When I found the pregnancy test, my heart stuttered.
My stomach churned as I peed on the stick and then placed it on a napkin on the counter.
I didn’t know if I was scared or pleased…
Killian and I both knew what was expected from this marriage. An heir. We never used any protection, so this was bound to happen. Eventually. But we never specifically talked about kids.
The deal was for us to go our separate ways once I gave birth.
But that has changed now, right?
Our marriage was no longer a ruse. We were together for real.
Maybe we needed more time together…
Just the two of us.
We lost three years and while our relationship was somewhat stable now, we still needed more time to recover from all that went wrong between us.
Doubt creeped in, slithering into my heart, and I felt nauseous again. I walked away from the pregnancy test and paced the length of the bedroom.
There was anticipation burning under my skin – the thought that I could be carrying Killian’s baby pleased me.
But the worry coursing through my vein unsettled me.
After a few minutes, I started toward the bathroom again. To check for the result of the pregnancy test.
Except, I never reached the bathroom.
There was a rustling sound behind me, strange and uninvited. I fought back a shiver of dread. Someone was in my room…
I had been so consumed by the thought of finding out that I could be pregnant, I hadn’t noticed that there was someone else in the bedroom, other than myself.
My heart leaped in my throat and I lunged for the vase.
Too late.
A heavy arm snaked around my waist, tugging me back into an unfamiliar body and then a hand slammed over my mouth, muffling my scream.
I felt a tiny prick in my right arm, right above my elbow. My body went rigid before I started struggling, trying to escape my captor.
But he was strong and much heavier than me.
Whatever he injected in my veins was making me drowsy and…
No. Please, no.
I tried to struggle but my limbs wouldn’t cooperate.
The room swayed.
My vision blurred.
I heard a familiar voice, but I couldn’t place it.
A small groan rattled from me before my eyes rolled back into my head.
And everything ceased to exist.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Killian
I realized one thing in the last month. Loving Julianna was easy. Trying to hate her with no more apparent reason was difficult and pure torture.
I tried to find a reason to be angry at her, but I had long forgiven her lies and deception. It was that I never knew how to tell her that.
I was in love with my wife.
Recklessly and irrevocably in love with her.
It was a mad, mad love – and sometimes, I worried that I might scare her away with how intense my feelings were for her.
My gaze darted to the bouquet of ranunculi in my hand. It was time to put the past behind us and to start anew. Julianna wanted to re-write our story and I was going to grant her that wish.
I took the stairs to my room, my palms sweating and my heart racing. Why the fuck was I so nervous, acting like an amorous teenager who was about to go on his first date?
Goddamn it, I was whipped for my wife.
A grin spread across my lips as I stalked into our bedroom. “Julianna?” I called out, when I found the room empty.
The bathroom lights were on and the door was ajar, so I took a peek inside. But Julianna wasn’t there either. I turned to leave when something unusual caught my eye.
I slowly blinked and walked further into the bathroom, toward the counter.
A pregnancy test.
I peered closer at it and my heart leaped to my throat.
A positive pregnancy test.
Dumbfounded, this took a second to sink in.
Julianna was… pregnant.
I didn’t know why I was so shocked. We never used any protection, because the sole purpose of our marriage was to provide an heir. Though, everything changed when Julianna’s truth was revealed.
Our marriage was more than that now.
My legs shook and the room swayed for a moment before I quickly regained my composure. Julianna was pregnant with my baby.
Jesus Christ.
I was going to be a father.
But where the fuck was my woman?
I clenched the bouquet in my hand and rushed out of the room and down the stairs, calling out for her. Malay came forward, her hands fluttering to her chest. “Killian, is something amiss?”
I looked around, as if my wife would somehow materialize into thin air. “Where’s Julianna?”
“She has been in her room all this time,” Malay said, her brows furrowing. “I brought her breakfast in bed, like you instructed.”
Though I had rushed out of the room, I remembered seeing the breakfast tray on the coffee table. It was untouched.
My blood ran cold. “When did you bring her breakfast?”
Malay looked thoughtful for a second before nodding. “About three hours ago.”