn’t have existed in his life. I shouldn’t have come today.”

She lowered her head and gently stroked the boy’s hair.

“But Leo’s been asking for his father since he could talk.”

“I just wanted him to know he has a father.”

The boy immediately wrapped his arms around Desmond’s leg.

“Daddy, don’t leave me and Mommy.”

The anger in Desmond’s eyes melted into something softer.

He crouched down and lifted the boy into his arms.

“Daddy’s not going anywhere.”

Nora’s tears came faster.

“Miss Hastings, Desmond just has a big heart.”

“You’re the Hastings heiress. You have everything.”

“All I have’s Desmond and our son. I would never try to take the title of Mrs. Prescott from you.”

She was good with her words.

Not going to fight for the title?

She’d shown up on the very day my engagement party. What more did I need to see?

I looked at her coldly.

“Ms. Ellison, spare me the poor-me act.”

“I didn’t tell you to have his kid, and I sure as hell didn’t make him sleep with you.”

Her face went pale.

Desmond shot to his feet.

“Claire! Watch your mouth.”

I looked up at him.

“What’s the matter? Don’t like hearing it?”

“Then maybe you should’ve thought about that before you did it.”

Desmond’s chest heaved with anger.

He raised his hand as if he was about to hit me.

Then a rush of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

The second I saw who it was, the knot in my chest finally loosened.