“Both.”
I shook my head, taking a sip of water to have something to do.
“I know this is hard for you,” he reasoned.
“I don’t think you do. I think you’re loving every second of this ride, and you don’t understand why I want off.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I don’t know what I mean.”
“It’s the hormones.”
“Stop it!” I snapped. “Stop knowing more than I do.”
“And is something wrong with that? Is something wrong with being prepared?”
“Kraven, you’re never prepared for anything, butthis, this you’re prepared for?”
He didn’t falter, confessing, “I’ve wanted to be part of a family my whole life, Isla.”
I sucked in a breath. “Kraven…”
“I’m just trying to get through to you.”
“This isn’t about getting through to me. It’s about acknowledging how fucked up all of this is.”
He shrugged. “Maybe it isn’t fucked up to me.”
“Yeah?” I mocked. “And what’s going to happen once Julius is free, huh?”
He opened his mouth, then quickly shut it.
I waited a moment before quietly admitting, “I thought I had more time.”
“With Julius?”
I nodded.
“And now?”
I looked down at the glass in my hands, watching the water ripple from the tremor in my grip.
“Now it doesn’t feel like it’s just about me anymore.”
Silence settled again.
“It’s not.”
His voice was filled with certainty as he vowed, “You’re not alone in this.”
My heart twisted painfully. “I know,” I said, but it came out weaker than I wanted it to. “But I have both of you to think about, and now this baby. It’s much harder on me than it is on you. Can you understand that?”
“You think I’m going to leave,” he stated, catching me a bit off guard.
“Well… it is part of your Knightly DNA.”
He jerked back, offended.
