Page 163 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 4

“You gave her a cage.” I was close enough now to see the sweat on his forehead, the wild desperation in his eyes. “And you called it love.”

“It was love⁠—”

“It was obsession.”

“You built a fantasy, Kaisen. And then you kidnapped my family to make it real.”

“No.” He shook his head, backing up a step. “No, that’s not—she chose me. When I came to get them, she didn’t fight. She got in the car. She came with me willingly⁠—”

“Because you told her I sent you.”

The words hung in the air between us.

Kaisen opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

“She chose me,” he said finally, and the desperation in his voice was so thick I could taste it. “After everything—after weeks on this boat—she chose me. She stopped fighting. She slept beside me. She let me hold her. She⁠—”

“She survived you.”

The voice came from behind me.

I turned.

Truth stood in the doorway, Priest’s hand on her shoulder, Trumai still clutched against her chest. Her face was streaked with tears, but her eyes were clear. Focused. Furious.

“I told you to fucking leave! Priest, what the fuck?”

“I didn’t choose you, Kaisen.” Her voice was steady, cutting through the stale air like a blade. “I chose survival.”

Kaisen stared at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish drowning in air.

“I learned your routines,” Truth continued, stepping forward. Priest moved with her, his hand never leaving her shoulder. “I learned when you slept, when you woke, when you checked the locks. I learned which staff members were loyal to you and which ones were just collecting a paycheck. I learned where you kept the keys, where the cameras were, where the blind spots were.”

“Truth—”

“I slept beside you,” she said, and her voice was so cold it made my chest ache, “because it was the only place on this boat you stopped locking the fucking door.”

Kaisen’s face crumpled, but I could tell this wasn’t his first time hearing the shit.

“I didn’t come to my senses.” Truth’s voice cracked, just slightly. “I learned how to survive you. And the second I knew Amai was coming—the second I felt that shift in the air that told me I wasn’t alone anymore—I stopped pretending.”

“You’re wrong.” Kaisen’s voice was barely audible. “You’re confused. You don’t understand what I was trying to do⁠—”

“I understand perfectly.” Truth shifted Trumai in her arms, and my baby let out a small, sleepy sound. “You kidnapped me. You drugged me. You locked me in a room and told me it was for my own good. You manipulated evidence to make me believe my daughter was yours. And you called it love.”

“It was love⁠—”

“It was control.” Truth’s eyes were blazing now. “And I’m done being controlled.”

She turned to Priest. “Get me off this boat.”

Priest nodded once, his hand tightening on her shoulder.

“Truth, wait—” Kaisen started forward.

I stepped between them.

“She’s done talking to you,” I said quietly.