Page 271 of Untamed

Bianca’s breath catches. Just for a second, everything goes still while she stares at me stunned. Then, as quick as a flash, she’s beside me.

“You’re pregnant?”

I nod meekly. “I found out three days ago. I took the morning after pill, but I was sick after. I didn’t think it would—” I break off and shake my head. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Bianca takes my hand into hers. “Yes, you do. You’ve got even more reason to protect him now. Him and your baby. Even when he won’t protect himself.”

I nod, tears falling freely down my face. “He doesn’t know. About the baby. About me leaving...”

“You haven’t told him?”

I shake my head, eyes blurring. “I couldn’t.” My fingers drift to the bracelet on my wrist, the one he gave me without a word, the one that never leaves me. “But he’ll find the test after I’m gone. I left it in his journal.”

Bianca’s breath catches. She steps closer, brushing her fingers gently through my hair before resting her forehead against mine.

“When he does,” she murmurs, “it’ll wreck him. But maybe... maybe that’s what he needs. To know there’s still a piece of him out there, something worth holding on to. Maybe it’ll be enough to pull him out of the dark.”

My voice breaks. “I’m scared, Bee.”

Tears fall faster now, each one carved from panic. “I’m scared of leaving him. Of being pregnant and alone. What if I mess this up? What if I can’t do it?—”

“Hey.” She cups my face, firm but gentle, shaking her head. “Shh… Jordyn, you’re not alone. You hear me? You’ve never been alone.”

I close my eyes, her voice anchoring me.

“You’re stronger than you know. You’ve survived more than most people could even imagine. And you’re going to be a beautiful, fierce mum. You’ll have Aunt Cheryl, and you’ll be safe. And I’ll be there, I'll fly out, as often as you need. Whatever it takes.”

Her arms wrap around me, and I finally let go, burying myself in the only home I’ve ever known outside of him.

Bianca pulls back first, wiping her eyes her fingers before reaching for my hand. “Okay,” she breathes. “We don’t have much time. The staff will be up soon. We need to get you out of here. Come on, I’ll drive you to the airport.”

Bianca thrown on a pair of my jeans and a tee shirt. We move quietly through the manor. The corridors are still dark, cloaked in sleep. No footsteps. No whispers. Just the creak of floorboards beneath our socks and the hum of something final pressing in around us.

She leads me through the back hallway, the one staff use to bring wine up from the cellar. It’s narrow, tucked behind the guest rooms, and opens near the garage where the security cameras don’t reach. Bianca knows every blind spot. Every weakness in the estate’s defences. She’s lived in this house long enough to find the cracks.

Outside, the air is damp and still, the sky beginning to pale at the edges. Morning isn’t far now.

We slip into her car without a word. I slide the backpack onto my lap, fingers twisting the strap so tightly my knuckles ache.

Bianca glances at me before starting the engine. “Breathe.”

I try. I really do. But my chest is tight, and my throat is raw.

She doesn’t push. Just shifts the car into gear and pulls away from the manor, headlights off until we’re far enough from the house to risk it.

The road is quiet, nothing but trees and shadows and the crunch of gravel beneath the tyres.

“I’ll text you when I land,” I whisper.

“Good,” she says, her voice tight. “And when you’re lonely. And scared. And need someone to remind you who the hell you are.”

I manage a broken laugh. “You’re not going to let me forget, are you?”

“Not a chance in hell.” She adds with a smile. “I’m going to be there when my nephew or niece is born. You can count on that.” A fresh batch of tears well up in my eyes again, but I nod.

We fall into silence again. The good kind. Heavy, but full of love.

We’re less than fifteen minutes from the airport. I can see the edge of the industrial district rising through the trees. I let myself believe, just for a second, that maybe this is actually going to work.

---