My billionaire boyfriend’s mother walked into my Vermont farmhouse, placed a blank check on my kitchen table, and said, “Name your price. Then disappear before Adrian learns that child is his.”

now she knows it.”

Celeste gave a bitter smile.

“You really believe money doesn’t change people’s lives?”

I looked around my farmhouse.

At the scratched wooden table.

The old coffee mug beside the sink.

Poppy’s colorful blocks scattered across the floor.

The kitchen where I’d spent countless evenings wondering whether I could afford groceries and childcare.

“Money has already changed enough,” I said.

I picked up the check.

For a moment, Celeste looked hopeful.

Then I tore it in half.

And dropped the pieces into the trash.

“I don’t want