His eye twitches, and he rolls his neck.
I blow out a breath. Anger isn’t going to help this situation. “Like I said, I’m telling you because I believe you should know, but I don’t want or need anything from you, Nathan. Truth be told, I’d prefer to do this alone than with someone who can barely stand to look at me. But if you want to be a part of our child’s life, I won’t stand in your way.”
His Adam’s apple bobs, and he fixes me with a steely glare. “And you’re sure it’s mine?”
He may as well have punched me in the gut. I reel backward, tears springing to my eyes as he rips a fresh slice out of my already broken heart. Mustering what little dignity I have left and willing my hormonal ass not to let him see me cry, I push myself up onto shaky legs. “Have a nice life, Nathan.”
I spin on my heel and stride out of his office, slamming the door closed behind me.
Chapter
Fifty-Two
NATHAN
Irub my temples, my head throbbing and my ears ringing as I recall the look on her face when she walked out of my office. I’m such a fucking jackass.
“Here, looks like you need this,” Mason says, handing me a glass of Scotch.
Ignoring the proffered glass, I drop my head into my hands and let out a heavy sigh.
The door to Mason’s office opens, and I recognize Elijah’s heavy footfalls as he crosses the room. “I’ll take one of those,” he tells our younger brother.
Mason pours him one, and Elijah sits on the leather sofa beside me. “So, what’s the deal?” my older brother asks, cutting straight to the point the way he always does. “Or do we need Drake and Maddox to dial in?”
I shake my head. “It’s not about business.”
Mason snorts. “I figured that, bro.”
I look up, glaring at him. “How?”
“Never in my life seen you this cut up over business.” He shrugs and holds out the glass of Scotch, and this time I take it.
“So?” Elijah prods me.
“Mel is pregnant,” I blurt, in the hopes that it will be less painful. It’s not.
“Oh, fuck,” Mason mutters.
Elijah knocks back his Scotch in one gulp. “How pregnant?”
I shake my head. “I dunno. Six weeks, I think. I’m not entirely sure how it works.” Although I spent the last hour researching how many weeks pregnant she’d be given the date we had sex.
“You’ve been separated for two months,” Elijah reminds me, like I’m not aware of that fact every second of every day.
“I know.” I close my eyes and shake my head. “The day I gave her the divorce papers, we …”
“You fucked her before you served her divorce papers?” Mason tips his head back and releases a dark laugh. “Jeez, bro, that’s cold. Even for you.”
“Fuck you,” I mutter.
Elijah shoots our younger brother a warning glare. “And she told you this today?”
“Yeah, said she didn’t want anything from me and she’d prefer me to not be involved, but she thought I had a right to know and I could be part of the kid’s life if I wanted to.”
He nods. “That tracks.”
I scowl at him. “What do you mean, that tracks?”
He swallows hard. “She signed the divorce papers today. They were couriered to your office this afternoon. I asked Helen to let me break the news to you. I was going to tell you tonight. She’s not contesting the divorce or the prenup. She’s walking away without a dime.”
Mason scoffs. “Yeah, because she’s carrying his kid. Doesn’t that guarantee her money?”
I turn my scowl on Mason now. Are we all as cynical as he is?
“That guarantees her child support, but that’s for the child and not her. Certainly not for her family,” Elijah clarifies.
Mason shrugs and downs his Scotch.
“The important thing is how you feel about this.” Elijah rests a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Do you want to be a part of the child’s life?”
My heart feels like it’s being squeezed in a vise. I stare into my older brother’s eyes, and I swear I couldn’t lie to this man if I tried. “Yeah.”
He nods and raises his empty glass. “So you’re gonna be a dad. We should celebrate.”
“Yeah, well …” I blow out a breath.
Elijah gives me a knowing look. “What did you do?”
