Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
KIERAN
Riley is pregnant.
Now that I know, it’s so obvious it makes me sick. The faint glow to her skin, the way she’s been overly tired these past few weeks—all of it was right there in front of me, and I missed it.
Or maybe I chose not to notice because the thought of becoming a father scares the crap out of me.
Everything suddenly makes a lot more sense, but instead of making me feel relieved, it only makes me angrier.
Is this why she’s been pulling away from me? Because of the baby? Maybe she saw my lack of father potential and decided to do the baby a solid and walk away.
There are so many questions I have that I’m not sure I want the answers to.
But as the screen flickers to life, all of the noise in my head stops as the sound of a rapid and steady heartbeat fills the room.
Riley lets out a sob of relief, and it takes every ounce of control I have not to cross the space between us because my instinct is to pull her into my arms and tell her it’s going to be okay.
But I don’t move. I can’t.
She lied to me, and that’s not something I can suddenly forget.
The doctor looks between the two of us and smiles, completely oblivious to the war raging inside my head.
“The heartbeat is nice and strong. Everything looks great. It seems there is nothing to worry about, after all.”
Nothing to worry about.
The words make my stomach twist because there was something to worry about.
Riley could have lost this baby, and I never would have known it even existed.
I’m supposed to protect my family, it’s the one thing I know how to do, but how can I protect what I don’t even know is there?
Riley takes a deep, sobby breath. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Yes. But I would still like to monitor you closely. While these things often resolve on their own, I would prefer not to take any chances.”
I don’t miss the look the doctor shoots my way.
“So, I would like to book you in for another scan at twelve weeks, just to be safe.”
I frown. “How many weeks along is she?”
The doctor turns to me. “Excuse me?”
“How many weeks?”
“Around seven weeks.”
I do the math. That seven weeks would put the baby’s conception around the time Riley and I were in Vegas. Considering the fact we only slept together once during that trip, it means that the night I took Riley’s virginity in the pool is the night this entire lie started.
Was this part of her plan? Marry me and then lock down the marriage by making sure she got pregnant? After all, I was only meant to be a means to an end for her, a way to protect herself from Sean O’Keefe.
And what better way to do that than make sure she was carrying my child.
My ears start to ring as I fight like hell not to tear this room apart.
If Sean learns that she’s carrying my child, he’ll be hell-bent on making sure he tracks her down.
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” I warn.
Riley visibly pales as she places a hand protectively on her stomach.
The gesture hurts more than I care to admit. They are mine to protect, and she stole that from me.
“Were you ever on the pill, or was that a lie too?”
“I missed a day. I…I doubled up.”
The doctor nods. “If you had intercourse on the day you missed a pill, there is a high chance of a pregnancy occurring.”
I scoff. “Clearly.”
Riley winces. “It was an accident.”
Is that what she wants me to believe? Because I don’t know what’s true and what’s a lie anymore.
I look back on everything that’s happened since that night. Now, all of those memories I once cherished are tainted.
Was any of it true? Did she ever care for me at all?
Because her actions right now are telling a different story from the one I have been telling myself these past few months.
“Let’s get the next scan booked so we can get out of here,” I say coolly.
Riley’s cheeks are wet with tears, but I don’t have it in me to feel bad, not when it feels like my heart has been ripped out of my chest.
While she changes back into her clothes, I head back to the waiting room, where Jace is hovering by the door, looking painfully uncomfortable.
“How is she?”
“Alive.”
Jace doesn’t say anything else, and a few minutes later, Riley appears, looking completely devastated.
Her shoulders are hunched, and tears continue to stream down her face.
It’s not lost on me that this was meant to be a core memory for us, hearing our baby’s heartbeat for the first time.
Instead, she ripped that away, not just from me but from herself too.
“Let’s go.” I open the door to the clinic and step aside to let Riley pass.
She keeps her eyes down and her arms tucked in tight, as if she’s terrified to brush against me.
We leave the clinic in silence, with Jace following closely behind us, and head back to where the cars are parked outside the front of the bistro.
