Surprise Delivery(90)

I sit back in the seat, my hatred for this man boiling over. “And your brother’s happiness –”

“Doesn’t factor into this and is ultimately, irrelevant,” Henry says sharply. “When you are a Clyburne, there are certain obligations you must meet and sacrifices that must be made to protect the family name and legacy. Since he’s proven incapable, I will find my brother a more suitable partner and he’ll learn to be happy with her. In time, he’ll even come to love her in a fashion.”

That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works. You don’t learn to be happy and in love with somebody. You either are or you’re not. Yes, it can grow over time and as you get more comfortable and in tune with each other, but Henry is essentially talking about a forced, arranged marriage for his brother. What kind of a life is that going to be for Duncan?

“Let me also throw this out for your consideration, Alexis,” Henry adds. “When Duncan learns that you’ve been keeping this secret from him and that Aurora is his daughter, he’s going to be very, very angry. If there is something I know he values above all else, it’s honesty and loyalty.”

“I know,” I say softly.

“So, imagine the sense of betrayal he’s going to feel when he finds out you’ve been lying to him this whole time. That you’ve let him believe your daughter is somebody else’s,” he says. “And then imagine what he’s going to do once he does find out. Do you think he’ll want to stay with you after learning that you stabbed him in the back like this?”

As much as I want to say otherwise, the answer is that I just don’t know. My fear is that he’ll be so angry, he takes my daughter and leaves me all alone. My fear is that in his anger, he’ll realize he made a mistake in loving me and will abandon me. My fear is that I’ll lose him.

Of course, I cling to the hope that love – his love for me and his love for our daughter – will trump everything. I cling to the hope that his love will help him see past his anger to what’s truly important. I cling to the hope that love really will be enough.

“Alexis? Do you think he’ll want to stay with you knowing you lied to him all this time?”

I shake my head. “I really don’t know what he’ll do.”

“I do. I know my brother better than anybody,” he presses. “And when he finds out you betrayed him, he will start moving against you, Alexis. He’ll take Aurora from you to start with. But he won’t stop until he’s taken everything from you. I’m a son of a bitch, but at least I’m upfront about it. Cross Duncan, though, and he’ll make me look like a teddy bear, I kid you not.”

I shake my head. “That’s not the man I know. That’s not the man I love.”

“Ask yourself this, Alexis – how well do you really know Duncan? I mean, you’ve been in his life for like five minutes. What do you really know about him?”

I would argue that I know more about Duncan than his own brother does. But the point is not lost on me that we’ve been in each other’s lives for such a short period of time that there are a lot of things I don’t know about him. He’s a complex and layered man, and there are areas inside of him that remain shrouded in mystery – areas inside of him I’ll only ever get to know over time.

Time I may not have.

“If it’s inevitable that it ends up with Duncan cutting all ties, leaving you alone,” he says, “why not get paid for it? Why not ensure you and your daughter a life of comfort? I mean, that’s what you ultimately desire, is it not? That your daughter be well taken care of – and by you?”

I nod slowly, the oppressive weight of fear and an impending sense of doom pressing down hard on me. I suddenly feel trapped – like a rat in a maze. Every turn I take leads me to another dead end or blind passage and I don’t see any way of getting out of this.

“Remember,” he says, “you have a choice. You can take your baby and leave Duncan now. Or you can let him take her away from you. You can lose just Duncan, or you can lose both Duncan and Aurora. The choice is yours.”

Henry gives me a small smile I think he means to be sympathetic, but it simply looks creepy and evil. Or maybe that’s just because that’s the perception of the man I have. I don’t know, and I don’t really care. I despise this piece of garbage of a human being.

“I’ll give you a few days to think it over,” Henry says as he stands up and taps the contract on the table. “And to read through this, of course. Review it and if you have any sort of questions, concerns, or any other considerations that will ease your mind in signing it, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Alexis.”

I sit back in my seat again, feeling completely shell-shocked. My stomach is churning, and my heart is thundering, as my thoughts and feelings swirl around inside of me with the power of a tornado. I don’t know what to say or think right now. All I know is that my feeling of disgust for Henry Clyburne is as deep and powerful as the ocean.

“Right,” he says. “I’ll be in touch in a few days and hopefully we can come to an accord, Alexis. There is no reason for any of us – especially that beautiful baby girl of yours – to suffer. Not when there is an avenue for her to have an amazing life.”

“Screw you, Henry,” is all I can manage to say, though it’s without much conviction behind it.