~ Ryker’s POV ~
The hallway outside her room still smelled faintly of roses and fear.
Ophelia’s fear.
I hadn’t raised my voice. I hadn’t touched her. But the moment I saw those two red lines, something in me shifted, not rage, not disappointment…
Possession.
That woman walked into my house carrying another man’s child.
And instead of throwing her out, I was planning how to protect her.
Pathetic.
I should have been furious. Contracts matter. Loyalty matters. But when she looked at me with those shaking hands pressed to her stomach…
It wasn’t the pregnancy that mattered.
It was the lie.
The betrayal.
The realization that she’d rather die than trust me.
A muscle in my jaw twitched.
I hated how much that hurt.
I walked into my study, closing the door quietly behind me. Two of my
