I nodded in acknowledgment, turning away to focus on regulating my heartbeat before it jumped right out of my rib cage.I couldn’t believe it.Jason had actually done it.He’d been able to use the information I gave him on the server farms when I saw him in Rome and had actually destroyed them.And not just one, butthreeof them.This would absolutely cripple Darren in the legal world.
For the first time in a long time, I actually felt the little flutters of hope tickle along my skin.Suddenly, the possibility of freedom could be felt in the air, like a ray of sunshine had finally broken through the clouds, warming my soul from the frigid depths of despair.
Jason was close.He was much closer than I could ever believe.Shit, earlier today, he’d only been a mile away from me.But the closer he got to me, the closer he got to Darren, and if Darren caught him, I wouldn’t be able to live with the horrors of what Darren would do to him.So I would need to keep Darren distracted with other things—preferably meddlesome things.Things that would break family ties forever.
“Daniel keeping secrets from you?That doesn’t sound like him at all,” I added sarcastically.
Katherine glanced back up at me, her lips folding in on each other for a moment until her eyes began to fill with rage.“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so bold to argue with him the way I did that night when you mentioned their childhood at dinner.It was like a completely different person took over.”
I couldn’t help but smirk at her.“I was so proud of you for that, you know.”
She huffed a quiet giggle for a second before her eyes grew somber again.“Moments like that don’t last very long for a reason.You’ve seen what happens when I try to argue with him.”
Placing my hand over hers, I asked the question I had been dying to know as carefully as I could.“Yes, I remember.I remember him refusing to believe you over a man who’d been caught trying to strangle you.What the hell happened, Katherine?”
She sighed and shook her head.“That damn guard had been harassing me for months,” she finally answered, her voice bitter and harsh.“I was afraid to tell Daniel, scared that he would blame me for it, and that asshole knew it.I ignored his advances as best I could and avoid ever being seen by him, but it apparently wasn’t enough.”
I groaned in frustration for her.I was pretty confident Darren would believe me if I had come forward with something like that, though I knew he would likely review whatever security footage there was to confirm my story.But for Daniel to automatically think that way of his wife had my blood boiling.
“Why would Daniel blame you?Doesn’t he trust you?”I asked.
I didn’t want to say it, but I was pretty certain Katherine was far too fearful to ever cheat on Daniel.My kiss with Jason in Rome had nearly caused a panic attack for me, my body recognizing the betrayal that my heart could not.I had to imagine it must be ten times worse for Katherine, given the way she was raised and how Daniel treated her.
Katherine’s eyes glazed over as a sorrowful breath left her lips.“A long time ago, long before you were here, I had a bodyguard named Hugo.He was sweet and kind to me, always respectful, and always careful.I considered him a true friend, but I wouldn’t allow it to go any further.I just couldn’t,” she murmured, her voice taking on a note of longing.“One day, Hugo confessed that he was in love with me.He wanted to take me away from everything and start a whole new life.I, of course, told him none of that was possible, but he was still determined.”She sighed again as she shook her head, her eyes squinting like she was in pain.“But somehow, Daniel found out.He killed Hugo right in front of me—shot him in the chest three times.And after what Daniel did to me later that night, I wouldn’t even dare look at another man for the next six months.”
I released a deep breath of my own, attempting to empty some of the rage building in my chest.“So even though you did nothing to encourage Hugo’s affections, this attack by the guard was still enough to actually make Daniel believe that it was happening again?And it was still your fault?”
Katherine said nothing, just nodded softly.
“That man is a goddamn fool,” I snapped, huffing out my frustration with the idiotic men in this family.At least that stupid-ass guard was no longer breathing.
Katherine shrugged her shoulders, but the look of hopelessness cast over her glassy eyes.“I accepted the things I can’t change a long time ago, and I’ve grown accustomed to this life, to marrying into this family,” she murmured.“That is, until you dropped that bombshell about Daniel’s childhood.Now I find myself lost again.”
I pursed my lips as I looked back at her with regret.“I’m sorry you found out that way.My intention wasn’t to hurt you,” I murmured.
Katherine sniffed before shaking her head.“No, I’m glad you said something.I would have never known until it was too late.”
I doubted it would even make a difference then anyway.My ears caught the sound of Sloane’s earpiece, her attention refocusing on her orders as she stepped away to the other side of the room to listen.
“Well, the only bright side I can offer is I don’t think Ella will have to experience it since it seems it’s only meant for the boys.I’m not sure if you want more kids, but if you stop with her, you can rest easy,” I offered, hoping it might relax her a little.
Katherine’s gaze slid up to mine, her eyes glossy with the kind of sadness that made you fear for the worst.“I wish that were so,” she whispered, tears beginning to build behind her eyes.
I found myself inching closer, suddenly nervous for her.“What do you mean?”I asked quietly, watching Sloane from afar.
“Daniel wants more children, especially boys, and I…” Katherine started, fast tears now dripping down her face, one after the other.I felt my heart breaking for her.“I think…I might be pregnant.”Her voice was that of a broken whisper, and she quickly swiped her tears away.
Oh shit.
“How do you know?”I asked.
She licked her dry lips, then sucked in a breath.“I’m almost a week late.And my periods are always pretty regular,” she carefully answered.“Daniel doesn’t know.No one does.And all I can think about is, what if it’s a boy this time?”
More tears spilled down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands.I scooted closer to her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and holding her tightly.Nothing I could say would make her feel any better.Everything was out of our hands, and we both knew this.
“I’m sorry, Katherine,” I whispered, gently rubbing up and down her arms.“I’m so sorry.But we’ll get through it together.”
Lifting her chin, her watery eyes met mine, and an icy resolve suddenly set in.“Yes, we are going to get through thistogether,” she emphasized, sniffing back her tears.“And I will be here every step of the way for you and your baby for as long as I can be.”