That was his singular goal as soon as he walked into his father’s old home. Everything was boxed up, ready to sell. Except for what had been his father’s office, and the bedroom that Romeo used. Also, that damned dining table was still sitting there. The scene of the crime.
He was filled with hate.
Right when he walked through the front door, he was confronted by his own personal ghost.
There she was, her hands clasped in front of her, her face white.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“It’s both of ours,” she said.
“I’m well aware. But I thought that there was an implied agreement that I would handle all of this and you would simply take the money.”
“There may have been that agreement. But things have changed.”
“Why? Or did you decide you wanted more?”
Something sharp flashed in her eyes. “And what if I have? What if I decided that I want what’s rightfully mine? To be part of this family, because I am. I am part of it. And you can resent me all you want, but your father saw me as a daughter. You’ve been trying to supplant me—”
“Don’t do this. Not now. You never wanted to see me again, and yet here you are.”
“Because things are complicated now,” she said.
He saw tears in her eyes, the sloped set of her shoulders, the pale color in her face, and that was the first time he felt truly disquieted.
Because there was one thing that Heather had never shown him, and that was weakness. She was weak now—he could see it—but what he didn’t know was why.
“What is it?”
“I’ve got to tell you something.”
She sounded grave. Grave enough that he wondered if she was telling him that she had poisoned his father. Or something similar.
“What is it?”
“I…”
“Dear God, Heather, you have never had trouble telling me anything difficult. Hard truths are in fact your favorite thing to speak to me, so just go ahead and say it.”
“I’m pregnant. With your baby, obviously.”
It was like the world was crumbling and falling away. Pregnant? With his child? How could that be? How was it possible?
You know perfectly well how it’s possible.
He had taken her like a rutting animal; he had taken no precautions whatsoever. He had assumed that she had taken some. Well, that was a lie. He hadn’t assumed anything. He hadn’t thought about it. Never in his life had he ever taken a woman without protection, and now not only had he done it, but he hadn’t even been aware of it. He had been aware of nothing at the time other than his need to take her. Nothing other than the triumph of finally having her.
“It’s impossible.”
“I thought the same thing, but tests don’t lie.”
“You will be getting another test, one that I can see.”
“Why would I lie about this? You would find out. I’m not an idiot. You’re a very rich man, I know how paternity tests work. There’s no way and no point to be lying about this, Romeo, none at all. I wanted to be free of you. This is the last thing that I want.”
“Then why are you here at all? If you want to be free of me.”
Panic was tearing through him, and he felt wounded; he felt the urge to wound her back, as he had always done. And in the back of his mind was the realization that this was going to send his mother to an extremely dark place. A child with the daughter of the woman who had caused her so much pain?
