Page 149 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 3

“Kaisen,” Raven repeated, folding her arms, already leaning in like she’d been waiting for this the whole morning.

“He came by here a couple weeks ago.” I twisted my fingers together in my lap. “I told him I chose Amai. That’s done, that part’s settled in my head. But I also told him I’d keep him in the loop. Until we know some things about the babies.”

Honor’s eyebrows went up slow. “What kind of things?”

“Just—things,” I said. “It’s complicated which y’all are aware of. There’s testing that’s in the works. I don’t feel like getting into all of it again right now, but it matters that both of them stay informed. That’s all I’m gonna say about that part.”

Saroya studied me for a second like she wanted to push, but she let it go. That was Saroya—she knew when a door was closed, even if she didn’t like it.

“Okay,” Raven said. “So, he came by. And?”

“And he got disrespectful.” My annoyance flared just remembering it—the way his voice had changed, the way he’d looked at me like I was something he was owed. “Before I could even check him for it, he was on the ground. Shot. Right here.” I pointed toward the front door without looking at it.

“He was what?” Raven’s voice cracked up an octave, her whole body snapping straight. “Shot? On your porch?”

“Not the porch, exactly. The doorstep. Close enough.”

“Truth.” Honor’s hand came up to her chest. “You said that like you was telling us he stubbed his toe.”

“What was I supposed to do, scream it?” I shrugged, though my hands weren’t as steady as I wanted them to look. “It happened. Amai was up on the roof of the apartment building across the street. Had a whole—I don’t even know what you call it. A sniper setup. He saw Kaisen show up uninvited, saw him getting in my face, and he handled it.”

“He handled it,” Raven said, staring at me. “From a rooftop. Across the street.”

“Yes.”

“That man was watching your house from a rooftop with a gun.”

“Apparently. Yes. Or one of the guards he has watching me told him Kaisen was here.”

Raven sat back like the information needed room to land properly. Saroya’s mouth had gone tight and thin, the way it did when she was doing math in her head that she didn’t like the answer to.

Honor, though—Honor just nodded slowly, like she was confirming something she’d already suspected. “Okay. See, that’s my type of man right there.”

“Honor,” Saroya said.

“I’m serious.” Honor held up both hands like she was defending a thesis. “A man that’ll shoot his own brother over you? That’s not a man playing games. That’s a man with priorities. That’s a man who has decided, in his heart, that you are not to be disrespected, and he will make that known from a rooftop if necessary.”

“That’s insane,” Saroya said.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t insane. I said it was hot.”

“Honor, oh, my God.”

“What? I’m just saying what I’m seeing!” Honor threw her hands up. “You want a man who’ll fight for a good parking spot but fold like a lawn chair when somebody disrespects you in the street. I want the rooftop. I want the sniper rifle. I want⁠—”

“You want a felony,” Raven cut in.

“I want devotion,” Honor corrected, unbothered.

I let out a short laugh despite myself, because it was funny—it was, in the ridiculous, unhinged way, my whole life had become funny lately—but underneath the laugh, something in my chest stayed tight. “It shook me up,” I admitted, quieter now, and the table went still. “Like, really shook me. One minute he’s standing there talking, and the next he’s on the ground. There’s blood on my doorstep, and I’m just—standing there. Not even screaming. Just standing there like my body forgot how to work.”

Saroya reached over and put her hand on my knee. “Truth.”

“I’m fine,” I said quickly. “I’m fine now. It was just—a lot. In the moment.”

“What did Amai say?” Raven asked. “After?”

I hesitated, because this part was going to sound worse out loud than it felt at the time. “He made a joke. Said now I could get Kaisen’s DNA.”