Page 38 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 3

Winston didn’t need to torture Priest to make his point. The threat was enough. The knowledge that he could was the real weapon.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

Priest shook his head. “Don’t apologize for shit you didn’t do. Winston made his move. You made yours. That’s how this works.”

“It shouldn’t work like that.”

“But it does.” Priest pushed off the door and moved into the kitchen. “You want something to drink?”

“Nah. I’m good.”

He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge anyway and leaned against the counter, studying me.

“So,” he said after a long moment. “How’s everything been while I was gone?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Everything went to shit without you.”

“I figured.” Priest took a sip of water. “You wanna elaborate, or you just gonna stand there looking like you’re about to murder someone?”

I ran a hand over my face, feeling the weight of the past few days pressing down on me.

“Truth found out about Yahmaria.”

Priest went still. “How?”

“Winston.” The word came out like venom. “He walked into the clinic with her. Right in the middle of Truth’s appointment. Dropped the bomb that I’ve been married this whole time.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.” I started pacing, the wrath building again just thinking about it. “Truth looked at me like I was the worst kind of monster. And you know what? She wasn’t wrong.”

Priest set the bottle down. “What did you do?”

“I killed everyone in that building.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Priest didn’t look shocked. Didn’t look horrified.

He just looked… tired.

“Everyone?” he asked quietly.

“Dr. Beaumont. The nurses. The staff. Anyone who was complicit in that fuckin’ setup.” I stopped pacing and turned to face him. “I’m tired, Priest. I’m tired of everyone playing with me and Truth. Tired of the manipulation. Tired of the lies. Tired of watching people use her like she’s a fuckin’ pawn.”

“So you became the thing she’s afraid of.”

The words hit like a punch to the gut.

I stared at him, my chest tight. “What?”

“You heard me.” Priest’s voice was calm but firm. “You say you’re tired of people playing with her, but you’ve been playing with her from the start, Amai. You should’ve been honest with her the moment you knew you were falling for her. Especially knowing how Winston operates.”

“I was trying to protect her⁠—”

“By lying?” Priest cut me off, his tone sharper now. “By bringing her into your world without giving her the full picture? By thinking you could manage the chaos and somehow keep her safe in the middle of it?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words wouldn’t come.