Chapter 1 ~

"Baby? Baby! Baby, stop!"

Lily ignored Cane and kept walking to the door of their brand new house.

Their brand new house.

"Baby?" Cane slipped the key into the lock, opened the door and let her step into their brand new living room ahead of him.

Their brand new living room. With its brand new furniture. In their brand new house. To represent their brand new life.

Now, according to Chloe, a brand newbaby was on the way to add even more joy and happiness!

Right.

What a great big old joke on good old Lily.

Hadn't she known that it was too good to be true? That life was going way too well? That a cool career, a great boyfriend and a fabulous house was just too much for she, Lily Winters, to expect out of her life? Hadn't she been waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Well it dropped all right.

"Baby, come on." Cane stopped just short of following her around the kitchen counter and watched her grab a beer from the fridge and take a huge gulp. OK. This wasn't good. Lily didn't even like beer. "Baby, please tell me you don't believe her garbage? Chloe is the biggest liar I know. You know she's been out to get me; God knows why-"

Lily tuned him out. How could he? How could he do it? How could he have sex with another woman? And with Chloe Mitchell of all people? They both agreed the woman was nothing but a manipulating, opportunistic b-person. How could he go and sleep with her?

Maybe his vehement tirades about her should've been a clue. In retrospect, had they been a bit toovehement? Perhaps a case of, 'thou dost protest too much'? If he disliked her that much, why would he trust that anything Chloe did was with Lily's career at heart? If he thought Chloe was trying to steal him, why was he so willing to let Lily go on business trips and photo shoots unaccompanied? Was he really working or was he playing her for a fool just like Daniel?

What was it about her that wasn't good enough? Why did the guys she love turn to someone else? Lily turned her thoughts to both woman that had managed to get her man.

Amber. Larger than life. Sexy. Risk taker. Fun loving. Now Chloe. In with the elietest of crowds, hippest designers. Cut throat. Take no prisoners. Always shooting from the hip, nevermind the consequences. Both took what they wanted, and if you got hurt in the process—too bad for you.

Was that it? Was Lily too much of a small town girl? Sure, she was the Fresh Face of Jabot, but deep down she was just a small town girl with small town values hanging with her small town friends at Crimson Lights.

Maybe that was the problem. She was too boring. Too naive. Too innocent. Too nice. Not enough woman for them. Especially for a guy as old as Cane.

"Baby, you have to believe me! Chloe lies! That's all this is! Another one of her lies!"

Lily tuned back in at that. "Why would she lie about this Cane?"

Cane let out an exasperated huff. "Because she knows I'm rich and thinks I'm powerful? Because she's greedy and wants what she can't have? Because she jealous of you? Who knows? Who cares? Lily, she can try whatever she wants to take me from you, but she never can! There is nothing about her—nothing about any woman—that I'd risk losing you for!"

He says that, but does he really mean it? Or is he lying because he knows that's what he's supposed to do in a situation like this? Lily was tuning Cane out again. Why does this kind of thing always happen to me?

Because you let it.

The thought reached out and slapped Lily across the face. Of course things like this happened to her, because she let them! Amber was able to get to Daniel because she let her. Chloe was able to snatch Cane because she let her. Hadn't she been uncomfortable with Amber and Daniel's friendship? Did she say anything? No. Because she didn't want to appear like the untrusting, insecure wife.

Hadn't she been uncomfortable with how Chloe was acting around Cane? Hadn't she been suspicious when Chloe suddenly stopped accompanying her on Fresh Face business? And again when every time she turned around, Chloe was right there, butting in no matter where Lily and Cane happened to be? But had she stepped forward and stood her ground? No. Because she'd wanted to prove to Cane she was a mature adult, and didn't want to look like the jealous girlfriend.

That was the problem. She was too nice. Too afraid of making a scene and not coming off as the perfect woman. She was too afraid to do what needed to be done when it needed to be done.

"...what I can't figure out is why she would lie about something that's so easily checked out? Even if she ispregnant, it's too easy to prove that I'm not the father..."

"That's it!"

"What?" Cane stumbled to a halt at Lily's sudden outburst.

"That's it!" Lily repeated. The problem was she was too nice, right? The problem was she wasn't woman enough to keep her life on track. The problem was she was afraid of looking like a witch. Well, that was about to end.

She put the beer bottle on the counter and leaned against it, her arms folded in a self satisfied manner. "You just said it. It's too easy to prove she's lying."

