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“You know what? You’re right.”
We were quiet on the quick plane ride. The city lights from Boston dimmed, and the northern New England states were dark and sleepy beneath us. Maine was peaceful and quiet as we landed, the land hushed around us as we drove through the dark mountains to Northeast Harbor.
My phone pinged with a text.Click here for a secure link.
I swallowed hard. “I think your father knows I’m not where I’m not in Boston anymore. He just sent me a message.”
Bryce’s expression turned stormy. “Open it.”
I clicked on the link with shaking hands, petrified that someone on the board had already ratted us out. Instead, there were several pictures of the primary-suite bathroom at Bryce’s house on Beacon Hill. “What the hell?”
I clicked through them, then clutched my stomach.
The final picture was of the inside of the wastepaper basket. It was my discarded pregnancy test, two pink lines clearly showing. “Oh my God.”
This is never going to happen,read the caption below the last picture. That was all Gene wrote.
I clutched the phone to my chest and curled in on myself.
“What the hell did he say?” Bryce sounded on the verge of exploding.
“Bryce… I need to tell you something.”
He put his face in his hands.
“It’s nothing bad. I mean,Idon’t think it’s bad,” I babbled. “I’m… I’m pregnant.”
“What?” He sat up straight. “What did you just say?”
“I’m pregnant. As in, I am carrying your baby in my stomach. I think? Or am I carrying it in my uterus…?” It had been some time since I’d attended health class.
“Oh my God. Chloe, I can’t. I… What? Wow.” His eyes brightened until he saw my hands still curled around my phone. “What the hell did my father say?”
“He knows somehow. Someone at the house must’ve gone through my trash—they sent him a picture.”
“Let me see it.” His voice was ice.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea—”
He wrenched the phone from my hands, scrolling through the pictures until he reached the end. I could tell when he’d read the caption because it looked like smoke might pour out of his ears. Bryce’s expression changed several times as he processed what Gene had said. It went from rage to disbelief to disgust.
“I can’t believe he’s my father.”
“Bryce…” I took a deep breath. “I’m the last person who’d defend him, but he’s had everything taken from him. Of course he’s lashing out. He knows that his life isn’t ever going to be the same, he’s desperate.”
“Good.” My husband stared straight ahead. “He deserves everything that’s coming to him.”
I sighed and sat back against the seat. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just took the test—I’ve been in shock. With everything else going on, it really threw me for a loop.”
“Are you…” He hesitated. “Are you okay with it?”
“What? I’m—Bryce, I’m thrilled.” I blinked at him. “How doyoufeel?”
“Are you kidding me?” His face opened up into a grin, and it was like the sun coming out. “I’m the happiest man in the world. Except for the fact that my father’s trying to destroy my family.”
“About that. There are some other people involved, too. It’s not just Daphne.”
Again, it looked like smoke was about to pour out of Bryce’s ears. “Tell me everything. We have ten minutes until we get to the dock.”
