Page 19 of The Sins of Saint (The Sins of Saint 3)

“I don’t want this baby, Mila. I just want the five percent shares this baby will give me.”

I balked, every ounce of air in my lungs gone. “What?”

His mouth curved at the corner with a lopsided grin, his eyes pure darkness. He rested his hands on his sides. “That life growing inside you guarantees me the last five percent shares of your family’s company. A clause daddy-dearest decided to add to his will last minute.”

“What are you talking about?” I could barely hear my own voice over the heavy beating of my heart. “What is going on?”

He moved and leaned against the wall, cool and calm, acting aloof as if nothing about this entire conversation had him on edge. “That five percent we all thought was tied up with anonymous shareholders is actually tied up right there,” he pointed at my stomach, “in your womb.”

I saw his lips moving, heard his voice, but nothing he said made sense. My mind was too numb to comprehend what the hell he was talking about. “I don’t…I don’t understand.”

“It’s not rocket science, Mila. The first Torres grandchild gets that five percent, and until he or she is of legal age, the parents, AKA you and I, we own those shares. In other words…” he pushed himself from the wall, his eyes etched on mine, “I own those five percent shares once our baby is born.”

Like a wrecking ball, every word he spoke slammed into me, breaking me in half. My legs became weak, my hands trembling. I slowly sat on the bed, staring down at the floor, still trying to figure out what was happening.

“It seems that your father had every intention of fucking with the lot of us after his death.”

I swallowed, unable to look up at him. “Did you know?”

His silence was all the answer I needed, his lack of response screaming with deception.

“You knew,” I whispered, a tear slipping across my lips, and the taste of my pain coated my tongue. “This was part of your plan.”

Still, he didn’t say a word. He neither admitted nor denied it.

I looked up at him standing a few feet from me, yet it seemed like the distance between us grew with miles. I clutched my belly. “Getting me pregnant was part of your plan all along.”

“No.” His hard expression softened. “It wasn’t part of my plan.”

“But you knew. You knew about the five percent before I got pregnant.”

He rolled his shoulders and closed his eyes. “Yes. I knew.”

I shot up to my feet, anger burning through poisonous tears that fell down my cheeks. “How long? How long have you known?”

With my entire being, I hoped he would say he only found out after he told me he loved me. Before things changed between us. Somehow, that would make this a less bitter pill to swallow.

He licked his lips and placed his hands in his pants pockets again, his shoulders slightly slumped forward—lacking the confidence he always carried. “Before the meeting with my father.” His eyes found mine. “I’ve known since before you ran from me.”

“Oh, God.” I gasped and placed my palm in front of my mouth, choking back sobs I knew would wrack through me.

“Mila,” he rushed toward me, “finding out about the five percent didn’t change anything for me.”

“How can you say that?”

“It’s the truth.” His hands hovered over my shoulders, my arms, as if he wanted to touch me but wasn’t sure where or how…or if I’d want him to. “It wasn’t part of my plan.”

“Are you telling me that it never crossed your mind, that you never considered it even for a second?”

He cursed under his breath and dropped his gaze to the floor, the truth written all over his face.

“Jesus!” I cried and shoved my hands against his chest, pushing him back. “You son of a bitch!” I slammed my fist against his shoulder. “How could you?” I kept hitting him, rage oozing out of me since I could no longer contain the pain. “How could you, Saint?”

“Mila, I didn’t—”

A loud crack sliced through the air as I slapped my palm against his cheek, the burn on my hand nothing compared to the ache I felt inside. “Stop. Lying.”

In that moment, I felt nothing but disdain and contempt, his lies and deceit mixed into a poison that slowly smothered me.

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