Page 19

There was no understating how horribly I screwed up—well, how Tommaso did, but I didn’t exactly handle it the way I should’ve.

I never should’ve given him the chance to let the cat out of the bag in the first place. He dropped the one thing I was trying to protect Tia from on her without a second thought.

The smug bastard.

It was bad enough that Tia didn’t trust me, but for that kind of life-changing information to just fall into her lap? It was earth-shattering, and certainly not something I could just sweep under the rug and hope for the best.

Regardless of our mutual attraction, a secret that big was bound to cause damage, which was exactly why I’d tried to keep it from her.

If I was smart, I would’ve had some sort of excuse ready to deflect the truth. I should’ve been convincing and avoided any kind of repercussions.

But, deep down, I knew that wouldn’t have helped, either. Further lying would’ve only angered her more. Even if she didn’t know anything about my lifestyle before, Tia wasn’t naive. She would’ve pieced everything together eventually.

And in the end, I would be right back at square one.

After it was all said and done, I shouldn’t have assumed time would somehow mend the cracks in what I was previously trying to build. I should’ve anticipated the influx of iciness from her that was somehow even worse than before.

Regardless of the days passing, she hardly said anything to me. She was closed off, and after all the mistakes I made, there was a gaping void between us.

I hated it.

I hated feeling like I was sleeping beside a cold body at night. One that wanted nothing to do with me.

As much as I wanted to believe it wasn’t affecting me like one would expect, it seemed to be even worse than that.

Work was a blur most days, and when I was especially stuck in my head, it felt agonizingly long.

I’d wish I could come back home to Tia and feel a semblance of warmth again. Even if it seemed like a long shot, I just wanted the chance to reach a place we had yet to discover.

Our marriage was built on a rocky struggle that drove me insane, and trying to gain her trust had been a massive undertaking in the first place. But with the truth out in the open, becoming something real and mutual seemed impossible.

Regardless of how brutally I fumbled everything with the only woman who could ever capture my attention so completely, making me see nothing but her, I couldn’t live like that.

I couldn’t just coast through life knowing my wife hated me.

I had to do something before I let her get completely out of my reach.

When work became the last thing I could focus on, I left early and pulled up to the house in the afternoon.

It was quiet when I walked in, aside from Bear’s usual greeting while he circled my legs and followed me up the stairs.

I gave him a pat on the back while I pulled myself together in a silent pep talk, well aware that I had no choice but to appeal to Tia.

Heading straight for her art room, my steps halted at the sound of a zipper being done up in the bedroom. It was loud enough to catch my attention, and before I could think about it, I pivoted and changed direction.

Pushing the door open, the near quiet in the room felt deafening the moment I saw her standing there.

She was packing.

With one of my suitcases placed on the bed, Tia moved one of the internal compartments before folding a top and placing it inside.

At first, I was completely frozen. But the longer I watched her pack, the harder it all dawned on me, and the harder it hurt.

She was planning on leaving. Uprooting and fleeing without so much as a word.

Immediately, I saw red.

“What the hell are you doing?” I uttered, feeling the sharp edge of my tone while I took a few stiff steps closer.

Despite being startled, Tia didn’t even look back at me while she quickened her movements with a deep huff, as if more annoyed than anything that I was home.

“I’m leaving.”

“No, you aren’t,” I muttered back while struggling to stomach my disbelief. “After everything…taking care of you, giving you everything you need, giving you space…after all of that, and you’re just…running away?”

“Space?” Tia countered incredulously, finally turning to face me with a mix of pain and anger in her eyes. “Am I supposed to thank you for dragging me into this and forcing me to marry you? For lying to me about who you really are?”

Even if she had every right to hate the situation that was forced upon her, every word felt like a slap to the face anyway.

“I know you were thrown into this without a say of your own, but I tried to make the most of it for both of us,” I returned, trying not to let my anger get out of hand. “When I went to your dad about starting the club, he wouldn’t agree to it unless I married you. I have no intention of following through with it, but the moment I met you, that all changed.”

Tia hesitated at that, unable to find the right words.

Instead, I continued, allowing my conviction to propel me forward. “When I met you at that damn gala, I saw someone so different from everyone else I had ever known. I found a fire in you I had been waiting for, even if I didn’t know it yet. And I wanted you. I still do. But I can’t change what I do—I can’t change the way my family’s empire was built. And while I know the life I have is dangerous and reckless, I won’t apologize for being proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

Despite looking almost touched by my honesty at first, Tia physically recoiled.

“Proud? You’re proud of committing crimes every day?” she asked with that unrelenting heat I would’ve otherwise admired.

