Page 3 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 3

“You can’t protect them alone,” I said, desperation creeping into my voice. “You don’t know what’s out there. Who’s watching. Who wants to hurt you to get to me.”

“Then I’ll figure it out.” She met my eyes. “Because I’d rather face whatever’s out there than stay here and let you destroy me from the inside.”

The words hit like bullets.

I’d spent my entire life learning how to hurt people. How to break them. How to make them bend to my will.

But I never wanted to hurt her.

And somehow, I’d done it anyway.

“Truth!”

“My ride’s here.”

I looked past her and saw the black sedan pulling up to the clinic entrance. The driver was already getting out, moving to open the back door.

This was it.

She was leaving.

And I couldn’t stop her.

Truth walked past me without another word, her shoulder brushing mine as she headed for the exit. The driver held the door open, and she slid into the backseat without looking back. I stood on the sidewalk until the sedan turned the corner and disappeared, feeling something I hadn’t felt in years.

Helpless.

The rage came slowly at first—a simmer in my chest, a tightness in my jaw. But it built with every second that passed, every breath I took, until it was a roar in my ears.

I’d lost her.

I’d had her—really had her, not just her body but her trust, her vulnerability, her heart—and I’d lost her.

Because of Winston.

Because of Yahmaria.

Because of the lies I’d told myself were necessary.

I turned and walked back into the clinic, my footsteps echoing in the sterile hallway.

Winston and Yahmaria were still in the exam room, talking quietly. Dr. Beaumont was in the corner, holding a towel to her bleeding nose, her eyes red and watery. They all looked up when I entered.

“Well,” Winston said, his voice maddeningly calm. “That could have gone better.”

I stared at him.

At the man who’d orchestrated this. Who’d brought Yahmaria here. Who’d set this whole thing in motion.

“You did this,” I said quietly.

“I did what was necessary.” He straightened his cufflinks. “She needed to understand her place in this family. She needed to see the reality of the situation.”

“Her place?” I took a step forward. “You humiliated her. You brought Yaya to her prenatal appointment on some messy shit, and I’m not fucking with it.”

“She is a surrogate,” Yahmaria said. “That’s what the contract says. That’s what she agreed to.”

“She’s more than that.”