And then there was Letty.
He’d loved her so wildly, so truly, so recklessly. She had finally destroyed what was left of his heart. That had been Darius’s final lesson.
He was determined that his child would never learn such a lesson.
Darius’s jaw tightened. His child would be surrounded by love from the beginning. His son or daughter would have a solid place in the world and never doubt their worth.
The blindfold of rage and hurt pride lifted from his eyes. He looked at Letty, and suddenly everything became crystal clear. Calm settled over him like rain.
Their child needed both of them.
For the last decade, he’d tried to forget about the Letty he’d once known. About her character. About her kind heart.
He saw now that in Letty’s mind, her hurtful lies a decade before hadn’t shown disrespect, but love. She really had been trying to protect him. As she still was trying to protect her father.
As she was trying now, in her own misguided way, to protect their child.
Letty hadn’t betrayed him. She’d loved him, as recently as February, the night they’d conceived their child. Yes, she’d shown bad judgment ten years ago, lying to him, hiding the truth about her father. She’d continued to show bad judgment today, planning to run away with his child. A chill went down his spine to think of what might have happened if her father hadn’t called him today.
But it wasn’t entirely her fault. Her love blinded her. It made her weak. And after the cold way he’d treated her, and his threats to take the child, he couldn’t blame her for being afraid.
It didn’t make her a monster. It wasn’t enough of a reason to brutally separate her from their child. Not after he himself had known what it was to have no mother. No father. No real place in the world.
Their baby would have both parents and a secure, settled home.
Darius knew he had to rebuild Letty’s trust in him. He had to find a way to strengthen her occasionally faulty judgment with his own. If Darius was wiser, it was because he never allowed love to blind him. He always focused on the bottom line. So what was it here?
The answer was simple.
He had to make Letty his wife.
It was the only way to properly secure their child’s future. It would guarantee the stability of two parents and a permanent home.
And also, his body suddenly whispered, marrying Letty would permanently secure her in his bed.
The thought electrified him. That settled it.
“I misjudged you,” he said.
Letty glared at him. “Yes!”
“I treated you badly.”
“You think?”
“So let me make up for it now.” Leaning toward her on the sofa, Darius said, “I want you to marry me, Letty.”
Her jaw dropped. “Marry you!”
“I’ve realized now I blamed everything on you. It wasn’t your fault...”
“No.”
“It was your father’s,” he finished grimly. “He’s ruined your life. I won’t let him ruin our child’s.”
Her eyes were wide as she put her hands over her large belly. “You’re crazy. My father loves the baby, just as he loves me!”
“And what about the next time some thug decides to attack him? What if that man decides to hurt your father’s family instead?”