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I rolled my eyes and sighed as he took my hand and led me through the foyer. We walked into a hallway that ended in a grand staircase. I heard voices upstairs, and when I heard one in particular, my heart started to thunder in my chest. I held my breath as we waited at the bottom of the stairs for him to make an appearance. As we stood there, I found myself gripping Adam's hand tighter than I'd intended. I also started contemplating the wisdom of turning around and getting the hell out of there, calling an Uber, and going the hell home.
What had I been thinking to come here? To crash their family dinner party like that?
Before I could turn and run, I heard footsteps coming down the staircase, and finally, I caught sight of Malcolm. He was walking alongside a woman I'd seen before. As I looked at her, I realized that I knew who she was. She was the girlfriend from the club. The one Malcolm said he was done with. The woman he said he'd never be with again. Ever.
The two were lost in their conversation, looking entirely cozy with one another, and Malcolm was staring intently at her. When she rounded the corner, I noticed she was holding her stomach, caressing it, and smiling warmly. She was wearing an empire waist dress that flowed out from her stomach, a style someone like her wouldn't wear unless –
“I made a mistake coming here,” I said. “I need to go. I need to get out of here.”
I'd meant to speak low enough that only Adam could hear me, but apparently, I spoke loud enough that it made Malcolm and his girlfriend to stop on the stairs and look down at me.
“Casey? What are –”
The blonde stepped forward. “This is Casey?” she sneered. “What is she doing here?”
Malcolm's blue eyes turned to steel and his jaw clenched as he walked the rest of the way down the stairs. He stood before me, his face a blank mask that bore no emotion whatsoever. He turned that look toward Adam, and when he did, something changed in his expression. His face went from someone trying to hide their emotions to a man who was very clearly angry beyond measure. The air around us was saturated with tension; charged with electricity and the anticipation of violence.
I backed up, moving toward the doorway, and away from the two men who were locked in an intense stare-down. Malcolm looked like he wanted to take Adam apart piece by piece. Adam though, looked back at his half-brother with an amused little smirk on his face.
Malcolm turned and locked eyes with me. Although the anger he'd been directing at Adam had mostly faded, there was still a trace of it left. His gaze bored into me and singed by skin with its heat and intensity.
“Danielle, Adam, could you give us a minute?” Malcolm finally said, his gaze never leaving me.
Danielle glared at Adam. “Yeah, Adam,” she asked. “What is she doing here?”
“She's my date for tonight,” he said, his voice cold as ice. “Why? Do you two know each other or something, Malcolm?”
“Casey, what's going on?” Malcolm's voice rose higher and carried a hard, brittle edge to it. “Why are you here with him?”
He stepped toward me again, and this time, I had to let go of Adam's hand to move. Without answering him, I tore my eyes away from his and quickly turned, hurrying toward the front door. More than anything, in that moment, I needed fresh air. The tension and pressure were so great, I felt like I couldn't breathe in there. I felt like I was being crushed beneath the weight of Malcolm's furious gaze.
I needed to escape. Standing there, watching Malcolm and the woman coming down the stairs, I realized what an idiot I'd been. What a naïve fool. Danielle was the woman he'd brought to the club – I'd know that resting bitch face anywhere.
Yet, there she was, in the Crane home, walking with Malcolm like they were still together. She was not only walking with him, looking every bit like the reconciled couple, she was also very clearly with child.
His child.
My breath came out in panicked bursts and I felt like I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I realized that we were both having his baby. Suddenly though, everything started to make sense. The reason he cut me off and wanted to stop trying to get me pregnant, was because Danielle was already pregnant. He'd hedged his bets and Danielle had come in ahead of me. She'd won.
I reached the door and pulled on it, but a hand shot out from behind me and pushed it closed before I could step outside.
“Casey, please,” Malcolm said.
His voice was lower now, and it ran over my skin like velvet. I looked into his eyes and saw a mix of emotions. Fear. Anger. Betrayal. Compassion. You name it, it certainly looked like Malcolm was feeling it.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
“What's there to talk about?” I asked. “I know my place. I know my role.”
Malcolm grabbed hold of my shoulders and turned me around, facing me back toward the bottom of the grand staircase. In the doorway though, Adam and Danielle were standing there watching us. Adam had a gigantic grin stretched across his smug face and I wanted to slap it right off of him.
As he stood there grinning at me, I realized that he'd planned this. He'd planned this all along. He knew what I'd see when we got there, he knew that Malcolm and Danielle were back together, and yet, he brought me anyway.
Danielle just stood there with her arms crossed in front of her, a deep, angry scowl on her otherwise perfect face. She was tall and blonde and beautiful – everything a man like Malcolm would want. She was a model, or at least that's what I'd heard at the club. Not that she was famous or anything, but she was everything I wasn't.
We existed at opposite ends of the spectrum, Danielle and me. She was a woman at Malcolm's station. I was beneath it. She was the kind of woman he would marry. I was the kind of woman he'd fuck when he wanted something a little different and wild.
Tears welled in my eyes and my heart was stuttering around in my chest like the town drunk. I bit my tongue hard, wincing at the sharp pain. I was not going to cry in front of these people. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
