Page 98 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 3

Winston would tell me to fall back. To let Amai have her. To focus on the family business and stop being distracted by a woman who was never supposed to matter.

Winston would remind me that Landry men don’t beg.

Fuck that.

I wasn’t going to my father like some weak-ass child who couldn’t handle his own problems.

This time, I’d handle it myself.

Like a man.

I started the engine and drove home, my vision tunneling, my thoughts racing faster than I could process them.

The house was dark when I walked in.

Empty.

Silent.

I didn’t bother opening the curtains.

I went straight to the bar in the living room and poured myself a glass of whiskey. Neat. No ice.

I downed it in one swallow, the burn doing nothing to ease the tightness in my chest. My shit was caving in.

I poured another.

And another.

By the fourth glass, my hands had stopped shaking.

By the sixth, I was talking to myself.

“She doesn’t know what she wants,” I muttered, pacing the length of the living room. “She’s confused. She’s scared. She’s been manipulated by him for so long she doesn’t even realize it.”

I stopped in front of the window, staring out at the street.

“She needs someone to show her. Someone to prove to her that she deserves better.”

My reflection stared back at me in the glass—disheveled, exhausted, desperate.

I looked away.

“What kind of man would I be if I didn’t fight for my family?” I said aloud, my voice echoing in the empty room. “What kind of father just walks away?”

The question hung in the air, unanswered.

I poured another drink.

“Maybe she’s testing me,” I said, the words coming faster now. “Maybe she wants to see if I’ll fight for her. If I’ll prove that I’m not like Amai. That I’m not going to give up just because things get hard.”

I nodded to myself, the logic making perfect sense in my alcohol-soaked brain.

“Yeah. That’s it. She’s waiting to see what I’ll do.”

I drained the glass and set it down hard on the bar.

My feet carried me upstairs before I’d consciously decided to move.