Page 43 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 3

Gathering information. That was what I was to him. An asset with an assignment.

“He’s cutting me off,” I said. “If he’s pulling the household resources, that means he’s done with the arrangement. And if he’s done with the arrangement, what’s stopping him from⁠—”

“He won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Amai understands consequences. He knows you’re my daughter. He won’t make that kind of move.”

“But what if you’re wrong.” I heard my voice go tight. “What if he decides I’m not worth the trouble? Daddy, what happens if Amai tries to kill me?”

The silence that followed was different from the others.

Not the silence of a man thinking through his answer.

The silence of a man deciding whether to lie or just wait you out.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said finally.

“You’re not answering me.”

“Because the question is irrelevant.”

“It is very fucking relevant⁠—”

“Yahmaria.” His voice dropped into that register he used when he was done. “You’re spiraling. Focus. Gather information. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Promise me,” I said. “Just say you’ll protect me. That’s all I need.”

Nothing.

“Daddy.”

“I have to go. We’ll talk later.”

The line went dead.

I stood in the bedroom holding my phone and felt the thing I’d not been letting myself feel for years finally land.

He hadn’t promised. He’d had every opportunity, and he hadn’t done it. I was not worth an obligation to him. I was worth a strategy, a placement, whatever leverage I represented—until I wasn’t.

“Yaya.”

I spun around.

Syx was in the doorway, his expression dark, his arms crossed. He’d heard enough.

“How long⁠—”

“Long enough.” He stepped inside. “He’s using you. You know that.”

“He’s my father.”

“He’s the man who put you in a marriage to someone who hates you and just now couldn’t be bothered to say he’d keep you alive.” Syx’s jaw was set, his voice hard in a way it didn’t usually get. “He started a war and left you behind the enemy’s gate.”

I wanted to argue. I opened my mouth to argue. But there was nothing there.

Because he was right.