Page 74 of Cruel Love
“And you knowthat, how?”I retorted, giving him a smirk, knowing itwould piss him off.
“Now, now, Elijah,”my father said, reaching usjustin time to hearElijah’s outburst.“I’m sure James has proof of the pregnancy.”
He raised a brow, and for a few tense seconds, the two of us glaredat each other. Obviously, it was a lie, but it pissed me offthatmy father couldn’tjusttake my word for it.
I snorted when he refused to back down. Releasing Willow’s arm, Irummaged in the inside pocket of my jacket and pulled out a folded letter, something I’d been carrying since Cleo had sent it to me two days ago.
Handing it to my father, it took monumental effort to not grin smuglyas he read the contents, Elijah peering over his shoulder with a scowl on his face.
The letter they were reading was from Dr. Henry Armstrong fromHeathlands Private Clinic. He was a real doctor. The clinic was a real clinic, and the letter confirmingthata blood test showed Mrs Willow Carter was approximately three weeks pregnant wasreallywritten by the doctor. And if my father decided to enquire with the doctor himself to confirm the pregnancy, he would be toldthatthe results were true and accurate.
It transpired Dr. Henry Armstong had a propensity to fuck escorts,something Cleo had discovered when I told her I needed her help. It paid to have a best friend who worked as a honey trap. One night with him, followed by a few threats to expose his sordid secrets, and the Dr was on board with the plan to help fake Willow’s pregnancy.
“Thatdoesn’t mean anything,”Elijah bellowed, baring his teeth.“Tellus the truth, you fucking little bitch!”
Before I could stop him, he grabbed Willow’s arms, and pulled herforward, his fingers pressing into her arms hard enough to leave marks.
Red mist covered my vision, and without thinking, I grabbed his wristand twisted it, making him cry out in pain and releasing Willow.
I took a step forward, putting myself between them.“Keep your filthyfucking hands off my wife,”I snarled, my voice low.Deadly. I twisted his wrist a little bit more, another couple of inches, and the bone would snap.
“Release him, James. You know the rules,”my father said coolly,looking between us.
I didn’t immediately tear my gaze away from Elijah, butreluctantly, I released his wrist.“If I ever catch you touching her again, I won’tjustbreak the bones in your hand. I’ll break every fucking bone in your body. Rules be damned.”
Stupidly, my focus was solely on Elijah which meant I missed myfather turning his attention on Willow. He took a step toward her, towering over her like a monster.
I spun, ready to put myself between Willow and my father, buthe held up a hand, stopping me in my tracks.
“A medical examination can be forged,”he sneered. Willow coweredunder his menacing eyes, her knees practically knocking together.“I want to hear it from your mouth,girl.Tell me the truth, and if I later find out you’re lying, I’ll whip you so damn hard, it’ll feel like you were being tickled when you were whipped at Peartree House.”
My gaze darted to her, a lump of dread forming in my gut. My planwas about to fail. Fear flashed in her eyes, but she didn’t look away from my father.
“I’m pregnant,”she whispered.“James took me to have a blood test,and it confirmed I was about three weeks pregnant.”
Despite her voice being shaky, she spoke with conviction consideringthe weight of the threat my father held over her. A wave of relief washed through me at realizing Jackson must have briefed her on what to say if she was asked.
Fuck me. I was proud of my mouse. No doubt she was petrified ofthe consequences if she was caught lying.
My father stared at her, his eyes darting between hers before helooked at me.“Wellthen, I guess congratulations are in order, son.”
“You can’t be fucking serious!”Elijah screeched like a child having atantrum.“This is bullshit!”
He spun on his heel, storming toward the front door and smashing hisfist into a picture frame on his way out. If I somehow didn’t figure a way out of this mess, and it all came back to bite me on the ass, it would be worth itjustto have seen the look on the prick’s face.
“Thank you,”I replied to my father, pulling Willow to my side.“Now,if you don’t mind, I’d like to take Willow up to my room to get some rest. It’s been a long day for her.”
“Of course,”he replied, stepping aside to let us pass.
I guided her to the stairs and up to my room, my father’spenetrating gaze on us the entire time.
The door to my bedroom closed with a resounding thud. I pressed myback against it and closed my eyes, taking a minute to calm the chaos in my head.
Sniffles filled the room, and I opened my eyes to find Willow sitting onthe bed with her arms wrapped around her torso, staring at the floor.“He’s going to find out I lied to him,”she whispered, seemingly to herself, her eyes wide and filled with panic.“He’s going to find out, and he’s going to whip me.”
She suddenly bolted off the bed and disappeared into the ensuite, asecond later, the sound of vomiting reached my ears.
My cold heart split down the middle, and guilt cascaded through me, seeping into the marrow of my bones like thick, black tarthatI would never be able to remove.
