Page 65 of Ruthless King

“She was angry with me for being pregnant.”

“Why?”

I can’t tell Nico the full truth, so once more, I lie to his face. “I’m not sure. My aunt has always been a little unhinged. She just lost it. She stabbed Jeremy, too, then called someone to come clean up his body. She’s rich. She has … connections.”

“What kind of connections?”

“I’m not sure.” And that’s the truth. I never met the people who worked for Beatrice and my father. “I called 911, but before they could come, a man arrived and got rid of Jeremy’s body. I was still lying there when the paramedics arrived and got me out of there. I was in and out of it. I don’t know where Beatrice is.”

“I’m going to kill her,” he growls.

“No!”

Nico stares down at me. “Why not? She tried to kill you, Aurora.”

“She’s the last family I have left.”

“I’m your family.”

I know he is, and I know Beatrice can’t live any longer. I signed her death warrant when I told Nico her name and what she did to me.

“I have to ask,” I say slowly. “If I can’t give you children, do you still want to be with me?” I made my choice to go with Nico, but if he doesn’t even want me after this, then I’m not sure what I’ll do.

Nico’s eyes soften. “I care deeply for you, Aurora. I know that. And yes, I do still want to be with you. The doctor didn’tsay children was an impossibility. We need to wait until the tests come back. But I chose you that day because there was something about you I needed to get to know. I wanted you in my life. I still do. We just lost our child. We don’t need to worry about children right now.”

“How are you so kind?” I ask around the tears that start to fall down my face.

“You make me that way.” He sighs deeply. “I don’t have to kill your aunt. But I do need to find her and question her. Why exactly did she want to hurt you? It doesn’t make sense.”

It does make sense. She didn’t want me to get distracted with a baby. She thought if I lost the baby, I would try to kill Nico again. What Beatrice didn’t understand is that while me getting pregnant helped me to choose Nico, it wasn’t the only reason I wanted to be with him.

I want to be with him because I’m in love with him.

It has nothing to do with a baby.

“I—” I stop abruptly when I see Beatrice standing in the doorway. Nico’s back is to her. I quickly look away from her so Nico doesn’t turn around.

“What?” he asks gently.

The look of anger on Beatrice’s face rocks me to my core. For a moment, I think she might try killing Nico, but then she turns and walks away.

My aunt is dangerous. She’s already proven to be a problem. She’s the reason I’m in this mess to begin with.

And now, I know I’ll have to make a choice—let my aunt die or let Nico die.

I already know what I’ve chosen.

Chapter

Fifteen

NICO

Ineed to get to the bottom of Aurora and her aunt’s relationship. Why did her aunt stab her?

I ask Andrew to keep an eye out for her aunt, so whenever she shows back up, I’ll kill her. I know Aurora won’t want that to happen—Beatrice is her aunt after all—but I won’t stand by and let anyone hurt my wife.

I don’t press the issue with Aurora until she’s back home and starting to feel better. “I need you to explain to me why this happened.”

---