He pressed his head to hers, knowing that he’d spoken longer than afew minutes. That test waited for them, but again, he was a little afraid. Callie said she loved him once, but that was close to three months ago. Could she still love him? Could she love a monster like him? He couldn’t even form the question because the truth was, he was terrified of the answer.
Chapter Ten
Ruin walked away from the bathroom.
Callie watched him go. He’d left her alone to go and check on the test. Why? She couldn’t believe the life he had gone through. That was why he had called himself Ruin. Everyone around him had told him so many lies.
Swiping at her cheeks, she couldn’t stopthe tears from falling. She walked into the bathroom and stared down at the lines that confirmed she was pregnant. She was going to be a mother. Ruin was going to be a daddy. Callie put her hands on her stomach, touching her baby. She closed her eyes.
“What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?” She kept repeating the same words over and over. They had a baby. Opening her eyes, she looked at her reflection and took a deep breath. She grabbed the test and stepped out of the room.
Ruin’s home was a true luxury but she also noticed it was sterile as well. Not many pieces of artwork, and not a lot of windows. With the test in hand, she moved through each room, taking in the sitting room, an office, a library, the dining room, and finally the kitchen. Ruin was there with a glass of whiskey on the counter. She stood in the doorway, not sure if she should walk away or stay. She kept perfectly still.
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Ruin nodded. “Do you want to get rid of it?”
“What?” she asked.
“I would understand if you want to. I’d ask that you don’t because I will—”
“Shut the fuck up!” Callie screamed the words, needing him to be silent. To stop talking. She held her hand up.“That is not an option.”
“You don’t want me.”
“Don’t say that,” Callie said. “Don’t try to think for a single second what I am thinking or feeling.” She took a step into the kitchen, then another. “You’re right, this is a scary moment. I mean, you were sent to kill me, and I get it. Dante Morelli was a horrible person. I didn’t know any of this until it was nearly too late. I was trying to contact Giordano and that was … I never want to repeat that. But what I don’t want to repeat anymore is … this … with us.”
“I will not let my kid grow up without me.”
She held her hand up. “You’re not listening to me, Ruin. I don’t want to go through this again with you. From the moment you sat on that park bench, you changed my world.” With each word she spoke, she took a step toward him, getting closer. “You made me feel. I was quite happy being in my own little world, with no one around, with no one knowing me, and then you arrived. You made me look forward to life. You made me want to be a part of it.” She was within touching distance now and she put a hand on his chest. “And I don’t want to go another night without you in my life, Ruin.”
“Callie?”
“I love you. I have tried hating you,” she said, sobbing. “But it’s exhausting. I know I should have a spine and kick you to the curb, tell you to fuck off, and how dare you even be in my life? You were sent to kill me.” She started to laugh as if it was the most hysterical thing she had ever heard. “And that should have me running in the opposite direction, but instead, all I want to do is hold you. I want you to hold me and kiss me, and I want to tell you constantly that I love you.”
Ruin slammed his lips down on hers and she moaned his name, not wanting him to stop.
“I’m weak,” she said.
“You’re not weak.”
“I should tell you to stop but I don’t want to, Ruin. We’re going to have a baby, and that isamazing and scary, and holy shit, I’m going to be a mom, and I have no idea what I’m doing, but this is happening.”
“Marry me,” he said.
This made her gaspas she looked up at him. “What?”
“You heard me. Marry me. I love you, Callie. You’re the only person who is real to me. I fucking love you. I love you so much that I can’t see straight.” He sunk his fingers into her hair and kissed her. “Marry me. Let me make this up to you. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
“Ruin, shut up. You havenothing to make up for.” She cupped his face. “I love you.”
He lifted her up onto the island in his kitchen. “Seeing as we’re confessing shit, I think it’s only fair that I confess you’ve not been alone the past few months.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve beencoming into your apartment and sleeping behind you. I know it was wrong, but I … I needed to be with you.”