Page 33 of The Rancher's Pregnancy Surprise

"No," Terry cut him off. "I'm talking about that girl!"

Only one woman came to mind, the only one whose name Terry was unable to say because she was still struggling with unforgiveness.

Lena.

He left Terry to make his excuses to the other men. He drove as fast as he could, taking corners too sharply, narrowly avoidingan elderly pedestrian who gave him a one-fingered salute as he sped past. But he was still too late. When he arrived at the clinic, Lena was inside his office... while Acacia was being wheeled out on a hospital bed, unconscious.

"No. God. No."

The words tore from him as he rushed to her side, taking in her pale face, the slight swell of her belly beneath the thin hospital blanket.

"Dr. Slater," one of the nurses acknowledged him with a nod. "We're taking her to room three. Her vitals are stable, but she fainted. Blood pressure's a bit low."

"What happened?" he demanded, his fingers automatically finding Acacia's wrist, measuring her pulse for himself.

"Still to be determined. When we got to your office, she was already unconscious. The other woman called for help."

The other woman.

Lena.

He would deal with her later.

But right now and forever more—-

Acacia.

Whether she would choose to believe him or not—-

She was what mattered.

Always.

ACACIA'S DOCTOR CAMEout to meet with him, and what she told him, a part of Ronan had already expected.

Vitals normal. Baby's heartbeat is strong. So it's nothing serious...for now. But you need to help her avoid anything emotionally stressful.

Since Acacia was still not asleep, he used the time to come face to face with Lena and get rid of her, once and for all.

She got to her feet upon seeing him, and he got to the point as soon as she did.

"I'm about to marry someone else, and I don't want you near us. In any way."

"So I was right," she sneered. "I had a feeling she was more than a patient to you."

"You probably don't know this, but you've been keeping my legal team busy for so many years now. We've been keeping track of all the enemies you've made. They all had dirt on you, but not the money to sue you. Do you think I can help them?"

"Ronan, don't be like this. We were in love once—-"

Her sudden switch to being pitiful disgusted him. How could he have been in love with her? She had always been like this, he realized that now. Terry had seen it from the start, but he hadn't. And because he had been so damn blind, it had led him to wanting Acacia for all the wrong reasons when he first met her.

"It's over, Lena," he said curtly. "Get out of here. Forget I ever existed. This is the only warning I'll give you. Cross me at your risk."

He turned away, but this proved to be a mistake, with Lena suddenly rushing forward to hug him from behind.

Fuck.

His teeth clenched as he forcibly extricated himself from her hold. "Enough—-"

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