Her expression tightened.
“Someone dangerous?”
“Yes.”
“And your solution was to make me think you never loved me.”
“Yes.”
She stared at the ceiling.
“That was cruel, Dominic.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get credit because your reason was noble in your head.”
“I know.”
She turned toward me again, almost irritated.
“Stop agreeing with me.”
“I don’t have a defense.”
That silenced her.
I leaned forward, forearms on my knees.
“I thought if you hated me, you’d stay away.
I thought distance meant safety.
I never asked what that distance would cost you.”
Claire’s hand moved unconsciously toward her stomach, then stopped when she remembered the baby was no longer there.
The gesture nearly broke me.
“I found out six weeks after you left,” she said.
I closed my eyes.
“Six weeks.”
“I stood outside Vesper Row one night for almost twenty minutes.
I thought about walking in and telling you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because I saw you through the upstairs window.
You were meeting with men I’d never seen before.
Armed men.
And I remembered what you said about your world.”
She inhaled slowly.
“For once, I decided to believe you.”
The irony was almost unbearable.
I had pushed her away to keep her out of danger, and the lie worked so well that she faced pregnancy alone rather than step back into my life.
“I put your name in the hospital file because he deserved to have it somewhere,” she said.
“Not because I wanted your money.
Not because I expected you to come back.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
I looked directly at her.
“And I’m not going to insult you by pretending showing up tonight fixes nine months.”
Claire’s eyes searched mine.
“Then what are you going to do?”
It was the most important question anyone had ever asked me.
Not what could I buy.
Not who could I threaten.
Not how much power could I use.
What was I going to do?
“Whatever you allow,” I said.
“Nothing you don’t.”
Her expression shifted slightly.
I continued.
“If the boy is mine, I’ll be his father in every way you permit.
If you want distance from me, I’ll respect it.
If you need protection, it won’t come with conditions.
