AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He leads us down to a small room, a kind of study-slash-guest lounge, and sits me on the couch.
“What’s that?” I ask, leaning back as I look at the basket.
“I brought you lunch,” Theo offers. “You’ve been working hard and you deserve a break.”
I gape at him, completely caught off-guard by his kindness. “Are you sure?” I ask, hesitating. A part of me thinks it might be a trick.
“Yep. I had the cook make us some stuffed salmon croquettes,” he says. “I know pregnant women can’t have certain foods, so I made sure this was alright.”
My heart feels full to bursting in my chest at this revelation. Theo reaches in and takes out a plate of food and places it on the table next to me.
“You want some fruit?” he asks, lifting a platter of fruit out of the basket next. He offers me a strawberry, and I reach out for it, but he decides to hold it to my lips instead, and I part them, letting him slip the juicy berry between my teeth until I can bite down on the sweet flesh, a little juice dribbling down my chin.
He wipes it away with a finger. “Good?”
“Delicious,” I murmur.
That’s the only physical contact that happens, though. For the rest of the meal, he remains chaste, keeping his hands to himself.
When we’re done, he cleans everything up himself and sweeps out of the room, leaving me alone.
My head is spinning. The Everharts have been so incredibly kind lately. Will it last?
Everything that I’ve been keeping from them is still hanging over me like a heavy weight. I feel like I’ve got so many secrets now, so much that threatens to tear us apart.
The baby, the files on Declan… it’s so much to keep inside, and I feel like I’m going to explode from holding onto it. I just don’t know what to do, but if I don’t do something, someone is going to get hurt—and it’s probably going to be me.
Things have finally started to become good between us. They’ve finally started to treat me with respect. They seem to like spending time with me. I’m loathe to break this fragile peace between us.
A few days later, I’m still mulling over what to do about all this when everyone in the staff begins whispering and gossiping that Declan is coming to visit the manor.
I wonder what he’s doing by coming here. He hasn’t come for a visit since sometime before I was hired on, since none of the staff except Fitz have met him.
“Where are the Everharts?” one of the maids asks another, brow furrowing. “Are they even home?”
Something about this twists in my gut. Why would Declan be coming to the manor if not to visit with his nephews? My stomach sinks, and I wonder if he knows something about the files I have in my suitcase.
I haven’t had morning sickness in ages, but I feel like I might throw up right now, anxiety gripping me tightly in its claws.
Declan strolls into the manor like he owns the place, the sunlight casting shadows across his face as he scans the faces of the staff who have come to peek at him.
His eyes narrow, and he takes heavy strides across the tile, footsteps echoing as he approaches Fitz and begins asking questions. Fitz shakes his head, and this seems to incite Declan because he begins speaking louder, gesturing wildly.
Fitz still shakes his head and bows, turning on his heel and leaving. Declan yells after him, “Bastard!”
I decide that I don’t want to stick around, so I escape, heading to the lounge to clean something.
My heart is hammering in my chest, certain that Declan knows the truth and he’s come to confront me about it. I don’t know why he’d know, but that’s what my anxiety is doing to me.
“You have some nerve…”
I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear Declan speaking behind me.
“Me?” I ask, turning to look at him with wide eyes. “Sir?”
“I knew that someone here was distracting the boys,” he says, stepping forward. “I came here hoping to find out. Fitz wouldn’t say, but some of the staff were all too eager to spill the beans for the right price.”
I breathe in and out slowly, trying to keep myself from shaking. His eyes flash dangerously as he steps forward, eyes falling to my belly, then flicking back to my face with sharp understanding.
