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“I already know what I want to do,” I say, straightening my shoulders. “I want to keep it.”
Maggie takes a deep breath. She nods. “Okay.”
By the set of her shoulders, I know I’m heaping another problem onto her back. Her wedding to Count Gregory was already important for Kiera. Now, I’ll be unmarried and pregnant, which will be another blow to the Belcourt name. There’s more riding on her marriage than ever before.
But my sister just gives me a hug, a smile, and tells me she’s here for me no matter what.
As my concert approaches, my nerves heighten. I’ll be seeing Heath for the first time since the Count’s dinner party. He’ll be watching me play. Afterward, I’m hoping to sit him down and tell him the truth.
My stomach is tied up in knots as I wait just offstage. But I close my eyes and think of the music, and it slows my heart enough for me to be able to walk out with my head held high. With the bright stage lights shining down on me, I can’t see any individual faces in the crowd, and I’m grateful for it.
I settle onto the piano bench and take a deep breath, and I play.
The crowd melts away. My fears about the future melt away. The thought of the Duke and the Count and my family—all gone.
For a few blissful moments, I’m at peace. I play for an hour, feeling lighter and happier than I have in weeks. In a way, I feel like this concert belongs to me and my baby. We’re united on this stage. My little secret. My child, growing inside my womb.
For now, at least, no one knows. There’s no controversy. No difficult conversations. Only love—and music.
Then the concert ends, I take a bow, and I walk offstage. When I see the Duke of Blythe waiting in the wings for me, my heart flips. A smile tugs at my lips, and I know things between us are special.
He’s here, just like he said he’d be. Even though I’ve been distant since I took the test. Even though I told him I wanted to speak to him about something important. Even though my sister will be marrying Count Gregory.
This could work. Maybe he’ll see the glow on my face and know that this baby is special. Our connection, as short as it has been, means something.
I take a step toward him, but my mother blocks my path.
“Ada,” she says, putting a hand on my arm, “I need to speak to you.”
“One moment, Mother,” I say, trying to pull away.
Heath takes a step closer to us, his eyes shining. Does he know I played that concert for our child? I played it in honor of the feelings already in full bloom inside me.
“Ada,” my mother snaps.
I frown. “Is everything all right?”
“Count Gregory is here,” she hisses.
“Okay.” I shrug, but she still won’t let go. My mother’s eyes are dark. She gulps, and dread crawls up my spine. “What is it, Mother?”
“The Count spoke to me when you finished playing,” she says. “He doesn’t want to marry Maggie.”
I let out a sigh. “Thank God. I never liked him.”
Her brows draw together. “No, Ada…” Her grip on my arm tightens. I steal a glance at Heath, panic pushing in at the edges of my consciousness. My mother sucks in a breath. “Ada, Count Gregory wants you instead.”
My ears ring. Eyes widen. I’m dizzy.
“W-What?” I grip the wall, eyes searching for the Duke. Horror writes itself over his features as I try to gulp past a lump in my throat. I inhale, shaking my head. “No.”
“Ada,” my mother says. “Think of Kiera.”
“No, we can… Loans. Scholarships. We… I don’t…”
I inhale hard. Then again. Then again. I’m hyperventilating. I can’t get enough air. I can’t make words. The world is spinning. Why is my vision blurry?
I can’t marry the Count. I don’t want Maggie to marry him, but I definitely don’t want it to be me. I open my eyes again, trying to focus on the Duke. He’s still standing just at the edges of the shadows.
