What the fuck did she just say?I whirled around on her. "What?"
Her eyes were both pleading and sad, but I knew this woman. I knew her guile. She was a grifter, and she and her father were out to take my money. For a moment, when Amelia left with the papers, I wondered if I was wrong about her or maybe they recognized that I wasn’t a man to fuck with since she hadn’t asked for any money. But if she said what I think she said, I realized that the real plan wasn’t in getting money in a divorce. With a child, they had eighteen years to soak me for money.
"I'm pregnant."
Just what I thought she said. Anger and shock and self-recrimination vied for attention. It made me speechless.
The door to the ballroom opened, and Vivie walked out with our cousin Lyra. She looked over at me, tilting her head in question. I turned away because I didn't want her to see how intense my conversation with Amelia was.
"Blackjack or roulette?" our cousin Lyra asked Vivie. Vivie’s eyes narrowed at me, and I could see she wanted to find out what was going on, but Lyra tugged her up the hall toward the casino.
When they disappeared, I took Amelia by the elbow and tugged her in the opposite direction. I would've taken her up to my hotel suite, but it was next to my parents’ and Vivie’s. I didn’t need them seeing Amelia go in or out of my room.
At the end of the hall, I found an open door to a medium-sized conference room. I walked in, pulling Amelia with me.
I stared at her with so much anger swirling through me that I couldn't form a coherent sentence.
She swallowed. "I wanted to tell you about the baby when you were coming out just before Christmas—"
"Is that when you are going to let me know of this elaborate scam you pulled on me? Do I have a big L on my head for loser? Did you choose me because I could be easily duped?"
She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. I vowed I wouldn’t be swayed by her tears. They were an act. I'd learned my lesson.
"No, Max. I was duped too."
I scoffed. "Yeah, right. Like your father would drug you and force you to get married."
She nodded vehemently. "I told you, my father isn't a good person."
It was inconceivable to me that even a bad father would do such a thing to his own daughter. I didn't buy it. She was here trying to salvage the scam.
"You don't know my father. He's capable of anything." She looked down. "I wouldn't have guessed it either until he came to my apartment and told me. I was horrified. I... I’d wanted to tell you about the baby and that I loved you, but when he told me what he’d done, I knew I was bad for you."
I loved you.Something stirred deep in my heart, wanting desperately to believe her. But I'd been here before. Twice before, with women who didn't respect me.
“Which is it, Amelia? You love me and are having my baby, or you’re bad for me? From my point of view, it’s the latter.”
“That’s why I stayed today. To tell you about the baby. But being around me is bad because my father is a ruthless, greedy man. I don’t want him to hurt you.”
I laughed derisively. “He didn’t. You did.”
She jerked.
I was done with this charade. "How much money do you want?" Maybe I could appease them both so they’d leave me the fuck alone.
Her gaze shot up to mine. "I don't want any money."
"That's bullshit. I might have believed that if you'd gone through with the annulment, but now you're telling me you're pregnant. How do I know that's even true?”
"If you want to get a pregnancy test, I’ll take it."
"It won’t prove that it's mine." I knew the words coming out of my mouth were clichéd. Wasn't that what every man said when he discovered he’d knocked up a woman? But I felt justified in them. She had seduced me, and then she and her father had drugged me and married me off. It wasn't unreasonable to think they would pawn a child off on me too.
Her head snapped back as if I'd slapped her. Her eyes narrowed, and she was either offended or pissed that her plan wasn't working. She stared at me for a long moment, and then it looked like all the air left her.
She sank into a chair by the long table. "If you want a paternity test, I will get one.” She gazed up at me, and while she still looked defeated, there was determination in her eyes. "And if you don't want anything to do with the baby, that's okay too. I just felt you had the right to know."
"I'm not falling for all this bullshit, Amelia. What the fuck do you and your father want from me? How much money will it take to make all this go away?"