Page 103 of Xander

“I’m nothing like him,” Xander continued as if he hadn’t ousted my mental health to a roomful of people. “Do you see what he did to her face? There are bruises all over her body, too. That was done at one of his so-called corporate galas, where he spent the whole time drunk off his ass. It’s clear that he’s become a liability.

“Not to mention, he was never allowed to marry Jordan. Based on the terms he signed for her conservatorship, it was a conflict of interest. He faked a wedding just to have more control over Jordan. I found their marriage certificate and ran it by a lawyer. It’s not valid. It’s missing signatures and was never filed.”

The blood in my veins ran cold. I had always suspected something wasn’t right but never that my entire relationship with Henry had been built on a premeditated lie from the very beginning.

I didn’t even have time to process it as Xander continued to drag all my secrets before his family like dirty laundry.

He turned toward me, his eyes burning with a dark intensity that scared me. He had looked at me the same way that night on the ship, and the fire in his gaze had melted right through my reserve. “The type of conservatorship Henry applied for didn’t allow him to remain your guardian if he married you. That’s why he never filed the paperwork. You were never married to him.”

“What?”

I didn’t realize I’d spoken aloud until he took my hand in his. His palms were callused, and the way they rasped over my fingers sent a shiver down my spine. His eyes narrowed, and I knew that he’d noticed.

“You were never married to my father,” he repeated. “He lied to you.”

Lied.

The room seemed to spin around me. I hadn’t eaten much today, and my body made me painfully aware of that now.

“I don’t… I don’t understand.”

Xander, looking concerned now, put his hands on me. On my waist, but still. Too familiar. Anyone looking at us would think⁠—

They already do think that. Because he just fucking told them without my permission.

“You still need a guardian,” he whispered. “I’ll find a program where I can take over from him, but we can still get married. I won’t make the same mistake as Henry⁠—”

I stepped away from him.

With my eyes closed, I drew in a shallow breath as I remembered feeling sick in the restaurant and my suspicions of what that might mean…

Fuck. I couldn’t be, could I?

This was all happening far too soon.

I gasped, “I need some air.”

“Jordan,” Xander said. “I⁠—”

“Please.” I pushed at his chest, painfully aware of the men watching. This was all so sordid. I felt as if I had been dropped onto the set of one of those tawdry daytime TV dramas that my grandmother had used to watch in her pink-painted retirement home. “I think I’m going to faint.”

Xander released me begrudgingly, but his weight shifted, leaning toward me as I backed toward the door.

“Let her go, man,” Jasper said. “This is… Fuck, it’s a lot.”

“Are we sure it’s true?” Caden’s cold voice rang out sharper than the others’. “The fake marriage license, the conservatorship, the abuse. There’s a lot of allegations being flung around, and it all seems to be anecdotal.”

They began to argue, Xander’s angry voice going head-to-head with Caden, Jasper chastising his brother for his callousness, and Joe trying to calm everyone down. I saw the staff member from before poking her head out of the kitchen before disappearing.

What a good idea.

Their voices floated fainter as I scuttled down the foyer and toward my room. Or should I say, my cell? A few more of the staff, all unknown to me, had been hovering discreetly. They fled like quail as they saw me approach.

I barely registered their presence, thinking only of Xander’s betrayal and my dizzying fears. I had to know. I had to be sure.

All the stress had put pressure on my bladder, so when I slipped into my bathroom, it was easy to use one of the pregnancy tests Xander had gotten for this very occasion.

Please don’t be positive, I thought, closing my eyes. Please. When I open my eyes, please be one line.