“Yes, I am. If it weren’t for my family and the work we’ve done, we wouldn’t have this house or everything inside it—we wouldn’t be able to live the way we do. And if it weren’t for our business, I never would’ve met you.”

Her brows furrowed as if the very mention of it pained her.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Val, but it’s too late. The damage has already been done, and I don’t know what to do—who to trust. How can we move forward when all you’ve done is lie to me?”

I could feel the safe, defensive walls around me starting to crumble. There was so much more I could sling at her, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

As angry as I was for finding her trying to leave, I didn’t want to push her away even further.

“Tia…please hear me out. I didn’t mean to hurt you, even if it was inevitable. I wanted to protect you,” I began, talking as sincerely as I could. “I should’ve been honest from the start, but the position you were put in was precarious enough already. Even if you hated me, I just wanted to make things easier for you. I wanted us to be something. And I know you felt it…the connection between us. The attraction. Is that not enough to build from?”

Tia swallowed hard and averted her gaze from mine. A bitter, humorless huff escaped her. “Attraction…it means nothing when I can’t trust you. When all you can do is lie to me.”

“Don’t say that,” I murmured, voice thicker with emotion than I intended to reveal. I took a step towards her. “Tia, please…I know you likely have all these preconceived notions of what my work makes me, but I’m not that brutal man. Not really. But I can’t let you leave like this.”

A moment of silence lingered between us, allowing the tension to grow twice as big.

There was so much more I needed to say, and so many things I wanted her to tell me in return, but neither of us said anything.

As a pained look crossed her features, Tia closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

“Val…I’m pregnant.”

Those almost whispered words rammed into me, and it was all I could do to stay on my feet.

Pregnant.

That word rang through my head on an endless loop that felt hours long. And yet, mere seconds passed.

I tried to process it, and I tried to make sense of it all, but it was too huge to tackle all at once.

Blinking back at her, it took me some time before I found my voice again. “You’re…sure?”

As tears gathered in her eyes, she pulled in a hard breath and nodded. “The test was positive…”

I couldn’t trust my legs, but I couldn’t will myself to move, either. I was stuck there, lost in what I was supposed to say or do.

She was pregnant…with my baby. Our baby.

After what felt like an eternity, something clicked into place in my mind, and I reached for her.

With a hand secured against her waist, I pulled her closer and cupped her face with the opposite one while I stared down at her with a new, unshakable determination.

“Tia,” I murmured, keeping her close with a sense of urgency thrumming beneath my skin. “There’s no way I’m letting you walk away…not like this. Not now—not ever. You’re my wife, and that isn’t changing.”

To my surprise, her breath hitched at my demand, and despite herself, her eyes softened while more tears welled within them.

That previous anger completely up and left. It simmered down to the raw truth beneath it…the absolute fear I felt about losing her.

Voice rough with emotion, I couldn’t help but continue, gently stroking her cheek to soothe that pain away. “Now that I know…now that this is on the table, nothing is more important to me than you or our child. It doesn’t matter how I have to prove myself to you—I’ll do it all a hundred times over. I won’t lose you.”

As the tears slid down her cheeks, I gently wiped them away while she sniffled.

“I’m scared, Val,” Tia whispered, eyes closed. “The truth of who you are and what you do…the dishonesty and danger of it all…it’s too much to handle. How can we raise a child in this?”

My stomach twisted at the truth behind that thought, well aware of the risks. But it didn’t matter.

“I know it’s a lot to come to terms with, but I’ll be here every step of the way. I’ll provide everything and more, and our child will be protected to the highest degree. I don’t care what it takes,” I reassured her, cupping both of her cheeks while I let my eyes say the rest.

Tia’s gaze took me in completely, almost like it was the first time, and I could practically feel how deeply she was thinking. Considering whether or not she could place her faith in me.

Without warning, she leaned forward, and her mouth was on mine.

It was tentative at first, like she was testing the waters again after so long.

But the moment I felt that addicting pressure against my lips, I couldn’t help myself.

Leaning into it, I deepened the kiss and savored every second of it like it was my last.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” I whispered against her lips while our breath mingled in an addictive tangle. Keeping that proximity, I let her swallow up my words. “You’re staying here with me…right where you belong.”

With a pulse of undeniable heat and vulnerability between us, Tia didn’t need to argue.

My grip on her tightened by a fraction while I crashed our mouths together again, unwilling to let her go.

Even if things were uncertain, I was sure of one thing:

She was mine, and I was prepared to take on the world if it meant keeping her and our baby safe.

Whatever they needed, I was going to give it.