Waylen’s blood boils. He wants to take the old man by the collar and shake him violently.
“Leilani is my wife, and she’s carrying my child,” Waylen says. “What kind of man doesn’t protect his wife and his child?”
“A true man looks out for himself first and foremost,” Francis says.
“I’d rather die than let something happen to her,” Waylen replies.
“That’s what I’m afraid of, boy,” Francis says. “But you’re not allowed to die. Your life belongs to this family—you’re our only heir. If you care about Diana’s welfare, you’d better rethink your attitude.”
“What do you want?” Waylen asks.
“I’ll be back in the country next week,” Francis says. “We’ll have a conversation about your future and about Diana. I expect it to be pleasant.”
Waylen grips his phone more tightly. “I won’t allow you to hurt anyone, Grandfather,” he says.
There’s a soft click, and the line goes dead. Waylen shoves his phone back into the pocket and kicks the wall.
Leilani watches Waylen from across the room. His back is tense, and his shoulders raised. Everything about his posture radiates anger. He’s whispering into his phone, and Leilani desperately wishes she could hear the conversation.
“Robert,” Leilani calls.
Robert comes trotting over, “Yes, Mrs. Bamford?”
Leilani lowers her voice, keeping one eye on Waylen as she talks. “So Waylen acted cold to me because he was afraid of angering his grandfather?” she asks.
Robert glances guiltily at Waylen. He hesitates, and Leilani fixes him with her most intimidating stare. “It was something like that,” Robert says, looking down at his feet.
“That’s what I thought,” Leilani says. “But I want to know how his grandfather was threatening him: was he using Diana or me?”
Robert’s face pales. “You know about Diana?” he asks.
“Of course,” Leilani says casually. The more Robert thinks she already knows, the more willing he seems to answer her questions. She continues, “For example, I know that Francis Bamford was using Diana to blackmail Waylen into getting me pregnant.”
Robert shuffles his feet and blinks his eyes. He looks over at Waylen and clears his throat, but Waylen doesn’t notice him—he’s too busy talking on the phone.
“Do you know why Francis Bamford insisted Waylen have a baby with me?” Leilani asks. “I mean, I know he desperately wants an heir, but why did he insist on me? There are thousands of women who’d be more than willing to have a Bamford child.”
Robert shrugs and shakes his head helplessly. “I don’t know,” he says.
Leilani purses her lips. He seems to be telling the truth, but she doubts he’s as clueless as he seems. No one knows more about the Bamford family than Robert.
“I’m going to ask again: is Francis threatening Waylen with Diana or with me?” Leilani asks.
If he’s threatening Waylen with me, I need to be more careful, Leilani thinks. I don’t want Waylen to suffer just because danger seems to follow me everywhere I go. If he can’t distance himself from me, maybe I have to distance myself from him. The thought sends shivers of panic running down her spine.
Robert sighs heavily. “As you know, Mr. Bamford is the only heir right now,” Robert says. “If anything happens to him, the entire family line will come to an end. Mr. Bamford cares more about you than he’s ever cared about anyone else. You’re his greatest weakness.
When you’re in danger, Mr. Bamford stops thinking clearly. He’ll do anything to save you, and I truly believe he’d die for you. Of course, this worries Mr. Francis Bamford; he feels that you’re uhh a bad influence. Waylen was trying to trick his grandfather into thinking you’re on bad terms in the hopes that his grandfather would stop worrying about your relationship.”
Leilani wants to run across the room and shower Waylen with kisses. Robert’s words ring in her head. Waylen cares more about me than anyone else, she thinks joyfully. She doesn’t realize she’s smiling until Robert coughs awkwardly.
The joy vanishes, and she’s forced to think about the situation. Francis Bamford doesn’t make empty threats, and Waylen is probably in a much more dangerous position than Robert will admit.
“It’s all my fault,” Leilani whispers. “I seem to attract danger like a magnet.”
She looks down at the bandages on her chest, and the bruises on her arms, and absently runs her hand over the stitches on her abdomen.
“Perhaps you can be a bit safer in the future,” Robert suggests. “Don’t go running around so much, and try to stay away from dangerous people.” He smiles sarcastically, “At least until the child is born.”
Leilani frowns. Until the child is born, she thinks. But who knows what will happen to me when the child is born: I may not live past birth. She chews her lip and rubs her aching temples. She wants to ask one of the doctors about the flashbacks she had—are they a symptom of increased doses of the toxin or a sign that she’s slowly healing and recovering her lost memories—but she knows that only one doctor can answer her. And Charles has vanished.
“Are you all right?” Waylen asks.
Waylen’s face seems completely carefree, and he smiles easily at her. He reaches out to tug affectionately on her earlobe, but she pulls away. He glances between her and Robert, and his forehead wrinkled with suspicion.
“I’ve just gotten a message saying Miss Summers is awake,” Robert said, his voice sounding a bit too cheerful.
“Let’s go upstairs and have a visit,” Waylen says with a heavy sigh.
He takes Leilani’s hand in his, but she pulls away.
“My palms are sweaty,” she says.
“I don’t care,” Waylen says, retaking her hand.
Leonie leans listlessly against the pile of pillows. Her mother rushes around the room, adjusting flowers and tugging on the curtains. The woman seems flighty. She wrings a hot towel to wipe Leonie’s face and then drops it to change the TV channel.
“Leonie dear, would you like some apples?” Fiona Summers asks.
“No, mom,” Leonie sighs.
“Are you feeling unwell again?” Fiona asks as she speaks little worry lines from around the corners of her mouth. “Mr. Bamford went too far. I just don’t understand how he refuses to recognize his own child. It’s outrageous!”
Leonie groans and tosses around in the bed and her mother’s voice was shrill and grating, and she wishes the woman would just leave her alone.
“Oh, don’t you worry yourself about it, dear,” Fiona says. “I’ll talk to Waylen’s grandmother for you, and we’ll sort it all out. Men can be so stubborn sometimes, but you just trust me. Though, I swear if I see that Leilani woman, I’ll slap her across the face. I don’t care that she’s Waylen Bamford’s legal wife—no one gets to treat my precious baby like that.”
“Mom, can you just shut up already,” Leonie snaps.
“Yes, of course, dear. I’m sorry,” Fiona says, passing Leonie a peeled apple.
Leonie looks at the apple slices and knocks the plate to the ground. She watches her mother bend to pick up the broken shards. Someone coughs by the door, and she looks up to see Waylen leading Leilani into the room. Waylen has some blood on his neck, but he’s holding Leilani’s hand tightly.
“What are you doing here?” Fiona says. “You should feel ashamed to show your face here after what you did to my daughter!”
“Mom—shut up,” Leonie hisses, tugging the sleeve of Fiona’s sweater.
She looks pleadingly at Waylen, but his eyes are cold and distant. He’s subconsciously stepped in front of Leilani, shielding her body with his. Leonie clenches her hands into fists and tries to control her rage.
“Since we’re not welcome, we’ll leave,” Waylen says.
“No, Waylen, wait,” Leonie shouts.
Waylen ignores her and opens the door for Leilani. He follows her out of the room, gently skimming his hand over her lower back. The intimate gesture brings tears of helpless jealousy to Leonie’s eyes.
“Rest well, Miss Summers,” Robert says. “Mr. Bamford will come to see you again sometime.”
Leonie punches the soft quilt on the bed. Then she reaches for the vase of lilies on her nightstand and throws them toward the door. Glass and petals rain down on the floor.
“You’ll regret this,” she screams. “You’ll all regret this. I swear you’ll suffer ten times for everything you’ve ever done for me.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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