CHAPTER 44
CHRISTIAN'S POV
"I don't need this right now! I'm already drowning in problems. My shipment is missing, and now Brenda shows up telling me she's pregnant! Why did it have to happen now—when every move I make could get me killed? I can't do this, Reginald. I just can't!"
I collapsed onto the couch in my office, burying my face in my hands.
"I know the timing is terrible," Reginald said calmly, as he always did. "But that doesn't give you the right to insult or doubt a woman who says she's carrying your child."
"What if it's Kai's?" I muttered bitterly.
Reginald raised a brow.
"What if it's yours?"
I sighed heavily. Reginald wasn't helping.
My nerves were completely wrecked, and I couldn't think straight.
"You want me to have one of the boys keep an eye on her?" Reginald asked as he walked toward the door.
"What for?" My head snapped up immediately.
"I'll take that as a no," he said and walked out of the office.
The door closed softly behind him.
I leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling.
I needed someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't judge me.
If Luna hadn't ghosted me, hearing her voice would have probably calmed me down.
If the timing had been better… would I have accepted the pregnancy?
If Brenda was really pregnant like she claimed, then now was the worst time for her to be anywhere near me.
Right now, danger followed me everywhere.
And I didn't want anything happening to her… or to that child.
Still…
She couldn't pin it on me...I'm certain she doesn't know who sired her child.
(TWO MONTHS LATER)
Greg came to visit me one Saturday morning. We were catching up over breakfast when I noticed he looked like he had something on his mind.
"Come on," I said. "Spit it out."
At first, he pretended not to know what I meant.
"Alright, fine," he said eventually. "I wanted to ask if the shipment was ever located."
I shook my head.
"Not yet, but we're getting close. We've gotten a few anonymous leads about where it might be. Luckily, we should recover it soon. They need me to unlock the first phase of the passcode… thanks to you and the digital number only the buyer has."
Greg nodded slowly.
"I was actually thinking… maybe I could come work at the warehouse or the office full-time."
"Why?" I frowned. "I thought things were going well at the distillery."
"They were," he said quietly. "That was before Brenda liquidated all her companies."
"What?" I asked mid-chew, nearly choking on my food.
My eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yeah," Greg continued. "Brenda sold everything. Every company she owned. She even sold her house."
My grip tightened around the fork so hard I felt the metal dig into my fingers.
Heat rushed through my body.
"When did she do all that?" I forced myself to ask casually, taking another bite of spaghetti.
I didn't want anyone noticing how much this was affecting me.
"About two months ago."
My stomach dropped.
That was right around the time she came to my house.
The day she told me she was pregnant.
I stood up so quickly my chair scraped loudly across the floor. I rushed into the living room, grabbed my car keys, and headed for the door.
I was still wearing a black T-shirt and sweatpants—clothes I would never normally wear outside.
"Where are you going?" Greg shouted behind me.
But I was already gone.
The engine roared to life, and seconds later I was speeding down the road.
My knuckles turned white from gripping the steering wheel too tightly.
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to calm the storm raging inside my chest.
When I reached my destination, I pulled into the driveway and stormed inside like I owned the place.
"It's too early in the morning to be angry," Reginald said lazily as he saw me walk in.
He was sitting comfortably in a robe, reading a newspaper while sipping coffee.
Who the hell still reads newspapers?
"Brenda…" I said breathlessly. "She sold everything. Her companies… her house… all of it!"
Reginald didn't look surprised.
Realization hit me instantly.
"You knew?" I hissed. "You knew and never told me?"
Reginald lowered the newspaper slightly, completely unfazed by my anger.
"I thought you wanted nothing to do with Brenda."
I couldn't answer.
The hypocrisy burned in my throat.
"Well," he continued calmly, "I had someone keeping an eye on her. She attended her antenatal appointments alone. I also knew she sold all her assets."
My chest tightened.
"That was until my men followed her to the airport," he added casually. "She boarded a plane… but we couldn't find out where she went."
My heart dropped.
"So you're telling me Brenda isn't in America anymore?" I asked quietly. "She left the country?"
Reginald nodded slowly, returning his eyes to the newspaper.
"I tried finding out where she went, but nothing. I believe she used her influence and money to bribe officials at the airport. No one knows where she is."
Silence filled the room.
Reginald glanced at me briefly.
"You can cry," he said calmly. "I won't tell anyone."
"Fuck off," I muttered and stormed out of the house.
I jumped into my car and drove away without knowing where I was going.
My eyes remained fixed on the road.
She must really hate me.
Hate me enough to leave the entire country just to avoid ever seeing me again.
And the worst part was…
It was my fault.
I pushed Brenda so far away from me that now she was completely out of reach.
And she had made sure of it.