Page 111 of Pucking Daddy

I study her for a second. “Even now?”

“Especially now,” she says quietly.

Something in her tone makes me straighten a little.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

Zara hesitates.

For the first time since this conversation started, she looks like she’s weighing whether to say more.

“Danny’s at university,” she says finally. “Which is great. I’m really proud of him.”

“But?” I prompt.

“But…” She exhales slowly. “It’s expensive. And he’s taken on a lot of student loans.”

I nod. That’s not unusual.

But the way she says it—

“How much is ‘a lot’?” I ask.

She shoots me a quick look, like she already knows I’m not going to like the answer.

“About one hundred sixty thousand left,” she says.

What the—?

“Zara—” I say carefully. “Please tell me you’re not paying down his debt for him.”

She doesn’t answer. Just presses her lips together.

“Zara,” I say again, exasperated.

She sighs, rubbing a hand over her arm. “He’s my brother, Jax. He deserves someone looking out for him. It’s not his fault Mom and Dad can’t.”

My jaw tightens slightly. “I get that. But does he expect that from you?”

“No,” she says immediately. “God, no. He actually hates it when I help. We fight about it all the time.”

I huff out a quiet breath. “At least he’s got some sense.”

“He just… doesn’t want to be a burden,” she says.

“And you don’t want him to struggle,” I counter.

“Exactly.”

Silence settles between us. I lean back slightly, thinking.

“Our contract,” I say slowly. “The marriage…”

Her gaze flicks back to mine, defiant. “I’ll use the money to pay off the debt. All of it.”

I nod once.

Yeah. I figured.