How the fuck are we going to hide this now? Get a divorce? End all of this without telling Ronan? Without him killing Elio for lying to him and marrying me without permission?
The magnitude of it all crashes over me, and I sink down onto the closed toilet lid, burying my face in my hands. Everything is such a mess. Everything I've touched has turned into disaster.
If I'd gone to Ronan from the start instead of running to Elio, we could have figured out another solution. If I hadn’t tried to protect him. If I’d just gone home.
None of this would have happened.
But I wouldn’t have had those days with Elio. I wouldn’t have gotten back what we lost so long ago. And I don’t think any of it was fake, no matter what he might want me to believe to make this “easier.” The way he looked at me, touched me, held me—that wasn't fake. His feelings were real, even if the situation made them impossible.
But impossible doesn't make me any less pregnant.
I stand up on shaky legs and look at myself in the mirror. I look like hell—pale, red-eyed from crying, hair a mess. But I stare at my reflection, and I make a decision.
This is my baby. My life. My choice.
And I'm going to fight for it.
If Elio wants to walk away when all this is said and done, fine. He can do that. But I’m not going to let fear keep us from having a life together, from having our child. If he loves me, he’ll fight for me. And I’ll fight for him.
Ronan will have to listen. He fought for his wife, for Leila. Surely he’ll understand. Surely he’ll forgive Elio if I ask for it.
I wash my face, pull my hair back into a ponytail. I start to turn to leave the bathroom, and I hear a dim sound from what seems to be downstairs. Out in the hall, maybe. Shouting?
I think I hear the sound of heavy thudding. Not footsteps, but something heavier. I freeze in place, my heart pounding in my chest suddenly. A chill runs down my spine. "Diane? Diego?"
No answer.
I take a hesitant step out into my bedroom. “Diane? Is anyone there?”
There’s silence. Not the usual kind—it feels heavy, tense, like the calm before a storm. And then I hear the sound of wood breaking, a door slamming inward from downstairs.
I clap my hands over my mouth, stifling a scream as I back toward the closet. Toward somewhere, anywhere to hide, to?—
I've barely made it three steps when a figure appears in the doorway of the bedroom.
Desmond Connelly.
He's smiling, a victorious expression stretched across his face—a face that once, I somehow thought was handsome. "Hello, Annie."
I freeze, every muscle locking up with terror. There's a gun in his hand, I realize, pointed casually in my direction.
"Stay right there," he says pleasantly, like we're meeting for coffee. "We need to have a little chat."
"How did you—" My voice comes out as a whisper. "The guards?—"
"Dead." He says it so matter-of-factly that it takes a moment to process. "All of them. It wasn't even difficult, really. Your precious Elio should have posted more if he wanted to keep you safe. But then again, I paid to make sure I had more men at my disposal than he could have planned for. Money has been no object when it comes to making sure I found you, Annie."
Dead.Diane, Vince, maybe, possibly Diego… all of them. The people who've been protecting me, dead because I was here.
"Don't look so upset." Desmond steps into the room, and I back away instinctively. "They were soldiers. They knew whatthey signed up for. Besides, we both know this is really your fault."
"My fault?" The words come out as a gasp.
"Of course." He's still smiling, still moving closer. "If you'd just accepted everything I had to offer you in the first place, none of this would have been necessary. But no—you had to run. Had to throw yourself at Elio and let him play hero. Had to ruin everything."
"I didn't?—"
"Didn't what? Didn't marry him?" He laughs, and the sound makes my blood run cold. "Oh, I know all about that, sweetheart. Did you really think I wouldn't find out? What a little whore. Almost marrying me and then sayingI doto someone else minutes later. You think I’d stop just because he fucked you. You ruined my plan, sure. But now I’m not going to try to make you my wife. I’m just going to go to plan B."
