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The child would have to live with him. That much was clear.
Then he remembered his own childhood and his own beloved mother, who had cared for him in spite of the fact that she suffered under the heel of his father. Was he going to deny his own child that same love and commitment—that caring and nurturing love that only a mother could give?
* * *
She was frozen to the spot, standing in the bathroom, breathing, just about. She had taken a shower on autopilot, barely registering whether the water was hot or cold. This was not supposed to be happening. This was her worst nightmare come true. She had wanted to be the one in control, the one to tell Luc about the baby when they were both relaxed and Luc was receptive to news that would change his life. It was too late for that now. The news had hit him like a bolt from the blue, and she didn’t need Luc to tell her that he didn’t want this. Why would Luc want his life to change when he had everything? He controlled everything. Or he had done until she’d come along and her pregnancy became the one thing in his life over which Luc had no control.
‘Emma...’
She flinched as he hammered on the door. Her time was up. His voice was hostile. She doubted they could ever get past this.
Maybe not, but this was her body and her choice to make. This was one occasion when she was in charge, not Luc. Whatever he said or did now, she would never regret her pregnancy. They had both created a child, and she accepted her responsibility fully and gladly, and if Luc couldn’t bring himself to do the same, then that was up to him. Pulling on her clothes fast, she tidied up the bathroom and then opened the door. Luc was standing by the window with his back turned to her. When he heard the door open he swung around.
‘How much do you want, Emma?’
His first question hit her like a blow. Lifting her chin, she met his hostile stare steadily. ‘I don’t want anything from you.’
‘Really?’ One ebony brow lifted. ‘You’ll be the first person in my experience who doesn’t want something from me.’
‘How sad to always have to doubt other people’s motives. Is that what wealth does to you, Luc?’
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘And I can’t talk to you while you’re in this mood.’
‘Why?’ Luc said coldly. ‘Are you afraid it will get you nowhere?’
‘I’m not afraid of anything. We’re both coming to terms with a radically changed future, but be in no doubt that I will protect my child, and my right to be with that child, with the last breath in my body.’
Luc ripped into her. ‘I should have known when I first saw you at the wedding party that night—your evasive manner, your shock at seeing me. All it would have taken was a quick calculation on my part, but I didn’t want to see what was in front of my eyes—’
‘I’ve had enough. I’m not here to be judged by a man who was happy enough to bed me, but who rejects the consequences. I can only assume that when you saw me at the wedding your brain was below your belt at the time.’
Luc reared back with surprise. The last thing he had expected had been for her to take him on. Lucas Marcelos versus Emma Fane, chambermaid? No contest, he must have thought. No contest? She’d be a mother soon. He’d better get used to that idea, and do some research while he was at it, on the lengths a mother would go to in order to protect her child.
‘I’ll need proof that your baby is mine,’ he grated out.
‘I’d expect nothing less,’ she said coldly.
‘I used protection. What went wrong?’
When pulling rank had failed, Luc had turned to interrogating her, but her fighting spirit was back full force, and she was ready for him. ‘Do I really need to tell you what went wrong? I may not have your extensive experience of such things, but as two adults surely we both know that protection isn’t foolproof, and on this occasion it failed.’
‘Clearly.’ A muscle flicked in his jaw as he regarded her coldly. ‘Well, we are where we are, so I will tell you what’s going to happen next.’
‘No, you won’t,’ she argued firmly. ‘This is one occasion where you don’t decide. This is my body and my baby—’
‘Our baby, according to you,’ he fired back.
‘Our baby,’ she conceded. ‘There is no blame here, Luc. We’re both equally responsible for this child, and both equally invested in its future.’ She hoped that was true, and something in Luc’s eyes said he did want to be part of this, though whether that was a good thing, right now she couldn’t tell.
