Page 55 of Her Ex's Father
I skid to a stop—straight into someone else.
Strong hands grip my arms. The scent of cologne, too familiar, coils around me.
Derrick.
“Whoa,” he drawls, steadying me. His smirk is sharp as a knife. “What’s the hurry, Maddie? You should be careful in your…condition.” He still can’t say it without a sneer, and a wisp of guilt curls inside me.
I was supposed to behisbride.
Instead, I’m carrying his father’s child.
I yank back, pulse racing. “Someone was in my room.”
“Ah.” He leans lazily against the wall, as if this is all amusing. “That would be mine.”
“…Yours?”
“My guy.” His smile widens when my stomach drops. “He works for me. Don’t worry, I’ve got several people keeping an eye on you. Can’t let Dad’s shiny new wife run around unchecked, can we?”
Cold creeps up my spine. “Why?”
“Because.” Derrick leans closer, voice low and poisonous. “You took what was mine. You think I’m just going to let that go?”
I shake my head, trying to process. “What are you talking about? Why would you have peoplewatchingme, Derrick?”
“You heard Dad, the night we all had dinner. That fakehappy familyfaçade he wanted to put on here. He’s leavingeverythingto you and this—” he gestures at my stomach, “—situation. Was this your plan, Maddie? Get a piece of the pie by getting knocked up?”
“You must be kidding,” I deadpan, hand going instinctively to my stomach as I back up. “Noneof this was my plan, Derrick, and if you had showed up atour weddingyou wouldn’t be in this situation! Besides,” I add with a hiss, “I didn’t know he was going to rewrite the inheritance.”
Derrick studies me, eyes narrowed. “He didn’t tell you? Figures. He’s always been good at playing king without telling his subjects the rules.”
Heat rises in my chest, not just anger but suspicion. Because some part of me has latched onto what Derrick says. Has thought it myself, in private moments.
Those first weeks of marriage with Ben I finally feltseen.But naming our child the heir without even asking?
Derrick sees it. Of course he does. He feeds on cracks.
“Upset?” he taunts. “You should be. You’re nothing more than a vessel to him. A means to erase me and get a second chance at fatherhood.”
“That’s not true,” I snap.
“Isn’t it?” He tilts his head, eyes glittering. “What happens when the baby isn’t his, Maddie?”
The words slam into me. “What?Of course it’s his?—”
He grins, sharklike. “Interesting. That got a rise out of you. Maybe I should start whispering that around town. That the golden heir isn’t a Bronson after all. Imagine what that would do to Daddy’s pride.”
Rage and terror twist inside me. “Don’t youdare.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes.” His voice sharpens, all pretense gone. “You and your child ruined me. So, I’ll ruin you both. And I’ll enjoy every second.”
He straightens, smooths his shirt like nothing happened, and strolls away down the corridor.
I stand frozen, trembling, the silence after him louder than the confrontation.
Back in the suite, I shut the door and lock it, leaning hard against the wood. My hands are shaking so badly I can barely pull out my phone.
Ben doesn’t know Derrick has people inside this resort. What if they’re at the lodge, too, in my rooms there while I’m away?
