Page 66 of Night for Unsung Desires

I’m the only one exposed here.

"All this time, it's been you."

"I didn't want to do it, but I had to scare her," Brandon begins to tremble. In a nervous gesture, he reaches to his face and adjusts glasses, then scratches the bald spot beginning to form on the side of his face. "She wouldn’t give up. She kept noticing men who weren’t going to do her any good."

"She was fixating on others, and not you," I realize.

"Can you believe it?" Brandon bursts out laughing. "She prefers guys like you. A scumbag who doesn't know her or understand her. She always wants the bad boys, instead of looking to me, who has always taken care of her."

"You're like a father to her. You know that."

"I don't want to be her father. I'll show her that I can be something more than that."

"Is that why you sent the letters?"

He nods.

"At first they were just statements of affection, but then...then they started to be something else. I told you. I needed to keep her scared. Make sure she stayed away from guys like you."

"But your plan went wrong somewhere along the line."

"I’m about to correct my mistakes." Brandon loads the gun.

"Why are you telling me all this now?"

"Because you're going to die anyway."

Without hesitation, Brandon points the gun at my chest, and then everything happens dizzyingly fast.

Darkness clouds my senses and I feel nothing.

In a blur of sensations and impressions, everything disappears.

Only darkness remains.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

ANDREA

"Are you sure about what you're telling me?" I ask, disbelief filling my voice.

"Completely, Miss Kingsley. I'd like you to visit me next week. We need to take steps to ensure you have a safe pregnancy."

"Su... Sure," I whisper, amazed.

"I'll schedule an appointment for you for Monday, next week."

"Perfect. Thank you so much."

In m shock, I completely forget about the bathroom, so the shower had begun to overflow. The essential oils of jasmine and rosemary permeate the air, and the water is overflowing and soaking the soles of my feet.

I watch the warm, soapy water run down the tiles and into the drain just below me. The doctor's words repeat over and over inside my head.

Pregnant. I’m pregnant.

Instinctively, one of my hands flies to my belly. I've been feeling a little strange, so I ordered some blood tests among other things. I thought that because of the stress, I might have become anemic.

But I never stopped to consider that it might be a pregnancy.

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