Page 142 of Ruthless God

“I found out the day you came to get me.”

Finally, he blinks.

His hands flex at his sides, fingers twitching, like he doesn’t know what to do with them. Like he doesn’t know what to do with any of this. A muscle in his jaw tics. He doesn’t look at me. He looks past me. Through me. Like he’s seeing something else. Something darker. Something violent.

I take a shaky step forward. “Claudius?—”

“Don’t.”

The single word is low, hoarse. I freeze. Because I don’t recognize this version of him.

He takes a slow breath. Another.

Then, in a voice so quiet it chills me, he says, “Get out.”

The words hit like a gunshot.

“What?”

His eyes snap to mine, and I feel it. The storm brewing just beneath the surface.

“I said get out.”

His voice is calm and that scares me more than if he had screamed. Because Claudius Irons doesn’t do calm when he’s angry. He does destruction. And right now? He looks like he’s about to tear the world apart.

I should turn around, walk out of this room, give him space. But I don’t because he doesn’t get to shut down. He doesn’t get to order me out like I’m nothing. Like I didn’t just tear myself open and hand him the truth.

I lift my chin, holding his gaze. “No.”

Claudius stills. His nostrils flare, his jaw tight.

“Cecely.”

A warning.

One I ignore.

“You don’t get to push me away. Not after everything.”

He lets out a slow, sharp breath, shaking his head.

“Everything?” His voice is low, dangerous. “You mean the lie? Or that my brother… the brother I thought was fucking dead…knocked you up before you fell in bed with me?”

I flinch, but I stand my ground.

“I never lied to you.” My voice is sharp, steady. “I never pretended it was yours. I never tried to trap you. I?—”

“You didn’t tell me.”

His voice isn’t loud, but it’s cutting. It’s accusing. It’s true.

I swallow hard. “I didn’t know how.”

He laughs, but there’s no humor in it.

“You didn’t know how?” He steps forward, towering over me. “You didn’t know how, but your mother knew? Blanc knew? Fuck, Cecely, my enemies probably knew before I did.”

Guilt burns through me, hot and relentless.

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