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The atmosphere was strained in the dining room. Even the waiters shifted uncomfortably as they waited at the side of the room between courses. The food was divine, as it always was when our chefs went all out. Course after course of delicate, intricately spiced meats and sautéed vegetables, all sat heavy in my stomach as conversation came in fits and starts about me.
Maeve wasn’t even there to keep me company. And who could blame her? I’d have pulled a sickie given half of a chance, too.
Harold sat next to me, at one end of the long, mahogany table, while Dad sat at the other end. The hatred between them was palpable even as they pawned me for peace. I pulled at the collar of my dress, feeling overwhelmed by the heat in the room.
‘Everything’s set for tomorrow. The guests have returned their invitations, and we’re looking at a full house,’ Harold said, drivelling on about the wedding.
‘Are you guys taking a honeymoon?’ Mac asked, shovelling his food into his mouth as fast as he could to escape the meal faster.
‘I thought I might whisk Esther away to my private retreat. Nothing but sun, sea, and time together. It would give us plenty of time to get to know each other with no interruptions.’
A chill shot up my spine as he fixed those watery eyes on me. There would be no one to run in and save me after the wedding. no one to hear my cries and take pity on me. I dabbed at my forehead with my napkin, the room spinning around me.
‘Look at my blushing bride, all coy, before the big day.’ Harold reached out and thumbed my jawline, sending a wave of nausea through me.
I couldn’t do it. Fuck, I needed out.
My chair scraped loudly against the polished floor as I stood up abruptly, needing space.
‘Are you okay?’ Logan asked to my right, looking up at me with concern in his eyes.
‘No,’ I gasped, clinging to the edge of the table as my forehead broke out in a clammy sweat. ‘I’m not.’
All eyes were on me. Mac, Ewen, and Logan, along with my father. Harold and his two grown children, Cam and Katie. The waiters. Thankfully, we’d had both sets of armed men from either side left outside. Their gazes burned at me as I struggled to breathe. The past weeks all came down on me at once.
Then I cracked.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
‘I’m pregnant,’ I whispered. A collective intake of breath sounded before I dared to glance at Harold. His face turned a dreadful shade of red as my father coughed and cleared his throat.
‘You fucking whore,’ Harold said menacingly as he pushed his chair back, his hands slamming hard on the table, upending his plate. The remaining food slid to the floor by his feet. I inched backward as he bore down on me, his voice steely as he fixed me with a glare.
I stepped backward, nearer the wall as the waiters took the chance to scarper. Harold was on me in a second, his hand in my hair pulling me violently toward him.
‘With what I’m going to do to you tomorrow, the parasite won’t survive long. And if it does, I’ll have you pinned down while they rip it out of you.’
I sobbed and looked at my father, who was on his feet, his face a picture of wrath.
‘Enough.’ The voice came from far to my right where Alec stood, his arms bathed in blood and his knife glinting in his hand.
‘Alec,’ I said in a strangled voice, whimpering when Harold span me around by the hair and pulled me back against his chest.
‘George, Ally?’ Harold shouted, but all that came from the hallway was silence.
‘All dead,’ Alec said, a trail of blood droplets following him as he stepped toward us.
‘Stop, or I’ll break her fucking neck.’ Harold tightened his grip on my hair and pushed his other hand under my jaw, gripping my chin with a vice-like tightness.
Alec ignored him, meeting my eyes beneath my blurry tears. ‘Is it true?’
I could see the hope beneath the fear. He wasn’t upset at the pregnancy.
My voice was barely a squeak beneath Harold’s grip. ’Yes.’
For a moment, delight shone in those icy blue eyes. Then all hell broke loose.
Mac hit Harold at a run, sending both him and me flying. His grip loosened on me, and Alec pulled me to him, throwing me behind his back as I inched away. Cam was on his feet, gun pulled, along with Logan and Ewen doing the same. Harold got to his feet and brushed himself off, hatred simmering in his narrowed eyes.