Cane's eyes lit in a conspiratory manner. "So you're saying..."

"I'm saying...we're going to call her bluff," Lily said confidently. "And settle this once and for all."

Chloe is not going to steal my man! Not this time. And if I look like a witch, well that's just too bad.

"Why are we here again?" Chloe looked at the lawn sign reading, Walker Laboratories and then back at Lily with ill concealed impatience. "And why are we standing in the parking lot?"

Lily leaned against her car, patient and calm to the extreme in Chloe's eyes. "We're waiting for Cane. We're going to stop this nonsense about your having his baby, and once we prove it, you're going to get lost."

Chloe's heartbeat doubled in time, but she tried not to show it. This was not part of the plan! In fact, it could ruin it. "What? You think I'm lying about this? You don't believe Cane is the father? Why would I lie about that? Besides, wouldn't you rather know how it happened?"

Lily shrugged as if she didn't care. "No. Who cares? All I need to do is prove that you're lying. And then like I said, you're going to get lost."

"You know what I think? I think you're desperate to hold on to Cane. That's what this is. Because you know if I really am pregnant with his kid he's going to do the right thing and you're going to lose him. To me. I think that's what torques you the most because you never liked me! You're gonna lose your man to me because I can give him the one thing you can't."

Lily's eyes glittered dangerously, and for a tiny second Chloe wondered if she'd gone too far. "Shut up," she hissed. "Cane loves me. Do you get that? He loves me!"

After the shock of Chloe's announcement wore off and the way she and Cane spent the rest of the evening, Lily's common sense had kicked back in. Cane would never cheat with Chloe or any other woman. He loved her. He told her and showed her in so many ways. It wasn't even in him to cheat or play games. Not after what he'd gone through with Amber. Chloe was lying. That's all there was to it. And the sooner they proved it, the better.

Cane pulled into the parking lot then, and Chloe tried yet another tactic, realizing time was running out. "Fine. I don't care. I don't have anything to hide. Test me all you want. But why do you get to pick the place?"

"Because I'm the only one that doesn't have anything to hide if the truth comes out," Lily replied, smiling at Cane in a way that infuriated Chloe as he walked over.

"Yeah? Well, answer me this: how do I know you haven't paid someone to lie about the results? Huh?" Chloe snapped.

Lily turned a bored eye to her. "You don't. I guess you're just going to have to trust me. Sucks to have your fate resting in someone else's hands, doesn't it?"

Chloe's mouth hung open for just a minute, then she lifted her chin with effort. "Whatever. Do what you have to do. But I should warn you...you're the one that's going to be sorry you did this!"

"What do you mean he's 'not excluded' from the DNA pool?" For the second time in as many days, Lily's voice was angry while Chloe gloated, and Cane sat as mute as a stone.

"I'm saying that the fetus Ms. Mitchel is carrying carries the blood type and certain genes that suggest Mr. Ashby could be the father, but-"

"Ha! I told you!" Chloe nearly cackled with glee. "This is Cane's baby! You are the father!"

Lily trained her eyes on Cane, tuning out the tinny voice on coming out of the speaker phone. He sat with his head in his hands. That was it. No outrage, no denial of any kind, not even a look of surprise. Just his face in his hands.

"How could you?" she whispered. "How could you?" Her voice grew louder.

Cane looked up then, and his eyes were tortured. "I didn't! Baby! I swear to you, I didn't! You have to believe me!"

"I trusted you!" Lily screamed.

"Baby-"

Crash! Lily's cell phone hit the wall above Cane's head, and dead silence followed. Even Chloe knew enough keep her mouth shut.

Lily's whole body shook, and she grabbed for the counter to keep from falling down as sobs threatened to rack her body. "I trusted you!" she said.

"Baby-"

"Don't touch me!" Lily wrenched away from Cane's hand. "Don't touch me ever again!"

The devastation on Cane's face was enough to turn Chloe's stomach, but she was too far gone to back down now. Maybe she could save his good name though.

"Lily. Don't blame him. It's not entirely his fault..."

"Get out," Lily interrupted.

"What? But I'm trying to explain-"

"Get! Out!"

Chloe stepped closer. "But Lily! Let me explain-"

"I said, Get Out!" Lily lunged, and Chloe ran.

With the door shut behind her, Chloe listened to the goings on inside. It didn't sound good.

Maybe she had gone too far this time.