‘You’re not—’
‘We’rebothresponsible for this baby,’ he growled. ‘We both have to do what’s best—’
‘But we don’t agree on what is best and we never will. BecauseIam not like you.’
Because unlike him, she wasn’tonlyconcerned about the baby. She had feelings forhimas well.
‘Doesn’t anything I’ve done since then count?’ he argued. ‘Don’t let your damned need for independence blind you to the bigger picture. I’ve respected your wishes as best I can, Lily. I can support your work and study. I’ve taken care of your family. I will never abandon you the way they did. I will never abandon our child. You can trust—’
‘How have you taken care of my family?’ she interrupted. ‘What about my family?’
He snapped his mouth shut.
‘What else haven’t you told me?’
He drew in a deliberately deep breath. ‘I was going to tell you. I was just waiting until…’
‘I was fully under your spell?’ she finished for him sadly. ‘What have you done?’
He lifted his chin. ‘I’ve purchased your parents’ business.’
‘You what?’
‘They were happy with the deal.’
He’d made them adeal. Had he done that while she was doing press-ups by the pool? ‘And that’s important, you think?’
‘I think it’ll help.’
Of all the things he’d stunned her with tonight, she would never have expected him to be naive.
‘Until they burn through whatever money you’ve given them and then come back for more,’ she said bitterly. ‘So they get the payout you promised I would never see.’
‘Lily—’
‘Don’t kid yourself that you did this for me. They could have threatened your reputation but apparently, you’ve bought their obedience. You really will do anything for Hearnshawe.’
‘The garage still exists. There’s a new accountant in place. They just wanted to get above the breadline.’
‘So you know them better than I do? Despite having never met them personally?’
He looked tense. ‘They just needed some help.’
‘Oh? Is that all? I’m amazed he told you that. That he let you do all that. You out-alphaed the alpha. You want applause?’
‘Well, I’m not sorry I did it,’ he said defiantly. ‘When Finn gets out of jail, we can get him work at the factory. Reintegrate him.’
She gaped, appalled.
‘What’s your next trick, resurrecting Callum from the dead?’ She was so hurt by his interference. ‘They don’t even talk to me and you’ve…’ She gasped for air. ‘You’verewardedthem.’
‘You were worried they would be a problem. Now they won’t be. I fixed it.’
‘How gangster of you. Are you pleased you have everything perfectly within your control now?’ She blinked furiously. ‘Doesn’t it matter to you how they treated me?’
‘What matters to me is that they don’t hurt youmore. They’re not going to bother you.’
They wouldalwaysbother her. She was hurt that he didn’t see that and he hadn’t talked to her before doing anything.
