Page 86 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal
Instead, I stood there lying to the father of my unborn child while his world crumbled around us.
"I need to see you tonight," he said finally. "After today, after everything that just happened, I need…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but I understood. He needed the comfort of physical release, the temporary escape our stolen hours provided.
And I knew he could use a good friend, which it seemed came in limited supply now. Under normal circumstances, I would've agreed without hesitation.
But nothing about this situation was normal anymore.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said carefully. "If they're watching you, if there are photographers?—"
"The Fairmont downtown. I'll text you the room number." He was being demanding again, which I always loved—that dominant, bossy way he took me. But my guts churned. "Please, Tessa. I can't be alone tonight."
The raw honesty in those last words broke my resolve. Lucian had prided himself on independence, built walls around his heart to protect it from exactly this vulnerability, and he was asking me not to abandon him as everything fell apart.
"Okay," I whispered.
Relief flickered across his features. "Thank you."
I gathered the few personal items I kept at my desk, acutely aware of the sideways glances from colleagues who'd heard theentire showdown and then watched me retreat into his office where he shut the blinds.
The gossip mill would be working overtime by tomorrow, dissecting every detail of the confrontation and speculating about my role in the drama.
Walking to the elevator, I felt the curious stares and whispered conversations. My cheeks burned with embarrassment and shame.
None of this ever had to happen.
If only I'd been able to keep my head on my shoulders the night of the Christmas party, I'd have preempted everything.
As the elevator doors closed, I pressed my back against the cool metal wall and closed my eyes, one hand unconsciously moving to rest on my still-flat stomach.
This day had felt like a warzone.
I was exhausted and emotional, nauseous too. And my heart was strangely torn right down the middle. I was finally pregnant, but I couldn't even celebrate it with him.
And if he lost everything, I didn't think he would feel that this was something to celebrate anymore.
But somewhere between those first desperate kisses and the quiet conversations in hotel rooms, I'd fallen completely in love with him.
And now that love felt like a weapon pointed at both our hearts. Lucian didn't feel the same way, though I could see he was feeling something—be it obsession or possessiveness.
I was too young for him to consider a viable partner, anyway.
The elevator reached the lobby, and I walked out into the Chicago afternoon, my mind spinning with impossible choices.
If I told him about the baby now, would he feel better ending things?
He'd have fulfilled the desire I had to be a mother and he'd done it the way he wanted.
But would it spark something more possessive in him then? I shuddered to think what that might look like.
Lucian wasn't a controlling man at all, but who knew what would trigger his worst personality flaws.
And though I trusted him implicitly, I also feared the power and money behind his name at times and what it could do to me if he weren't so noble.
The questions followed me home to my small apartment, where Mochi greeted me with concerned purring. He sensed my distress and had come to comfort me.
I sank onto my couch, surrounded by the cheerful holiday decorations that now seemed naive and optimistic.
