I turn back to look at Bill, and he’s staring at me. His eyes slide to Haidyn’s before they meet mine again. Stepping into me, he cups my face and gives me a warm smile. “Your father would be proud of you.”
His words make my chest tighten.
“He would hate you,” my mother shouts, realizing that Bill isn’t here to save her. “Haidyn killed your father!” she screams. “He took him away from us.”
I turn and look up at my husband, and his eyes search mine. He doesn’t know that I’ve already been told this. It’s one of the many things we’ve both avoided. “Charlotte?—”
“Trent knew he was going to get killed.” Bill interrupts Haidyn, repeating the same words he told me when we werein the car to Dollhouse. “He knew what he was doing and that there would be consequences. He didn’t care.” Bill looks over at Haidyn and then back at me. “It wasn’t Haidyn’s fault that the Lords wanted your father dead. He betrayed them, and it was going to happen regardless.”
“You can’t be fucking serious!” my mother screams, and I step back into Haidyn as Bill walks over to stand in front of her. “Get me out of here!” she demands.
He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at her.
“WILLIAM! Do something!” She’s gasping while fighting the restraints.
“I married you because of Trent,” he tells her. “He was my best friend and when he made the deal that we both knew would one day catch up with him, he asked me to take you in as my Lady, but it wasn’t because of you. It was for Annabelle.” He turns and looks at me over his shoulder. “He knew the path you’d put her on, and he wanted to make sure that she had one parent who would put her first.”
“I’m her mother,” she shouts as if that means something.
He snorts. “And now you belong to them.”
My mother’s scream makes my ears ring. She’s throwing a tantrum because no one cares about her.Not anymore.
She sucks in a deep breath, and her narrowed eyes land on my husband. I stiffen at the way she smiles at him. “Have you told her about us?”
“Us?” My head snaps to Haidyn.
He runs a hand over his hair.
“Yes, Annabelle.” I grind my teeth at the use of my name. “I’ve fucked him.”
“We’ve all fucked you,” Saint speaks, surprising me.
“Not like we had a choice,” Kashton adds.
Haidyn wraps his arms around me, and I allow him to pull me into him. I will not let my mother control any part of my lifeanymore. And I can’t hide the smirk on my face when she lets out a huff.
“It won’t last.” She tries to change tactics. “Before you know it, you’ll find yourself down here just like the rest of their women. Women mean nothing to them!” she shouts. “They’re all disposable.”
The one thing in my life that I’m a hundred percent sure of is that my husband loves me. And the only way I’ll end up down here, chained to the wall is if I’m naked and begging him to fuck me.
I hold up my left hand and don’t even have to say anything. The way her face falls and turns ghostly white says it all. Then like the evil bitch she is, she gives me a bloody smile as she speaks. “Have you told her yet?”
I don’t want to let her words affect me because I know she’s just trying to get to me, but feeling Haidyn’s body stiffen against mine has me pulling away and turning to face him. “Tell me what?” I demand. “Haidyn?”
His eyes drop to my stomach, and I instinctively place my hands on it. Stepping into me, he takes my hands in his, and mine begin to shake. We haven’t discussed what he went through while he was gone. He hasn’t offered it, and I don’t want to bring up something he’s trying to forget.
Licking his lips, he takes a deep breath that makes his muscular chest bow out. “I…” His face softens, and the hairs on my neck rise in alert. If he’s upset about it, then it’s bad.
My mother’s laughter fills the basement, and the sound claws at my skin like razor blades. “What is it?” I ask, my throat tightening.
His jaw sharpens, and he looks away from me. I know I won’t get anything out of him, but my mother is more than willing to do so. “While he was recently under mycare, he had a procedure.”
“Fuck,” Saint hisses.
My watery eyes go to him and then Kashton to see he’s got his head down, rubbing the back of his neck. My eyes shoot back to Haidyn’s, still not able to put the pieces together. “What did she do to you?” I whisper.
“She gave him a vasectomy.” Adam answers me, and my head whips over to see him come to stand next to us. His green eyes on my mother. “A long time ago, the Lords used to do it to the lower-level members to weed out the weak—end those families altogether. But then they realized it was a punishment for the higher-ups to do so. It was just another way to control us. The most degrading thing you can do to a man is remove his chance of having an heir.”
