Page 8 of Sinner’s Torment

“What’s going on?” His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. A sharpness that made my stomach drop.

Grace stood, moving to stand between King and me. Not blocking him, exactly, but positioning herself as a buffer. A shield.

“We’re talking,” she simply replied.

King’s eyes narrowed. “About?”

Grace looked back at me, and in that moment, I understood what she was doing. She wasn’t going to tell him. She wasn’t going to betray my confidence or throw me under the bus. She was giving me the choice, the agency, to tell him myself. It was a kindness I didn’t deserve. But it also meant I had to face him. Had to say the words out loud. Had to watch his reaction when I told him I fucked up in the worst possible way.

My hands trembled so badly the water in the glass rippled.

King’s gaze shifted to me, and I saw the exact moment he registered my state. My tear-streaked face, my shaking hands, the way I looked like I was about to bolt or vomit or both.

His expression softened, just slightly. “Brandy?”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Grace moved back to my side, her hand resting on my shoulder. Grounding me. Reminding me I wasn’t alone as I forced myself to meet King’s eyes.

“I’m pregnant.”

The words came out flat, emotionless, like I was reporting the weather instead of dropping a bomb that would change everything.

For a moment, King didn’t react. He just stood there, staring at me, his face an unreadable mask. Then he stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him with a quiet click that sounded deafening in the silence.

“Pregnant,” he repeated, his voice carefully neutral.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

King crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw tight. “How long have you known?”

“About an hour.”

“And how far along?”

“I don’t know. Maybe two months? I haven’t seen a doctor yet.”

He nodded slowly, processing. Then his gaze sharpened, and I knew what was coming before he even opened his mouth.

“Who’s the father?”

My throat closed up as Grace’s hand tightened on my shoulder, a silent reminder that she was there, that I could do this.

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

King’s expression didn’t change, but something flickered in his eyes. Disappointment, maybe. Or anger. I couldn’t tell.

“You don’t know,” he repeated, his tone flat.

“I was careful,” I blurted quickly, my words tumbling out in a rush. “I’m on the pill, and I always used condoms. Always. But there were a few guys, and I can’t say for sure which one.”

“How many?”

The question was sharp, cutting, and it made me flinch.

“King,” Grace said, her voice carrying a warning.

But King ignored her. His focus remained locked on me. “How many, Brandy?”

I forced myself to hold his gaze, even though every instinct screamed at me to look away. “Three. Maybe four. I don’t remember exactly.”