The words crashed into me like a wave. I felt my breath hitch in my throat.
“The severing of the bond,” I whispered, barely hearing my own voice. “You’re saying it could kill… my child?”
Mirra’s gaze softened with a mixture of fear and sympathy, but her tone was resolute. “There is a possibility. I have seen first hand what it can do to some people. You need to make sure everything is in place before Mason can do this and not take that chance. Otherwise…”
The room seemed to spin around me. I staggered back, my hands trembling as I braced myself against the wall. The gravity of her words was suffocating.
I nodded quickly, but inside, panic clawed at my insides. I couldn’t lose this child. I couldn’t lose everything I was fighting for.
“Mirra,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, “I can’t. I can’t lose my baby.”
“You won’t,” Mirra replied, her voice firm, but I could hear the worry beneath it.
I nodded, though doubt gnawed at me. The pieces of my plan were shifting, falling into place in ways I hadn’t expected. I’d taken risks, but now, with Mason on the verge of rejecting me and everything hanging by a thread, I had to trust that Dexter would follow through.
And if he didn’t...
The plan would fail. And everything, including my child, would be lost.
MASON
“She doesn’t deserve you, Mason.”
Claire’s voice was a soft murmur, but the venom in her words was unmistakable. She leaned closer, her fingers brushing against my chest, her lips curving into a smile that could melt stone.
I sighed, already bracing myself for what I knew was coming.
“We’ve been over this,” I said, keeping my tone even.
“But everyone already knows,” she pressed, her lips ghosting over mine before I pushed her back gently but firmly.
“And that’s precisely the problem,” I sighed, stepping away from her. “We talked about this, Claire. You need to stay quiet.”
Her eyes flashed, and the smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “Why do you keep doing this to me?” she snapped, her voice rising. “You string me along like some fool, but you don’t have the guts to end things with her!”
“Lower your voice,” I snapped, my tone sharp enough to cut through her rising hysteria.
She let out a strangled sob, tears brimming in her eyes. “I love you, Mason. Don’t you understand that? I’ve been patient—more patient than anyone else would be.”