. For a long moment, she just breathed, forcing air into lungs that felt as if they were c

dismissed like th

almost mechanical. She grabbed the folded paper from the coffee table, it

ck. She wrapped her fingers around the cold met

The city lights silhouetted his powerful frame sharply. He heard the

d. "Have you forgotten how to knock? Or do I nee

toward him, each step feeling like wading through cement. The oppre

ere trembling, but when she spoke,

pregn

en adjusting his cuffs, stopped. His gaze shifted from he

, broken only by the faint hum of

not even of surprise. It was a low, guttur

them in two large strides and s

t even l

p tug, he tor

or the pieces, but he held them hi

The paper wad bounced off her cheek-a tiny, insignificant impact th

. His cold, merciless gaze swept over her as if s

le whiskey. "Fabricating a medical document just as the contract is abou

the tears she had been holding back now stre

press it against her stomach,

she were contagious and too

he said, his voice cruelly logical. "So tell m

she said, her voice trembling. "Six we

understanding. It brought rage. He didn't see it as an accidental mom

ng into her skin, forcing her to look

" he said, each word a deliberate, calculate

d her ch

errifyingly calm whisper. "Even if, by some miracle, that thing inside yo

stealing her breath. She staggered backward, her hand

ght she knew. But the person standing before her was a stranger, a m

nversation was over. He climbed into bed and pull

d, his voice muff

l, a statue of grief, her heart