Page 81 of Arrogant and Merciless

“You despise me.”

I don’t deny it.

“Why are you even here? I don’t like you either. If you think the possibility of me carrying your child will force me to marry you, let me make something clear—not even if I were pregnant with triplets would I tie myself to a man who thinks the worst of me.”

“What do you want me to think? One weekend, you were in my bed. The next, you ran away with him.”

Her eyes shine with unshed tears. “You know what’s worse? I can’t even refute your words because I don’t remember. But there’s one thing I do know about us—because my best friend told me and I trust her—I loved you, William. I was in love with you, and I know I would never have betrayed you like that. Why would I run off with another man when I had you?”

“You didn’t have me. Our relationship was casual.”

She goes pale. Her already large eyes widen against her fair skin. “I fell in love with a man who wasn’t even my boyfriend?”

I don’t answer. For me, that means nothing. But to her, maybe it does.

“I have to go,” she says.

“You haven’t picked your book yet.”

“I’d rather buy online, thanks.”

She turns to leave, but unlike last time, I follow.

“Don’t follow me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I just want to know where you’re going. You could be?—”

“—pregnant with your child.Yes, I know. Don’t worry—I have no family left in this world. I didn’t plan this baby, but if I am pregnant, I will love and protect my child above all else.”

She starts walking away again, and I grab her arm. “Where are you going, Taylor?”

“Let’s rule out some options to put your mind at ease: I’m not about to dance naked on a club table or throw myself into another millionaire’s bed. I’m going to eat a damn cupcake.”

“Like you did on your twenty-third birthday.”

She was trying to pull away, but she freezes. “I celebrated with a cupcake? Alone?”

I stare at her, unsettled—because until now, I hadn’t even thought about that. “Well . . .I guess so.”

She lowers her head. “In that case, I’m two years behind. I didn’t celebrate my twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t know when I was born. I didn’t have any documents with me.”

I watch her, waiting for her to say she’s joking, but her expression is serious. “What do you mean you didn’t have any documents?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m starving.”

“Have dinner with me.”

“We’ll end up fighting, and I’ll lose my appetite.”

“No. We’ll just eat.”

“You want to have dinner with me?”

“Why not?”

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