Page 101 of Reclaimed By My Ex’s Bratva Brother

"I jumped in too."

"So I'd save you."

Her breathing skipped.

I stood.

Brinny stepped back. But she quickly steadied herself, forced her chin up.

"You've seen it clearly now, haven't you?" she asked. "If this hadn't happened, you'd still be wavering. Taking care of me while keeping that woman around. At least now you know who you're really worried about."

"So you think you were helping me."

I walked toward her. Her eyes started darting away.

"I was helping us." Her voice shook. "And helping you see what's in your own heart."

"You're right." My voice was nothing but cold.

Brinny froze. A glimmer of hope lit her eyes.

"You did make me see clearly."

I used to think love should be habit. Twenty years of unbroken obligation, reaching out instinctively when I saw her pale, remembering what she couldn't drink or eat.

I'd mistaken protection for love. Guilt for commitment. The memory of that gentle, kind girl who needed me—I'd believed that was the woman in front of me.

Until Briony showed up. She argued with me. Slammed my desk. Called me a bastard. She made me think for the first time about what love actually was.

Now, remembering her sinking in the water, my heart still clenched.

"The person I love is Briony," I said. "Not you."

The office went so quiet I could hear Brinny's breathing change.

"You're lying." The color drained from Brinny's lips. Her voice pitched higher. "Before I left, you said you'd marry me. And all these years you never let another woman stay close. When I came back, you were so gentle. Stayed at the hospital. Slept next to me. Was all of that fake?"

"I loved you once. But I only just realized I was in love with someone who doesn't exist."

She stared at me, eyes reddening, and stepped back in disbelief.

"The girl I remembered was gentle and kind. You know damn well that person was never you."

"You can't erase everything we had because of one accident!" She grew agitated, chest heaving.

This time, I wouldn't give a damn if her heart felt uncomfortable. Her fragile body was just leverage to hold my attention.

"Accident?" My voice stayed calm, but the rage inside nearly burst through my skin. "Was the water in the office an accident? Throwing away her necklace—was that an accident? Pushing her into the ocean, then pretending you couldn't swim—still an accident?"

My questions backed Brinny against the door.

"Do you know she was pregnant?"

Brinny's eyes went wide.

"What?"

"She's carrying my child." I was almost shouting now.