Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 86510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
The thought slices right through my heart.
I shouldn’t have left him. I love him.
And I’ll never be able to tell him.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ronan
In the morning, I don’t let Keira out of my sight. After making a few phone calls and rearranging some things on my schedule, I take her to the nearest pharmacy to pick up a pregnancy test. Then we come back to my suite. I open the test and pull out the stick.
“Here it is. Pee on it.”
She stares at the test and scowls. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”
“Look, Keira. If you’re truly pregnant, and if I am the father, I will take care of my child. You have my word on that.”
“A child needs a mother and a father, Ronan.”
“If the child is mine, he will have his father.”
She grabs my arm. “You don’t understand. A child needs a mother and father who are married.”
I clench my jaw, remove her hand from my arm. She’s trying to manipulate me. I can’t lash out, though. I need to tread carefully until I know the full truth of what’s happening here.
“That is the best circumstance, I agree, but plenty of children grow up in different circumstances and they’re fine. Regardless, I am not ready to be your husband, Keira. That is why I ended our relationship in the first place. You and I both know that. Part of our agreement together was that you stay on birth control. We both know birth control can fail. If that is what happened here, I will stand by my child. I will support my child financially and emotionally. I will be a good father. Now the stick.”
“Fine.” She huffs. Then she moves to close the door.
I stop the door with my foot.
“Ronan…”
“I’m sorry, Keira. I’m going to have to watch you.”
“What, do you think I have pregnancy hormones in my purse?”
I wouldn’t put it past her.
She has feelings that I don’t share, and honestly? I don’t know much about her personally. Perhaps she is the kind of person who would try to trap a man. She showed up here—twice—without invitation and lied to get into my room.
So yes, I’m going to watch her pee on the fucking stick.
“Take the test, Kiera. I’m not moving.”
“Really, Ronan. I just can’t—”
“Then we’ll go to a doctor. I will watch them as they draw blood. That’s a more accurate test anyway.”
“Please…”
I look her straight in the eye. “Are you lying to me?”
She bites her lower lip. And that’s my answer. I know her body language.
“As I suspected.” I blow out a frustrated sigh. “You’re better than this, Keira. You don’t need to trap a man.”
“But you know my feelings for you.”
“I do. And I respect them. However, I don’t share them. We’ve been through this before, too many times. I don’t like hurting you. It was never my intention to do anything like that. But you and I had an agreement, and I thought you understood the terms.”
“I can’t help it if I fell in love with you,” she says.
“No one is blaming you for that. If I shared your feelings, I would tell you. But I don’t, Keira. I’m so sorry, but I don’t.”
She throws the pregnancy test in the trash can.
“Oh no…” I point to the bin. “You’re going to take the test. I need to know for sure that you’re telling me the truth. I don’t need you coming back seven months from now with a child.”
She huffs. “Fine.” She pulls the stick out of the wastebasket. “If I leave my purse outside the bathroom, can I at least pee in peace?”
I nod. I don’t think there’s any pregnancy hormone—or pregnant woman pee—in my bathroom.
I shut the door, giving her some privacy.
“How long does it take to see results?” I ask through the door.
“You insisted on buying the most expensive test. We should be able to see results in one minute.”
Good.
I set the timer on my watch.
I’ll give her two minutes. Time to pee on the stick and then time for the result.
When a hundred and twenty seconds have passed. I knock on the door.
She opens it, hands me the stick. It’s negative.
Thank fuck.
My shoulders drop. My whole body nearly drops with relief, but I hold myself up.
“I’m going to take you to the airport. This time you will get on a plane. When you get back to Glasgow, I want you to get on with your life. It’s going to be a life without me. You can find another Dominant. One that’s open to something more. Or you can leave the lifestyle altogether and find a man who’s looking for a relationship and children.”
“All right.” She sighs. Then her lip quivers as she says, “I tried. I tried, Ronan, because I love you.”
“I’m trying to understand that,” I say. “But faking a pregnancy was not the way to gain my sympathy. Don’t come after me again. My feelings on this matter aren’t going to change.”