Chapter Ten
Truth Unveiled
Zora
The second the door slams behind him, the last of the air collapses out of me.
I sit in the nearest chair, clutching the edge of the coffee table like it might hold me together. But nothing can stop the shaking. My whole body is trembling, my heart ricocheting in my chest, tears streaming down my cheeks unchecked.
He already knew. He didn’t need me to say it out loud, he saw it in my face, heard it in the silence I couldn’t fill.
Maverick knew the truth now. And he hates me for it.
I press my palms over my face, trying to breathe, trying to get myself under control before the others come in.
But his words keep replaying in my mind, jagged and relentless.
“She’s mine. And you don’t get to take that from me anymore.”
The sound of the front door opening snaps me upright, and I wipe the tears from my face quickly.
“Zora?” Skye’s voice floats in, cheerful but strained, followed by the shuffle of her sandals.
I force myself to my feet, grabbing my camera bag like it can anchor me. “Morning.”
She steps into the main room, her belly leading the way, one hand resting protectively over the curve. Her eyes narrow the second she sees me. “You look like you’ve been crying.”
“I’m fine.” My reply is too quick, too brittle.
She frowns. “No, you’re not. What happened?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired.”
Skye snorts, planting herself against the counter with all the authority of a woman who knows she can’t be ignored. “Bullshit. I might be pregnant, but I’m not blind. You look like your heart got run over.”
My throat tightens. “Skye...”
Her eyes soften but her tone sharpens. “Is this about Maverick?”
I freeze and she sighs, rubbing her belly. “I knew it. The way he looks at you is not subtle. And the way you avoid looking at him is even louder.”
I shake my head, panic sparking in my chest. “It’s complicated.”
Skye’s gaze searches mine, and for a second, I think she’ll drag it out of me right there and then. But then she exhales slowly, shaking her head. “You don’t have to tell me. But whatever this is, you need to figure it out before it eats you alive.”
Her words land heavy. Because it was already eating me alive. It has been for years.
I nod, swallowing hard. “Yeah. I know.”
Skye let it go, for now. But I can feel her eyes on me all day, sharp and knowing. All day I wait with bated breath for Mavrick to return but he doesn’t.
****
Ivy is a bundle of energy, bouncing around the living room in her pajamas, Bun-Bun tucked under one arm as she insists on building a “castle” out of couch cushions.
“Careful, baby,” I murmur, catching a cushion before it topples over on her.
She beams up at me, curls wild and cheeks flushed. “It’s the strongest castle in the world!”
I force a smile I’m not feeling, my chest aching as I watch her. Because she is perfect. My perfect girl. And now Maverick knows about her. The thought alone makes me want to throw up.
After dinner, Ivy curls against me on the couch like she always does, Bun-Bun squished between us, chattering about school. Her words blur together until she yawns mid-sentence, eyelids drooping.
I carry her to bed, tucking her in with Bun-Bun clutched tight in her arms. She mumbled sleepily, “Night, Mommy. I love you.”
“Love you more,” I whisper, brushing her curls out of her face.
She is asleep within minutes, her little chest rising and falling steadily.
I sit there for a long time, watching her, guilt pressing down so heavily it feels like it might crush me.
I promised myself I’d protect her from pain, from chaos, from the storm Maverick carried everywhere he went.
But maybe I’d only bought us time because the storm has found us anyway.
I leave her room when my phone buzzes, only checking it once I’m back in my room because I’m afraid to see who it is.
Ethan: I hope you’re okay. Let me take you and Ivy out this weekend. Just us. A family.
The words blur on the screen. A family. Something we aren’t. My fingers hovered but didn’t move. Because even if Ethan is steady and safe, everything I want on paper ... the truth is already loose. Maverick knows the truth now, and he won’t be kept at bay for long.
And no matter how hard I try, I can’t picture a future that doesn’t have his shadow in it.
I set the phone facedown and crawl into bed, staring at the ceiling as the darkness presses in, not replying to Ethan’s message.
“I’ll protect you,” I whisper into the silence, as if Ivy can hear my promise from her room. “No matter what it takes.”
But even as I say it, I know the ground is shifting under me.
Because Maverick Hall isn’t the kind of man who lets go once he has the truth. And now he has it.