At the look on my face, Leo and Wesley quickly climb into the SUV to give me and Riley some space, and Jace follows behind them. Only when we’re alone does Riley reach for my arm, but I shrug out of her grip.
“Not now.”
“Kieran, please. I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. I was going to tell you—”
“When? After the baby was born?”
She flinches, but I don’t care. I can’t afford to care. Not now. Not when the one person I trusted the most has proven I was a fool to do so.
“When will you stop punishing me long enough to hear me out?” Her green eyes shine with tears.
I really look at her then, and the weight of what I see nearly knocks the breath from my lungs.
She’s not just Riley, the woman I married. She’s the woman who decided I didn’t deserve to know I was going to be a father.
“We’ll raise this child together.” My voice comes out cold and even, as if we’re negotiating a business deal. “I’ll make sure you and the baby have everything you need. But that’s where it ends.”
Riley’s breath hitches as she sways slightly on her feet. “W-what are you talking about?”
“I can talk to my lawyer about drawing up a custody agreement.”
“Custody agreement?” Riley chokes as she places a hand on the hood of the car to steady herself. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. What about us?”
“There is no us. You made sure of that.”
The words are sharp and deliberate, slicing through the last fragile thread that’s been holding us together.
Riley stumbles back a step like I’ve struck her, but I don’t move toward her. I don’t offer her comfort or a helping hand. I don’t offer anything.
The man who would have is gone, buried beneath layers of betrayal and anger and a lifetime’s worth of lessons about trust and what happens when you give it too freely.
“Kieran, please. You have to understand… I-I didn’t tell you because I was scared!” She covers her mouth with a hand to muffle her sobs.
“Don’t dress this up as fear. You chose to keep this from me. You decided I wasn’t part of this.”
“I was trying to protect you—”
“From what? From the truth?” I laugh, but it’s laced with bitterness. “That’s not protection, Riley. That’s betrayal.”
I step back, needing to put some distance between us.
If I stay too close, I might say something worse.
If I stay too close, I might forgive her. And that’s something I can’t allow myself to do.
“We’ll sort out the logistics for the next appointment.”
“Logistics? Is that what this is now?” Her tone is sharper, as if some of her hurt gives way to anger.
I fish my keys from my pocket. “I’ll have Jace take you back to Ronan’s place.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to clear my head.”
“Are you coming back?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because…” Her face crumples as she tries to hold back her tears.
“You should get in the car.” I tuck my hands into my pockets.
Riley wipes her cheeks with the sleeve of her jumper before sliding into the back of the SUV without another word.
I stand on the curb, watching long after the car disappears into traffic. Only then do I climb into my own and drive in the opposite direction, toward my penthouse.
My hands are tight on the wheel, and my jaw aches from clenching it so hard.
Every second I spent in that clinic replays in my head on a sickening loop as I try to make sense of it all.
The heartbeat, the tears, the lies.
Especially, the lies.
By the time I park in the underground garage of my building, my body is aching from the tension radiating through my muscles.
I don’t know whether I need to hit the gym or down a bottle of whiskey. Maybe both.
As I step out of the elevator, I decide that booze is the better option. I’ve never been good at dealing with my emotions, and right now, I want nothing more than to feel numb.
I haven’t been back to the penthouse since Riley and I moved into Ronan’s estate, and being here without her feels wrong somehow.
The minimalist interior, all in various shades of black and gray, once felt like a sanctuary to me. It was clean and predictable, exactly how I like things.
But now, after being surrounded by Riley’s warmth and color, this place feels hollow. Mocking, even. Like the walls themselves are laughing at me for thinking I could ever be something more than what I am.
I loosen my tie and toss it on the kitchen counter, heading straight for my private office. It’s more of a bunker than anything else, with fingerprint access, soundproof walls, and no windows.
My brothers used to joke that if the world ended, I would be locked away inside with a drink in one hand and a gun in the other, and they weren’t wrong.
