Page 60 of Reckless Royalty

She shakes her head quickly. “No. And I can’t tell him. He’s not… he doesn’t feel that way about me. This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were just messing around, you know? It wasn’t serious.” Her voice cracks, and she wipes at her eyes again. “But now I’m pregnant, and I’m scared. What if this ruins everything? What if it breaks up the friendships between the guys?”

I feel a lump form in my throat as I watch her struggle to hold it together. I don’t know Nikolai well enough to understand the full implications of this, but it’s clear that Cat is terrified.

Now that I think about it, what will Connor do when he finds out one of his best friends got his little sister pregnant?

“It won’t ruin everything,” I say softly, even though I’m not sure I believe it myself. “But you don’t have to decide what happens right now. You just found out. Take some time to figure out what you want to do.”

She nods, sniffing softly. “I can’t even think straight right now. Part of me just wants to hide it, but I know that’s notrealistic. And telling Nikolai… I don’t even know where to start with that. He’s not serious about me, and I can’t trap him like this.”

Her voice is filled with so much guilt, and it makes my chest ache for her. I can’t imagine the weight of what she’s carrying right now, but I know she needs someone to be there for her.

She sighs, wiping at her tear-streaked cheeks. “What if he doesn’t want anything to do with me? What if he tells me to get rid of it?”

I swallow hard, unsure of how to answer. I don’t know Nikolai well enough to predict how he’d react, but I know how Cat feels since I’ve had a scare like this before. The fear, the uncertainty—it’s all consuming her.

“I don’t think he’d do that,” I say, my voice firm. “I don’t know him that well, but he’s not… he’s not a bad person. He might surprise you.”

Cat sniffs, her shoulders trembling as she tries to calm herself. “I just… I didn’t want this to happen. We were just… we were just messing around,” she takes a deep, shaky breath and continues.

I nod, listening as she spills her fears, her worries about what this means for her, for Nikolai, for the entire group. I don’t know what to say, so I just sit there, holding her hand and letting her talk.

After a while, she calms down, her tears drying as she leans back against the bed. “I’m so damn lost, Maddy,” she whispers, her voice small and vulnerable. “I don’t want to lose my friends. I don’t want to mess everything up.”

“You won’t,” I say, squeezing her hand again. “Whatever happens, you won’t lose us.”

We sit in silence for a while, but for now, that’s enough. Just being here for her, letting her know she’s not alone.

I’ll keep her secret, just like she’ll keep mine.

MIHAI

Itake a deep breath before I dial my father’s number. The weight of what I’m about to tell him sits like a boulder pressing down, making it hard to breathe. Maddy’s voice, her words from this morning, are still echoing in my head.

She remembers. She wants to talk to my father directly, and that changes everything.

The phone rings once, twice, and then I hear the familiar sound of his deep voice. “Mihai. Is everything alright?”

I hesitate for a second, then shake off the tension. “I need to talk to you about Maddy. She’s… talking again.”

There’s a brief silence on the other end, and I can picture my father’s sharp eyes narrowing, calculating. “Talking?” he finally says, his voice clipped. “What did she say?”

I rub the back of my neck, leaning against the wall of my suite as I stare out the window. “She remembers who shot Santiago, and what he and someone else were talking about before the gunman walked in. She wants to talk to you in person.”

Another pause, this one longer. I can almost hear the gears turning in his head. My father doesn’t like surprises, and this… this is a big one.

I hear my father inhale sharply, the first real sign of emotion he’s shown since I called. “Are you certain?”

“She wouldn’t make this up,Tata,” I reply firmly. “She’s been through hell, and now that she’s talking, she wants to tell you everything.”

There’s a long pause on the other end, and I wait, knowing he’s calculating the implications of this. Santiago’s murder was a massive blow to the organization, and if Maddy remembers details about the conversation before the hit, shit will hit the fan with the wrong people.

Especially since she mentioned Gianinni. That asshole has been lying low after Chiara’s kidnapping and our fathers have been worried about him striking. Now it looks like he already has without us even knowing.

“I have a few things to sort out here, but I’ll come to Willow Bridge right after,” he says, his tone decisive. “Make sure she’s safe, Mihai, even if you have to keep her in your room. We can’t risk this getting out until we know exactly what she remembers.”

“I know,” I mutter. “I’ll keep her protected.”

“Good,” he replies, his voice firm. “Don’t let anyone else know she’s talking yet.”

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