Page 88 of Freed
I laugh, and it comes out ragged. “No.”
His expression goes glacial.
“Fine,” he says.
The word is so calm it scares me more than shouting would have. He turns, snatches his phone off the desk, and hits a button.
My pulse jumps. “What are you doing?”
“Getting proof.”
Ice slides through me. “Lorenzo?—”
He lifts a hand, silencing me without even looking over. “Find me a doctor. Tonight.”
My stomach drops. He ends the call and faces me again.
“No,” I say instantly.
“Yes.”
“You do not get to order a doctor in here like I’m some possession you’re having authenticated.”
His eyes flash. “If you’re carrying Russo’s heir, then that changes things. You are no longer something I lost but a pawn.”
A pawn? I want to laugh in his fucking face because he has no idea that this baby is his.
“I’m not taking a pregnancy test!”
“You’re the one who let another man touch you.” His voice sharpens for the first time, cracking like a whip. “So yes, Elizabeth, I am very serious about you taking a pregnancy test.”
I hate that a part of me understands his urgency. I hate even more that he’s wrong about the part that matters.
My chin lifts. “And if I refuse?”
He goes still.
When he answers, his voice is quiet. “I’ll get my answer one way or another.””
I stare at him, horrified.
He holds my gaze. “Your choice.”
Tears sting my eyes again, hot and humiliating. “I hate you.”
“I know,” he says.
My throat tightens. Because that isn’t what undoes me. What undoes me is that he looks wrecked too.
I close my eyes for one second, then say, “If I do this, you’re never going to touch me again. Understand? And, I want to go back to Dante.”
He doesn’t move.
“Lorenzo.”
His head dips once in agreement.
I take a step away from him and undo the first button of my blouse. Tears stream down my face, but I hold his gaze because I want him to see what kind of monster he’s become. To think there was a time when I thought I might love this man. Mybreath catches. No, that’s the worst part. I still love him, but this isn’t about me. This is about the baby that he thinks is Dante’s.
