Page 53 of The Devil

“No? What do you meanno?”

“I forbid it. If I’m that baby’s father, I’m not going to let you endanger it by going to tell that piece of shit you slept with a mere week after being with me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I challenge him.

He opens his mouth to argue, but my father walks in before he can say a single word. I’ve never been so glad to have him barge in on me.

“Everything ok? We heard raised voices,” he says, sounding flustered over his potential son-in-law being upset.

“Jacob, please talk some sense into your daughter,” Evan snaps, sounding completely exasperated by me. “She wants to go and tell Lucius Hastings about the baby!”

“Helena, no, you can’t,” Dad gasps, now looking just as annoyed as Evan. I should have known he’d take his side.

“Dad, wouldn’t you want to know if it were you?” I argue, raising my voice ever so slightly, even though it goes against every natural instinct.

“Evan, would you mind giving my daughter and me some time alone so I can talk some sense into her?” Dad asks him over my head.

“Please do!” he growls before stomping out of the room, slamming the door for good measure.

“I would, yes, but we’re talking about Lucius damn Hastings, here!” he shouts me down. I’ve seen him do this with Cameron in the past, but my brother has always been able to fight back. Even worse, he’s usually allowed to; I’m too ‘female’ to be able to do the same.

“But -”

“Besides, Helena, he’s already seeing someone new,” he says, delivering the final blow against me.

“Wh-what?” I just about manage to gasp through my lack of breath.

“I spoke to Paul yesterday when I was trying to get hold of Jen,” he says, now looking less angry and more sympathetic. “He’s been seeing a woman for the past three months; Paul says it’s serious, Helena. Even more reason to leave things as they are.”

“Three months? As in, the same girl? As in, it’s a relationship?” I ask, dropping back down to the bed and feeling suddenly sick.

“Helena, it’s best this way,” he says as he sits beside me to wrap an arm around my shoulders which are now shuddering against him. “Oh, shh, my baby girl.”

“You haven’t called me that in a long time, Dad,” I sob, and he kisses my head. “I know you’re disappointed in me, but I didn’t plan any of this.”

“I know, sweetheart, and I’m not disappointed…well, maybe at first, but now I know you and Evan are going to make excellent parents. You’ve got a great life ahead of you, Helena.”

“I have?”

“Of course you have,” he laughs softly and I begin to release some of the tension in my muscles.

For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I feel ok, like I’m still a member of this family. But something is still off, and I know exactly what it is. It’s something I can’t ignore.

“Dad, you know I have to tell him if the baby is his,” I utter against him and I feel him immediately tense up beside me. “Whatever you think of Lucius, it’s the right thing to do.”

“Will you promise me one thing?” he asks, and I relax, knowing he’s still talking calmly. “You wait until we know for sure. What’s the point in causing drama with Evan and Lucius’ new girlfriend if the baby isn’t even his?”

Listening to him say ‘Lucius’ girlfriend’ makes me want to fall into a coma and never wake up, but I can’t let him know that, so I simply nod. Call me a coward, but I can’t face Evan and Dad’s wrath if I don’t agree, and I certainly can’t face seeing Lucius with another woman. The thought is bad enough, let alone seeing it in the flesh.

“Good girl, you always are,” he says with a beaming smile and a desperation to let Evan back in. “Now, make up with your boy.”

I don’t bother to correct him; I suddenly feel too exhausted. He opens the door to reveal Evan looking both angry and anxious, so rushes to put him at ease again.

“All sorted,” Dad says cheerfully, “must be the hormones messing with her brain, ay?”

“Thank goodness,” Evan says as he walks in to wrap his arms around me. “And if that’s the case, perhaps you should put everything through me,” he says, pulling back to deliver a condescending smile. “I’ve only got your best interests at heart, Helena, yours and the baby’s.”

“Hmm,” I mumble before falling back to the bed. “I’m really tired. Do you mind if I take a nap?”

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