Page 124

Kicking off my shoes, I approach her. But before I slide in behind her on our huge couch, I pull out my phone and snap a picture of her sleeping peacefully. No worry or stress etched across her face. No concerns about working or thinking of the next thing she needs to do—she’s content and comfortable to live in this moment.

Pulling my top over my head, I slide in behind my fiancée, who, thank Christ, is still wearing my engagement ring. She’s answered my calls and texts while I’ve been away, but her spunk has gone, replaced by a shadow of her sassy self.

She stirs as her familiar citrus scent spreads warmth throughout my chest.

“Hey, Princess. I’m home,” I whisper into her ear.

She groans as I barely make out a “Hey.”

Reaching around, I palm her stomach, but she turns over to face me, opening her beautiful eyes slowly. “I missed you,” she says.

Relief washes over me. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s been a shit week.”

Pushing her hair back from her face, I tuck it behind her ear. “What happened, and why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Because I knew you’d go off and because I’m a big girl who can fight my own battles.”

“Battle? Who’s giving you shit?” I growl.

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time. Our whole lives, in fact.” I kiss her forehead.

She huffs out a breath. “In a nutshell, Violet and Henry have cut off referrals to Mark Preston. He wanted me to speak to them. So I did.”

Every fucking nerve fires off in my body. “You went to see them?”

She nods. “Yep.”

“You should’ve waited for me to come home.”

“I can take care of myself. Not that it would’ve mattered anyway. They were home but refused to answer the door.”

I pull back. “They left you standing on the front porch of your own family home. In the freezing cold December weather? Fucking pregnant?” Each word gets harsher as it leaves my tongue.

Placing her hand on my chest, I know she can feel my racing heart. “Yeah, it’s shitty of them, and yeah, it makes me think that Mark and David are more interested in my last name and how it benefits them than they are in me as a lawyer. But trust me, they’ve done much wor?—”

She clamps her mouth shut like she didn’t mean to go that far.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She strokes my cheek, trying to soothe me.

Not happening.

“What the fuck did they do to you, Princess?”

“It was a long time ago.”

“Doesn’t matter, tell me, I need to know everything about you.” I press my forehead against hers. “Just like I’ll give you every part of me.”

Pressing her lips together in a thin line, she squeezes her eyes shut, almost like it pains her to recall the memories, and that breaks me in fucking two.

“When East left to go to college, I had two years remaining in high school. They were two key years to get me into the best schools and get the best grades. I was already achieving those things, but that wasn’t enough for Violet and Henry—they wanted their daughter to be the country's top-performing student. You were right with what you said that time—my success was an extension of theirs.” She pauses and inhales slowly. “They pretty much locked me away for that period—no friends, no social life, definitely no parties. I tried to sneak out from my window once or twice, but they installed a lock. They said it was for my own good and ‘time spent partying was time lost studying, leading to mediocrity.’”

I pull her into me, burying her face in my chest. Her shoulders start to shake. Kate barely cries, and fuck me, does it tear me limb from limb to hear those words and then the pain in her cries.