He Wants An Open Marriage? Done!

"The child is mine!" Richard spat firmly, his voice echoing off the stone walls of the terrace.

Margaret scoffed, tilting her head with a look of cold amusement. "And why are you so sure?" She shifted her sharp gaze directly onto Roxanne. "Can you stand there and assure me that you have not been intimate with your husband in the last three months?"

Roxanne swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

She knew with absolute certainty that she had not been with Christian in months, but the sudden interrogation made her mind race. How could she prove the exact timeline to a woman who had already decided she was a liar?

Margaret shook her head, turning back to Richard with a gesture of triumph. "Look at her. She can’t even answer. She is not even sure herself." She took a step closer, her tone dropping into a hush. "If you are expecting a child, the last thing this family needs is another media circus. I want to know for sure that the baby carries Vance blood."

Roxanne let out a breath, her hand trembling slightly as she rested it against her stomach.

Even in her happiest moments, Christian’s shadow still managed to creep in and threaten her peace. She looked up at Richard. His jaw was locked tight, his eyes burning with a fierce determination that made it clear he didn’t care about bloodlines or timelines. He cared about her.

"We need to schedule a DNA test immediately," Margaret demanded, folding her arms.

"No! No one is forcing Roxanne to take a test," Richard growled, moving his broad frame slightly to shield Roxanne from his mother’s glare. "Even if the child weren’t mine, it would change nothing. I love her, and I am going to marry her and give this baby my name."

Roxanne looked up at him, a warm heat rushing to her eyes as tears pricked her lashes. "The child is yours, Richard," she whispered softly, her voice steady despite the chaos around them. "It is yours."

Margaret pointed a finger at her. "Then prove it with a test. Explain that to him if you are so innocent."

Richard didn’t back down an inch. "My answer is still no. That test only happens if Roxanne chooses to have it," he said, casting a tender look down at her.

Roxanne squeezed Richard’s hand, drawing strength from his steady pulse before turning back to Margaret. "You will get your test. But only after the baby is born," she said, her tone smooth and absolute. "And until then, if you refuse to believe this is your grandchild, then there is nothing left for us to discuss."

Margaret narrowed her eyes, studying Roxanne’s unyielding posture. "Do you not care that no one in our world will support you?"

Roxanne smiled quietly, feeling the cool evening air on her face as she shook her head. "Speak for yourself, Lady Vance. In case you have forgotten, you are the only person who refuses to look past your own prejudice to see my worth. You judged me before you ever knew me."

For a split second, Roxanne watched Margaret’s rigid composure falter. A faint flicker of something softer touched the older woman’s eyes, though it vanished before it could take root.

"You are entering the Vance family, and I have a duty to protect my family," Margaret said, her voice dropping its harsh edge, replaced by a quiet weight. "You are about to become a mother. You will soon do whatever it takes to protect your child, and then you will finally understand why I am like this with mine."

Roxanne offered a small, bittersweet smile. "It is ironic, Margaret. If you truly wanted to prevent a scandal, you never should have answered Cara’s phone call today."

Margaret stared at her for a long moment, the silence stretching thick between them. Finally, she turned to Richard. "This news must not leave this room. No one else can find out until we handle it," she commanded, flicking a sharp glance at Roxanne. "Do you understand?"

Roxanne shrugged slightly, glancing toward the glass doors leading back into the house. "As far as I know, there was only one intruder on the property today."

Margaret looked toward the closed doors and gave a tight nod. "Fine. I am leaving." She turned on her heel, stepping toward the house. But after two steps, she paused, glancing back over her shoulder. "I hope, for the child’s sake, that you are telling the truth."

Roxanne’s eyes widened in surprise, a faint smile touching her lips. Beside her, Richard let out a quiet breath, a smile breaking across his features as he lifted her hand to press a soft kiss against her knuckles.

They stood together, watching Margaret walk toward the exit with her usual rigid grace. But just as her hand reached the brass handle of the terrace door, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her posture went completely still, her gaze locking onto the floor beneath the door frame.

Roxanne and Richard both frowned, the warmth in the air vanishing instantly.

Roxanne’s heart began to thud wildly against her ribs once more. What is it now?

Richard took a cautious step forward, his brow furrowed with concern. "Mother? Is something wrong?"

Margaret exhaled slowly, her shoulders tight. "Everything is fine," she said quietly, though she didn’t move an inch.

Neither of them believed her.

Richard took another step, drawing Roxanne along with him as their eyes followed Margaret’s frozen stare down toward the polished threshold.

Roxanne’s breath caught in her throat, her pulse hammering in her ears like a drumbeat.

There, stretched out across the marble floor just outside the door, lay a faint, dark shadow.

Someone had been standing outside. Listening.

A thought slammed into Roxanne’s mind. What if it was Cara?

"Oh, God," Roxanne murmured under her breath, a cold knot tightening in her stomach as her chest rose and fell heavily.

Suddenly, the shadow moved.

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