Disbelieving.
“You plotted against us,” I say, disbelieving the words as they come out of my mouth. “You actually did betray us.”
I think back on the day I took her into custody, the way I buckled her in the car and brought her back here with the intent to punish her for what she’d done.
I wanted to believe she was innocent, but deep down I knew she wasn’t.
When she told me her reasoning, I believed her. I let myself believe that we could make this work, that she’d have my baby and we’d marry each other and Cosette would be mine forever.
And now I know, she was never mine to begin with.
Who even is she?
“Lyam,” she says tearfully. “You have to believe me. He doesn’t even know who I am. We have no relationship. I hate Paris because of him. He had me with my mother when he was already married and in the public eye, so he never made it known to anyone.”
She goes on and on, but why wouldn’t she? I can’t even process the words she’s saying. Cosette knows who I am. She knows who my family is. She knows we would have killed her once for betraying us and now she’s left us no other choice.
But she’s pregnant with my child.
“If you’re innocent,” I say, interrupting her pleas. She reaches for me, and I push her away. If she were anyone else—I shake my head and draw in a breath, making myself stay calm despite the anger that rises in me like a tide.
Only the weak need to hurt the vulnerable.
“If you didn’t know him and have no affiliation with him whatsoever, then why didn’t you tell me? You knew there were politicians threatening us. You even knewMontaguewas involved. You had a hundred chances to tell me and yet you didn’t. So why should I believe you now?”
“Because you know I love you,” she says tearfully. “Because Iwouldn’tbetray you. I was going to tell you so many times but every time, I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
It looks as if the very words she speaks pain her to say them. “Afraid that if I told you, you’d leave. That you wouldn’t want me. That you wouldn’t believe the truth.”
“I changed my mind,” I say. She flinches at the harsh sound of my tone, but I’m doing everything I can not to hurt her. She betrayed me. Betrayed all of us. My only choice now is to give her a safe space so she can have our baby safely before she faces the ultimate punishment.
Everything in me screams against this, but I clench my hands.
“You knew. You knew who he was and why he’s after us. Were you a plant by him?”
I stand and stalk over to her. I hate the way she flinches and backs away.
“No! No, we don’t talk at all. I didn’t even know he knew I existed.”
“And why should I believe you?”
“Because you trust me,” she says emotionally. “Because I love you. I would never betray any of?—”
She snaps her mouth closed as she hears her own words. She did betray us once and even though we know why, what’s to prevent her from doing it again?
When she reaches for me, I turn away. “I don’t know what you want from me,” I say to her. “You’ve put me in a position of choosing between you and my family.”
“I just want you to believe me,” she says on a sob. “Please!”
I shake my head. “Montague has put half the city’s resources into hunting us down. He’s intentionally set every single news organization against us and is hell-bent on making sure that we take the blame for every single fucking crime in this city.”
I blow out a breath.
“Don’t you see how this complicates things?” I snap, so angry at her I want to shake her. “If Montague knows that one of his whipping boys knocked up hisdaughter,we’ve just given him the very best ammo.”
Her face crumples. “But he doesn’t see me as his daughter, Lyam.”
