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“I don’t know what to say.”

“Neither do I.”

That was the truth. There was nothing either of us could say that would make this situation easier. We could argue about the past, hate each other, or try to pretend our relationship had never happened, but none of those things would change what we’d just learned.

There was a child between us now. I looked down at my stomach again and felt my chest tighten. I’d once believed that discovering Ronan’s identity was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. Now I understood that was only the beginning.

I looked at the man I’d loved before I learned he was responsible for destroying my childhood, and in that moment, I realized that now I could never completely walk away from him.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ronan

I walked Dr. Lowry out of the house, needing a few minutes away from Sofia to make sense of what I’d just heard.

Sofia was pregnant. The words had been repeating in my head since the doctor said them, but they still didn’t feel real.

I’d spent most of my adult life believing I was built for one purpose: violence. That was what I understood. Destruction was what I’d been trained to deliver. I knew how to protect territory, eliminate threats, and survive situations that would have broken other men.

I’d never seriously considered what it meant to build something that could last beyond me. Now Sofia was carrying my child. The thought terrified me not because of the responsibility it represented, but because of how quickly I wanted to protect something I hadn’t even seen.

Dr. Lowry stopped near the elevator and repeated some of her instructions about Sofia’s recovery. I listened carefully and promised that she would receive whatever medical care she needed. When she finally left, I stood alone for a moment before returning to the bedroom.

Sofia was sitting up against the pillows when I walked inside. Her hand rested over her stomach, and the expression on her face told me that she was still trying to process everything, too. She looked at me, and I looked at her. There were a hundred things I could have said, but none of them seemed adequate.

Then a question entered my mind. It was irrational, unnecessary, and probably the worst thing I could possibly ask her, but I asked anyway.

“Is the baby mine?”

Her expression changed immediately. “What did you just say?”

I knew from the look in her eyes that I’d made a mistake, but the question had come from somewhere deeper than suspicion. Everything had happened too quickly. We’d gone from strangers to lovers, from lovers to enemies, and now the doctor had told us we were going to have a child. My mind was struggling to catch up.

“I wasn’t accusing you of anything.”

“Then what exactly were you doing? You asked me if the baby was yours. That’s accusing me of something. I don’t sleep around, Ronan. I never have. I don’t go from one man to another and then pretend I don’t know who the father of my child is. You know that.”

“I do.”

“Then why would you ask me something like that?”

Because I was overwhelmed. Because the idea of having a child felt so impossible that my mind had searched for some explanation that would make it less real. Because for the first time in my life, something mattered to me that I couldn’t control. But none of those reasons would make the question less insulting.

“You’re right,” I said. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.”

She stared at me, clearly expecting an argument, but I gave her none. Her anger didn’t disappear, but something in her expression softened slightly. I looked at her hand resting protectively over her stomach.

“My question wasn’t because I don’t trust you.” I ran my hands down my face. “I was trying to understand how my life changed so quickly.”

Sofia said nothing. For once, there was no threat I could eliminate or problem I could solve with force. There was only the reality of a child growing inside the woman I’d already failed once, and the terrifying knowledge that I wanted more than anything to keep them both alive.

I left the bedroom for several minutes, but my mind never left Sofia. The moment I stepped into my office, I began going through everything that had happened. Sokolov had already proved that he could reach her. Sofia had been taken from the street. That alone was enough to tell me that keeping her safe with ordinary precautions was no longer possible.

Then there was Detective Graves. I knew he was asking questions about the podcast, the fire, and the information Sofia had uncovered. I didn’t know how much he understood, but I knew he was getting closer. Sofia’s investigation had already attracted attention from people who had every reason to want the past buried.

Now she was carrying an O’Connor child. Anyone who wanted leverage against my family would see Sofia as an opportunity. Anyone who wanted to hurt me would understand exactly where to strike. I knew what I had to do. When I returned to the bedroom, Sofia looked at me warily.

“You’re going to marry me.”