Page 58 of Goldrage
Forgive me for lying about the baby, my love.
“I’m scared for the baby,” I say. “Lady Harrow has made passive threats, like she wants me to have a miscarriage. And I fear that Julian will go to extremes and trap me in a room again. I want to get out soon. Before the doctor comes back for another blood draw.”
He thinks over my words as his gaze drops to my stomach. “The baby… are you feeling alright? Any complications?”
The guilt tastes bitter, but I swallow it down with all the other necessary sins. “I’m fine. We’re fine.”
“And you don’t know…”
“If it’s yours or Julian’s? No. The timeline… it could be either.” Each syllable of deception burns, ash coating my tongue, but I force my voice to be steady. “I’m sorry.”
He nods and I see the sadness in his eyes. “Whatever happens, I’ll protect you both. The baby won’t suffer for the circumstances of its conception.”
The nobility in his words twists the knife of my lie deeper. Here he stands, ready to claim a child that doesn’t exist, to shield us. And I’m feeding him poison disguised as truth.
“I want to get out of this place,” I whisper.
“I understand.”
“Your plan to dismantle the Consortium… Are you still… do you still want to do this?”
“I do.” No hesitation, no doubt. His voice carries the weight of absolute certainty. “More than ever. It has to end.”
“Then… if we can’t sneak out of this place, I was thinking that we could move forward with your plan while we’re here. Lorenzo could help. If you could instruct him, he could look at your files?—”
“That’s a wonderful idea.”
My voice trembles. “But, I want to do it now. As soon as we can. Before the doctor comes. I’m scared of… of something happening to the baby.” He cups my cheeks, but I’m starting to shake from weeks of worry and separation spilling out. “I’ve been so confused,” I confess. “About us, about everything. You never said you loved me back when I mouthed it to you, and I thought maybe… maybe you’d realized this was all a mistake.”
He pressed his forehead to mine, his calm words soothing me. “Aurelia, you’re the reason I breathe. Of course I love you.” His jaw tightens, a muscle jumping beneath the skin. “But Bianca… She’s more unpredictable than Lady Harrow or Julian right now. If she suspects how I really feel about you, she might do something that puts you and the baby in danger. You’re right. The baby is too much at risk from all sides. We need to get out as soon as we can. I’ll work on setting the plan in motion.”
I sag into him.Of course. He’s been careful because of Bianca. She seems naive enough to me but he knows her better. And the ones who looks the most innocent are often the most dangerous.
He’s been protecting our love, playing a role just like I am.
I nod. “So we have to be careful.”
“For now.” His thumb traces the curve of my cheekbone. “Just until we can get out of here. Then I can start divorce proceedings and she’ll be out of our lives for good. Can you do that? Can you pretend I mean nothing to you?”
The thought makes my heart ache, but I nod again. “If it keeps us safe, I can do anything.”
My gaze catches on the digital clock beside his bed. “Eight more minutes,” I whisper. “I should go.”
I turn toward the door, each step away from him requiring so much effort. But before I can take more than two steps, his hand shoots out, fingers encircling my wrist and stopping me. The world tilts as he spins me back, and then his mouth crashes against mine with the force of a man drowning.
The kiss obliterates all thought and reduces me to pure sensation. His lips are demanding, his tongue claiming, his hands tangling in my hair. Every nerve ending ignites, and I’m fifteen again, feeling his lips for the first time.
I still remember the night he asked me out. Well, he didn’t reallyask, he’d only said, “We’re going to a movie. Be ready by eight.”
When I’d asked why, he had only blinked at me like it was obvious.
“You’re my girlfriend now.”
He’d left me in the kitchen, stunned. But my heart was also fluttering.
“Adrian,” I gasp when he finally releases me, my lips swollen, my breath coming in shaky pulls. “We just agreed to maintain distance?—”
His smile blooms slow and dangerous. “That agreement doesn’t start until you leave this room.” His hands frame my face possessively as he backs me against the wall. The cool surface presses against my spine, trapping me between unyielding plaster and the heat of his body. “And we still have a few minutes before the cameras come back online, correct?”
