"Whatever you want, name it. If it's in my power, I'll make it happen."
"I want you to divorce her."
I lifted my eyes and looked straight into his.
"Give me back what you owe me. All of it."
"Can you do that?"
His hand went rigid around mine. When he looked at me, there was something pleading in his gaze.
"Gertrude, Grace and I are already married."
"She's fragile. She's not strong like you. If I leave her, she and the baby could both be in danger."
"Gertrude, you know how hard it is for a child to grow up without a father."
Those words sliced into me like a blade, and tears splashed onto the back of my hand.
How could I not know?
I was raised by a single mother myself.
I knew exactly how many cold stares, how much hardship a child endured without a father's protection.
I sniffed hard, my voice breaking.
"I know. That's why I—"
But before I could finish, Julian cut me off, his expression turning cold.
His tone dropped to ice, and his eyes filled with heavy disappointment and blame.
"If you know all that, then why are you still being so heartless?"
"Get some rest. And when you're feeling better, apologize to Grace. She's a simple, kind-hearted person. She won't hold it against you."
He stood and walked out without a shred of hesitation.
I stared at the closed door, a suffocating ache pressing against my chest.
I curled up on the hospital bed and broke down crying.
I didn't know how long it lasted before my phone alarm went off.
I'd promised Jeanette I would come to the children's hospital tonight to stay with her.
I had barely sat up when the door swung open.
Grace walked in wearing a loose maternity dress, her steps slow and deliberate.
"Miss Harding, where are you rushing off to? Why not rest a little longer?"
There was a smile on her face, but her eyes were ice cold.
"I hope you understand—Julian is my husband now. You can stop with the desperate little stunts."
She paused, then lowered her voice.
"After all, children are innocent. Aren't they?"
Every nerve in my body seized. My head snapped up, and I glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
"Grace, what are you trying to do?"
"I'm warning you—if you lay a single finger on my daughter, I will make you pay with your life."
She steadied herself against the edge of the bed and settled into the chair, her gaze dropping to her swollen belly, her expression melting into tenderness.