“What the fuck do you—”
“But I thought you hadn’t—”
“Luke isn’t—”
“SILENCE!” I roared over all of them. I didn’t take the time to look at Hana or Joseph. I stared at Bethany who was looking down at her nails like they held all the answers in the universe.
“Tell them,” I demanded. Bethany just pursed her lips and kept her silence. “TELL THEM!” I screamed, losing the tiny slip of patience I had with her.
“It’s probably Luke’s baby, right? Like you guys are identical so there’s no way to tell.” Hana said, but when I looked into her eyes, I could see she was reassuring herself, not me. “And I heard you tell Luke it was his baby.”
“No, there’s no way. I can’t believe you stuck it in this cunt to begin with, but I know Logan. He would never knock you up, especially since Hana was.”
“And we all know that child was mine,” I gloated.
Bethany shot me down fast. “It doesn’t matter. It’s too dangerous for me to retest, and as far as I’m concerned, your parents and the rest of this world think this baby is yours. You need to man up and take care of your new family.” Bethany preened as everything she’d ever wanted was now at her fingertips.
“I don’t care what this paper says. That’snotmy baby, and you will never be my family.” I growled.
“But I do,” Hana whispered. Her head was down as she allowed her hair to shield her face. “I care what that paper says.”
“My little Hana, no.” I watched as the woman that I loved pulled herself back up right before my eyes.
“If Logan won’t do right by you, we will.” Hana said to Bethany, looking over at Joseph as he nodded along. “I’m happy to be that baby’s stepmother. Happy to help you raise him or her.”
My life was imploding. That was the only explanation. Just when things were getting back on track, this bitch had to ruin it.
Bethany scoffed. “What could a mechanic and a personal assistant ever help me with?”
Hana shrugged, “We can be there for you, help you out financially where we can, babysit…anything really.”
“Having a baby will cost more than your annual pay,” Bethany spat.
She wanted to take Hana’s goodwill and spit in her face. Not on my fucking watch. “Watch what you say to mywife,”I reminded. My tone was deadly.
I walked beside Hana and stood with her on my one side and Joseph on the other. We could do this, I supposed. We could help Bethany out for the sake of blood, as the child she carried was still my niece or nephew. I guess we could raise this child I didn’t want because, well, who would if not me? My brother? Not when he was six feet under.
“You’re still going to act like you have a marriage after all this?” Bethany questioned.
But we weren’t going to let a stranger know what was happening in our household. Especially not a viper like Bethany. Fuck that. We could fight when she left. I’d rather fuck, but the way Hana’s body was vibrating next to me, I’d be lucky if she let me sleep beside her tonight.
“Until death,” I threatened.
Bethany gulped and looked away. It took her a moment, but she didn’t stay down for long.
“This isn’t over,” she vowed. “I’ll take you to child support court. You will have me in your life for far longer than you have her,” Bethany warned, backing away from us.
“Not if we show the court that you’re an unfit mother,” Joseph spat.
Bethany smirked. “I haven’t done anything that warrants a judge to do that.”
“Not yet, but judges can be paid off, can’t they, Logan?” Joseph sent me his smile, and I couldn’t help but grin in return.
“They sure can be, Joseph.” We high fived like good old boys and waited for her to erupt.
She didn’t let us down. “Your mother already knows that this baby is yours. She will help me force you to do right by me. I swear it.”
“My mother can get fucked.”