Page 30 of Dirty Legacy

The words hang in the air, thick like molasses. I take another drink—seriously, how does he know my order—just to give my hands something to do.

His expression doesn’t change. He shifts his weight, leaning closer. “Have you been to a doctor yet?”

I shake my head, looking down at my hands. “No, but I took a few tests. I’m sure.”

“When did you find out?”

“Only a few days ago.”

His face darkens. His hands rub together like he’s working something between them. A low, angry snarl escapes his lips, and I feel like my life’s coming to an end.

He hates me now. And how can I blame him?

I’m blowing up his life, just like he blew up mine. But this baby is happening and he’s the father, and how could I look myself in the mirror if I didn’t at least try to talk to him?

Now’s the part where he screams at me; where he threatens me; or worse, where he offers to pay me off. He might even ask me to get an abortion. The idea makes bile roll up the back of my throat. Connor’s jaw works, and I wish I were anywhere else. I feel numb and light, floating through the sky. Only my coffee’s keeping me pinned in place.

He’s going to tell me to get rid of it now, and I’m ready to hear him say it, but I know it’s going to kill me.

“You need to make an appointment with an OB,” he says, taking out his phone. “I’ll reach out to a friend. You’ll see the best.”

Fuck, there it is.

He wants me to see his private doctor to have this baby ripped out.

My shoulders slump. I look down at the table. Tears fill my eyes, and I hate him and hate myself. “I’m keeping the baby, Connor.”

He reaches out. I think he’s going to hit me, but no, that’s insane. Instead he puts his hand on mine, leaning forward, face still dark with anger, but his eyes also shining with something else.

“Of course you’re keeping our baby, angel. I’d never fucking ask you to do anything else.”

My mouth opens. Again, I can barely find the words. “You… you want me to keep the baby?”

“Our baby.” The way he says it makes my heart skitter and jump. The possessiveness, the anger and fierceness. Like he’s a lion. “You need to start going to regular visits, taking vitamins, I don’t know, doing all the pregnant woman shit. And there will be diapers, changing tables, an entire world of baby-related stuff we’ll need⁠—“

“Slow down, Connor. Nobody said anything about we.”

His grip tightens on my fingers. “That’s my baby, Angelina. You think I’m letting you walk out of here as a single mother?”

“No, I mean, I’m not asking you to do anything you don’t want to do. I’m only telling you⁠—“

“I want this. I want you. I want that baby.”

I’m shocked by the obsession in his voice. He looks manic, almost psychotic, and it’s scaring me. “We’re not together… I mean, I don’t need you to step up and do the right thing. If you want to be in the baby’s life, that would be amazing. We can co-parent together. I know this is a lot… it’s complicated and we barely know each other… but I’m really not here to hurt you, Connor.”

“You don’t understand.” His voice is low and menacing. He reaches one hand into his jacket pocket and I think he’s going for a gun or a knife, but that’s irrational. Why am I so afraid right now?

But what he brings out is so much worse.

He lays a diamond ring on the table between us.

I yank back from him, stunned. “What the hell is that?”

“We’re getting married today. I’ll make some calls. By this evening, you will be my wife.”

I shake my head wildly, waving my hands in the air. “No, no, no, no, that’s not happening. There’s no way we’re getting married! And why the hell are you carrying around a ring like that?!”

He ignores my question. “I’m not giving you an option, angel. You don’t understand what you just walked in to and I don’t have time to explain everything. We need to get married today, right now, or I can’t guarantee your safety.”