He gently pulled his hands apart so he could see my full stomach. When he truly understood what he was looking at, he lifted his gaze and looked me in the eye. It took a moment for his surprise to fade away, for him to understand exactly what this meant. He’d walked into the bathroom thinking he could bring us closer together. Discovering I was pregnant was the very last thing he’d anticipated.
I waited for the questions, waited for the fear and anger.
Instead, his eyes softened like wilted flowers. He became so tender, his face taking on a boyish charm. His shoulders relaxed, and a gentle smile spread onto his lips. When his hand understood what his brain had absorbed, he gently rubbed it over my stomach, trying to connect to the life inside me.
It wasn’t the reaction I’d expected. Instead of being relieved by it, I assumed he didn’t understand the situation, that there was a possibility it wasn’t his. That thought didn’t seem to go through his head, so I needed to bring him back to reality. “I’m almost four months along.”
His arm wrapped around my waist, and he pulled me closer as his other hand spanned my stomach.
I couldn’t bring myself to say it, to admit that this might not be a happy moment between a husband and wife. “I’m not sure…”
He gave me a strong stare. “It’s mine.”
I wanted that to be true more than anything else. “But…”
“It’s mine.”
“We could always check.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what that says. I’ll love this baby the same regardless.”
I couldn’t keep the surprise off my face. “Why?” He didn’t seem like the kind of man that would want to do something like this, take on the burden of raising a child that may not even be his. He could be cold and ruthless, so it seemed like aborting it would be his initial response.
“Because half of it is you.”
My heart started to slow once again, and my entire body relaxed. It was the first time I’d found peace in months, finally let the stress leave my shoulders.
“We can do the test, and if it says what we don’t want to hear, I’ll stand by whatever decision you make. But if this is something you wanna do, I’m here. I want whatever you want.” He slid his hand into my hair and pulled our faces together. “But I know he’s mine. I know that’s my son. And I know I’m gonna love him so much it kills me.”
I felt a small explosion inside my chest, adoration for this man. I never expected him to react this way, to be so supportive and loyal. Most men wouldn’t feel this way, be my rock through all this heartache. My heart throbbed in a whole new way, and I suddenly felt lighter than air. I was the luckiest woman in the world to have him, and I owed my mother my gratitude for making me marry him in the first place. I never would’ve found joy with anyone else, wouldn’t have the foundation and trust with anyone else. “Why do you assume it’s a boy?”
He rested his forehead against mine. “I just know.”
“And why do you assume it’s yours?”
He closed his eyes as he held me. “Because I know.”
19
Hades
I sat at a table in the middle of the bar, Ash and Damien with me. The bartender had left a bottle of scotch so we could drink as much as we wanted. The place was closed to the public, so it was just the three of us.
Ash spoke to Damien. “If we get rid of the dealers on the east side, all we have to worry about is the west and the ports. Maddox must understand what’s going on by now. He could retaliate at any moment.” He switched his gaze to me and opened his mouth like he was going to continue his line of thinking. But he shut his mouth again and narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck are you smiling about?”
I dragged my hand across my jawline, not even noticing.
Damien stared at me, his expression stoic. He didn’t talk to me directly, only participated in the debate and left our personal relationship out of the mix.
Ash spoke again. “You really shouldn’t mix alcohol with meth.”
I set down my glass and told him the truth. “Sofia is pregnant.”
Ash was in shock. “What? Are you serious? Since when?”
Damien didn’t ask any questions. He didn’t seem the least bit surprised. Instead of offering his congratulations, he grabbed his glass and took a drink.
“She’s almost four months along. Now I understand why she’s been so weird. Every time I made progress with her, we’d somehow go backward.” She’d been keeping the secret from me for a long time. She probably was terrified of my reaction, terrified she was carrying the baby of the asshole who’d tortured her.
Ash did the math in his head. “Wait…doesn’t that mean?”
I wouldn’t entertain the idea. “It’s mine.”
“You got tested?” my brother asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t need to.”
Ash looked at Damien as if he were hoping he would chime in. When Damien was quiet, Ash turned back to me. “I know it’s not my place, but you should find out for sure. It could change everything.”
I couldn’t explain to him my sense of faith, the almost godlike experience I’d had with the gypsy in the bazaar. She’d read my future and told me I would have two sons, so I knew that baby was mine. “I don’t need a test.”
“Not to piss you off, but what if you’re wrong?” Ash grew more involved in the conversation because he was looking out for my best interests. “Do you really wanna raise a kid whose father did that to your wife? Does either one of you really want to do that?”
I didn’t want to think about the possibility, but I knew how Sofia felt about it without even asking her. If abortion were an option, she would’ve confronted me sooner, asked for a test, and then aborted it if it was Maddox’s. The fact that she didn’t do that told me she wanted this baby no matter what. That was fine with me. It was half her, so of course I would love it. “Even if it’s not mine, I’ll still love it like it is. But that doesn’t matter because I know it’s mine.”
“How can you be so sure?” Ash continued to press the topic.
“The gypsy told me I would have two sons with Sofia,” I said. “And the timing makes it possible.”
Damien was still quiet from his seat at the table.
Ash stared at me like it was just the two of us. “You can’t trust gypsies. She said you would have two sons with Sofia. She never said Sofia wouldn’t have children with somebody else. This is your fortune, not hers.”
The thought made my fingertips cold, but it didn’t change my faith. Sofia was my soul mate, so I knew we would work it out in spite of everything. If she were someone else, my reaction would be very different. If I were married to someone else, I probably would ask for an abortion if it wasn’t mine. But with Sofia, it was totally different. “I accept whatever happens. If she wants to keep this baby, then I will be the father. Period.”
Damien held his glass as he stared down at the contents. He’d mentally removed himself from the conversation. He used to be the guy in whom I confided all my secrets, but now my brother had taken his place.