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“He’s so far out of your league, it’s laughable.” Topher hates it when I laugh, apparently. So I keep at it. “He’ll ruin you before you have a chance to sayDaddy, you hurt my feelings.” The last part I say in a baby voice, pouting at the end of the sentence.

“Bitch.” His fingers will leave marks at this rate. I won’t allow that. Grabbing him by the throat, I squeeze. He loosens his hold on me, marginally. “Fucking cunt. I’m not fighting him alone.”

God, he’s easy.

“You and what army?” I imagine James’s disappointment at me morphing into pride for being able to extract information while I’m being cornered like this.

“Who do you think told me that I had the right to kill Dad if he ever stepped out of line?”

“Who?”Go on, loser, speak.

“You’re a dumb one. You’ve been up there for weeks and have been nothing but a whore to him.” A few extra seconds. After that, I’ll fuck him up. “Then he brought you here. Parading his whore. And you’re still clueless. Just like you were the whole time we were dating. An idiot.”

“Care to enlighten me, then?” It’s a hardship, pretending that I’m hurt rather than showing him what I really think of his loser ass. I drop my hand from his throat to convince him that he’sgotten to me. “Since you’re the alpha male and all. Should I open my legs to you?”

“Nah. I’m over you. Maybe the other two would appreciate the offer.”

Other two.

Camden and…

Oliver.

The pile of ashes in our backyard.

Fuck, I can’t laugh now. Have to rein it in.

That’s it. I don’t need any more information from him.

I raise my foot without Topher noticing, being sneaky about it. Here it is, another second and I’ll impale his expensive dress shoe, down to the bone.

“I’d be doing you a favor.” His mocking voice stops me in my tracks. “He’s using you. Has he told you you’re nothing but a womb? A vessel to put a baby in, then dispose of?”

I know James wouldn’t do that. I know he loves me as much as a man like him is capable of loving another person. He’s given me every bit of him. Whatever’s there, beneath his chest, it’s mine.

Topher wounds me regardless, as he reminds me of James’s words from a lifetime ago. The memories debilitate me. The memories are a punch to the throat. A kick to the gut.

He didn’t want to do it to Topher’s mom, and yet he sort of did it anyway.

That’s what the men in these families do.

Who’s to say he won’t change his mind about me?

“Aww, look at you. Poor little girl.” Despite his derisive tone, the vein in Topher’s temple throbs. He’s just as pissed as I am. “He forgot to mention that, I see.”

I remain silent while my body slowly wakes up from the shock.

“If you beg nicely, I might let you live.” In my periphery, I notice both his hands have slammed on the sink. He better not touch me again. I’m this close to killing him as it is. “Don’t worry. Even if you’re carrying his baby, we’ll take care of that.”

“Take care of that?” The words are venom on my tongue.

“In the unfortunate case that you are pregnant, we’ll have you abort whatever freak he might’ve put into you and?—”

That does it. That fucking does it.

I have no idea whether I’m pregnant or not. I’m pretty sure I’m not.

Still.Still.