It’s the only safe place for me to be until my anger subsides.
I’ve always been an act-first, think-later sort of guy, and right now I don’t trust myself not to do something incredibly stupid.
I press my thumb to the keypad, and the moment the door hisses open, I freeze.
Brennan is lounging in a chair with his boots kicked up on the poker table with a glass of whiskey in hand.
“About time you showed up.” His grin has my teeth grinding.
“You are the last person I want to see.”
“Charming.”
“How long have you been sneaking in here?” I shut the door behind me. “It’s fingerprint protected.”
“Yeah, about that… I added myself. You really should update your security protocols, big brother.”
“Fucker.” I head toward the bar to pour myself a drink.
“An fucker who knows how to get into your secret bunker. And by the way, you look like hell.”
“Feel like it too.”
“Bad day?”
“You could say that.”
“Uh oh, is there trouble in paradise?”
I slam the bottle of whiskey down on the marble bar top as I shoot Brennan a glare.
“There was a reason I came here. A reason I have the security measure in place. I want to be alone.”
“Damn, I thought regular sex would have made you less grumpy, but it seems to have done the opposite.”
The only thing stopping me from launching the bottle of whiskey at my brother’s head is because it’s a rare vintage, and it would be a crime to waste it on Brennan. So, I pour myself a triple and down it in one gulp, hissing as it burns my throat.
“Can’t you go and bother someone else?”
“You know, for someone who swore he would never get tied down, you sure as hell like to play the part of the brooding love interest. It’s comical, really.”
“I’m not brooding.”
“Tell that to your face.”
I scowl at Brennan over the top of my glass.
“Whatever has happened with Riley, I suggest you make it right before it’s too late, and she realizes how much better off she is without you.”
“What makes you think I’m the one who’s fucked up?”
“Because you’re you.”
“Well, you’re wrong.”
“Intriguing… Care to share what Princess Riley has done to piss you off so much?”
“Don’t call her that.”
“My bad, forgot that’s your little pet name for her.” Brennan smirks. “So, spill. What happened between you two?”
“It’s none of your damn business.”
Brennan rolls his eyes as he sets down his glass on the table. “You know, it’s okay to admit that you care.”
“Caring is a weakness.” I pick up the bottle of whiskey and pour myself another drink.
“Bullshit. That’s what you used to believe before Riley.”
I drain the rest of the whiskey and stare into the empty glass.
Once upon a time, that was true. I didn’t let anyone in or let myself feel anything that could be used against me. It was easier that way.
Then Riley happened.
Now here I am, feeling like my heart has just been ripped out of my chest, and it’s not something I want to get used to.
Brennan stretches before getting to his feet and straightening his jacket.
“Well, I’ve got to check in on some potential leads about Cormac, so I’ll leave you to your existential crisis. Try not to blow anything up while I’m gone.”
“I’m not making any promises.” I eye the shelves of vintage weaponry, wondering if it would be a bad idea to take some of them out of retirement.
“Don’t even think about it,” Brennan says, as if he can read my mind.
“I wasn’t going to use them on me.”
“Oh, yeah? Then who?”
“You, for breaking into my office and drinking my liquor.”
“Don’t make me send Ronan over here to give you a talking to.”
I groan.
Ronan is the last person I want to see right now.
Brennan chuckles. “That’s what I thought.”
“Get the hell out of my house.”
Brennan heads for the door, but he pauses just before he leaves. “For what it’s worth, whatever’s eating at you? It’s not the end of the world. You’re too stubborn to let it be.”
The door slides shut behind him, finally leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I pour another drink and stare at the amber liquid as if it somehow holds all the answers to my problems.
Riley is carrying my child.
The thought should fill me with pride, but instead, all I feel is anger.
I let myself believe that she would be different and that it wouldn’t be a mistake letting myself get close to her.
If she could lie about being pregnant, what else has she lied about?
As the whisky burns my throat, I make myself a promise that whatever happens next, I’ll make damn sure that I am never going to let someone get close enough to betray me like this ever again.