Her entire body went rigid.
Slowly, she pulled back just enough to look at me, her eyes dark and wary. “What are you talking about?”
I sighed, releasing her, running a hand through my hair. My chest tightened as I leaned against the counter, bracing myself.
“When your dad was staying at the Stoney Creek Lodge…” I met her eyes. “I went to his hotel room. Had a chat.”
Her lips parted. “A chat?” Her voice was wary, like she already knew it was worse than that.
I scoffed. “Really? I’ve tracked down high-value terrorists for years. You don’t think I could find your predator stepdad?”
Her expression flickered—frustration, agreement, something else maybe?
She took a step forward, arms crossed. “What the hell happened?”
I hesitated. Just for a second. Then let the words flow out of me like a volcano exploding. “I demanded he pay you for what he did. That he compensated you and your mom for everything And I made it clear that you weren’t testifying against him.”
Her throat bobbed. “How much?”
“Five million each.”
Her breath hitched. “Jesus, Nick.” She ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head. “Iknowthat didn’t go well.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “No. It didn’t.” My fists clenched. “That’s when he told me he had footage of us staying in separate rooms before and after the wedding.”
Melanie froze.
Her voice was barely a whisper. “You’re fucking kidding me.”
I shook my head. “No.” Crossing my arms, I exhaled sharply. “And he said if I don’t leave you, he’ll make me pay.”
She swallowed hard, panic flickering in her eyes. “What does that mean?”
I hesitated. My throat felt tight. “It means… he’d put me behind bars, Mel.”
Her breath caught.
“I didn’t tell you because—” I rubbed my jaw, frustration twisting in my gut. “Because you told me you might be pregnant.”
Her lips parted slightly. “Nick…”
“And all I could think about was…” I sucked in a breath, shaking my head. “I can’t be locked up while you’re pregnant. I won’t be.”
Her fingers trembled as she reached for me. “Nick, I?—”
“I panicked, okay?” The confession was ripped from me. “The second you said you might be pregnant, all I could hear was his fucking voice in my head, threatening to take everything from me. To take you from me.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “I can’t let that happen.”
She closed the distance between us, her hands pressing against my chest. “Wewon’t let it happen.”
I covered her hands with mine. “I don’t regret marrying you, Mel. But I do regret not protecting you better.”
Tears gathered in her eyes, but she blinked them away. “You have protected me, Nick. Every single step of the way.”
I shook my head. “Not enough. And Richard is right; he has the money and power and can destroy me. Us.”
She cupped my face, forcing me to look at her. “You’re wrong,we have something more powerful than money. We have each other, and we’re in this together. No matter what happens.”
I exhaled, resting my forehead against hers. “We just have to make them believe we’re truly in love.” My voice was rough. “We might’ve started out fake, but this?” I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “This is real, Melanie. I just need everyone else to believe it too, including you.”
