I can’t even imagine. “Eve?—”
“Laura told my father there was a twenty-five percent chance it would be his.” She runs her hands through her hair nervously.
“Laura? She knew about this?” I demand.
She gives a rough laugh. “The percentage of my father being the father had to be higher than that, since your father preferred to fuck my ass while he reminded me how useless I was as a woman.”
My teeth grind.
“My father told me he hoped it was a girl so she could give him what I couldn’t—children. He was going to let his brothers rape her. He was going to rape her,” she shouts, her wide eyes on mine. “And if it was a boy…he was going to train him to hate me. To rape me. Either way, he was going to get what he wanted. I couldn’t do it.” She shakes her head. “Let them treat her how they treated me or turn a boy into them.”
“I know.”
“And it was a lie,” she chokes out and whispers, “I wasn’t pregnant.” Taking a deep breath, she places her hand over her mouth. “I felt so guiltythat I survived.”
I step into her and wrap my arms around her shaking shoulders. What if she had died? Garrett would have won.
He wanted to control her mind and her body, and he would do anything to break her. To make her think so little of herself. Garrett hated the fact that she was willing to die to prevent her child from having the same fate she did, so he took the option away from her.
A woman in our world is meant to give her Lord an heir, and she already thought she was useless, so he made sure she remained that way. But my wife is tough, and she fought hard to forgive herself and live her life.
I will not let him continue to do this to her. She will bounce back. It will take time, but I’ll stand right beside her, reminding her she is enough. That she’s strong, worthy of love, and will be a great mother.
NINETY
KASHTON
It’s been a week since Eve found out she was never pregnant. It’s been a rough seven days for her. We haven’t left our bedroom at Carnage. The guys haven’t even bothered us. They know the situation and that she’s grieving the loss of the truth she thought she knew while reckoning with the fact that the guilt she carried all these years was baseless.
I look over to see her exit the bathroom. She’s got her hair down and curled and is wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a black silk blouse, and a matching set of heels. Her makeup is done, and when her eyes meet mine, she smiles at me.
It’s forced, but it’s the first one I’ve seen all week.
“You need to get ready. We have to leave in fifteen,” she says.
“Where are we going?”
Eve frowns. “You rescheduled our meeting with the contractor. Today is the day.”
“I’ll push it back.”
“No. I want to go.”
I stand and walk over to her. “Eve, it’s okay to wait. He’s not going anywhere.”
She drops her gaze to my boxer briefs before meeting mine. “I don’t even want to return to my house, and I want out of this hell before we’re parents.” She sighs. “I want a life. With you. A fresh start. Our place.”
I nod and kiss her forehead. “I’ll get ready.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re running late, making our way out the front, down to my car. We’re pulling out of the gates of Carnage when she says, “Stop.”
I slam on the brakes, and she gets out. “Eve? Where are you going? We’re alreadylate?—”
She shuts the passenger door, and I do the same to see her walking over to the cemetery. “What are you doing?” I come up behind her.
“You took down the headstone,” she observes, looking over the fresh grave we dug up.
“Yeah,” I remark. “What did you want me to do with it?”
